Explains how a user-centered approach to system design addressed the representational and strategic issues that arose when developing an artificial intelligence-based system, the Science Education Advisor, a case-based hypertext browsing system designed to collect and dispense ideas and advice for teaching elementary school science. (39…

The Center for Business Information and the Goizueta Business School at Emory University (Georgia) tested desktop videoconferencing as a means to deliver reference services, including consultation, documentation, training, and sharing of CD-ROM databases. Provides a brief overview of the technology, describes project beta testing, and discusses…

Discusses protection of intellectual property and the fair use of information from the academic library perspective. Comments on several factors related to intellectual property: politics, economic and cultural contexts, time constraints, and software and online systems. Suggests developing new laws for online environments. (AEF)

Reports findings of studies investigating the influence of default values (i.e., excellent, good, or poor) on the evaluative behavior of students completing computerized instruments for rating instruction. Respondents who were exposed to the excellent default rated the instructor more favorably. Order and contiguity of items did not influence…

Describes developments in the production and use of literary texts in electronic formats. Highlights include electronic approaches to literature, including characteristics of electronic writing and literary scholarship; relevant technologies; authoring programs; Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML); sources of texts; and the production of…

Content analysis of 13 textbooks and 2 Department of Education documents was conducted to ascertain common word processing, database, and spreadsheet software skills in order to determine which specific skills should be taught in a high school computer literacy course. Aspects of a basic computer course, created from this analysis, are described.…

Explains how to access the Internet, discussing hardware and software considerations, connectivity, and types of access available to users. Describes the uses of electronic mail; TELNET, a method for remotely logging onto another computer; and anonymous File Transfer Protocol (FTP), a method for downloading files from a remote computer. (MAB)

Syllabus Builder is a hypertext resource that brings together scholarly, critical, and pedagogical information for literature teachers to use in curriculum development and classroom instruction. Application of the program to enhance a specific American literature anthology is described, illustrated with computer screens. (MSE)

Describes the Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia that contains an online collection of full-text databases delivered through a single search program. Highlights include user support services; use of Standard Generalized Markup Language; users; and providing a model for other universities. (LRW)

Reviews the current literature and describes a study of computer-based training (CBT) effectiveness for teaching microcomputer software in a college-level business class. Students were divided into an experimental class (using CBT) and a control group (using traditional lectures). Results indicated experimental students perform as well as control…

One teacher's experiences with second-language instructional technology are recounted, including language labs, computer-assisted instruction, videotapes, personal computers, laser discs, and compact discs. The value of and potential uses for interactive multimedia are outlined. (LB)

This study compared the exam performance of 65 foreign students of Dutch whose homework had been regularly checked by a computer program with 62 students whose homework had been randomly checked. On a 100-item proficiency test the former group obtained an average score of 77.2, while the latter group obtained an average score of 65.4. (Contains 21…

Summarizes recent developments in copyright law, with a focus on their consequences for users in colleges, universities, and libraries. Highlights include the concept of fair use; library reproduction rights; recent court cases and legislation; and future copyright concerns, including fair use of computer software and electronic text, and license…

Presents issues from a debate about interlibrary loan (ILL) policies and the use of union lists on the OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) ILL subsystem. Highlights include library funding, costs of maintaining serials holdings on a utility, borrowing procedures, quality service, workload leveling, staffing, and problems with OCLC system…

Discusses a multimedia training delivery system called Compact Disk-Interactive (CD-I) and its use in corporate training environments. Information includes how companies are using CD-I, quality of learning through CD-I, hardware and software required to create a CD-I title, hardware required for delivery, advantages and disadvantages of the…