Increased emphasis on both individualized instruction and distance education along with the cost-effectiveness factor will encourage further educational development with the optical disc technologies. Acceptance of interactive videodisc instructional materials will be a slow process in the public school setting but will eventually have a great…

Discusses the possibilities of using situated learning theory in distance education and describes the instructional design of a course on soil and the environment offered at the Open University of the Netherlands that incorporates situated learning. The use of interactive videodisk is described. (Contains 49 references.) (LRW)

The Open University from its inception in 1969 has been a technologically based university. It uses technology to deliver high quality, specially designed teaching materials to large numbers of adult students throughout Britain, and increasingly abroad, who study at home. The Open University's teaching system has remained basically unchanged since…

Reports on a project commissioned by the National Council for Educational Technology designed to investigate the potential for interactive video in school-based initial teacher training; results are derived from an empirical study in 26 schools. Training needs; interactive video in distance learning and staff development; and the potential for…

Discusses the development of interactive media-delivered training. Highlights include examples; indicators for using multimedia; factors for successful implementation; learning and performance development; evaluating hardware options; technology choices, including interactive videodisc, compact disc interactive, CD-ROM, networked interactive…

This paper describes the development and current state of videodisk technology in Canada. The first section focuses on the technology itself, i.e., the disks, disk players, and the possibilities they offer for interaction between learner and machine. The current costs of the technology and the probable effect of these costs on the market are also…

The presentational power of television gives it unique teaching characteristics and it is a source of a wide variety of learning material that would be unavailable to learners in any other way. For instance, it can be used to: (1) demonstrate experiments or experimental situations; (2) explain principles involving movement over space and/or time;…

This report on technology in education has been prepared, primarily for TVOntario staff, to highlight new and growing educational applications and to summarize recent evaluations of earlier application efforts. The descriptions of trends and developments are classified by media format. Representative applications of the media include: (1)…

In December 1990, in an effort to identify the telecommunications and electronic technologies that will be used in the 1990s for distance learning programs at postsecondary institutions, questionnaires were sent to the chief executive officers of all two-year institutions nationwide, and to a random sample of 750 four-year baccalaureat…

This study describes the various roles major interactive media can play in classroom education, including advantages, disadvantages, and evaluation of efficacy drawn from research. Selected authoring programs are reviewed, as are criteria for selecting authoring programs for use by teachers. The physical and instructional features of optical…

An update of an earlier publication, "Software for Substance Abuse Education," this guide provides critical reviews of available technology products designed to instruct students, teachers, or parents about alcohol and other drugs. The products included are computer software, interactive videodiscs (level III), non-interactive videodiscs…

This document reports the results of an examination of the external and internal environments of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the most promising technological tools and methods to create the training system capabilities the IRS will need in the future. Following an executive summary, chapter 1 describes how the document was developed.…