Reviews educational software award winners based on criteria that include quality of presentation and design, classroom usability, and support documentation. Subject categories include preschool/readiness, language arts, math, science, social studies/history, ESL (English as a Second Language), and reference. A directory of software publishers is…

Reviews a list of seven Web sites that provide extensive information on software available from educational agencies or companies specializing in media products. Recommends 15 social studies software programs covering a variety of topics including the Mayan civilization, Abraham Lincoln, and the Vietnam War. (MJP)

Describes two computer programs for chemistry: (1) "A Microcomputer Simulation of Fractal Electrodeposition" (provides for the study of fractal aggregrates, BASIC 4.0); and (2) "Counters on Grids" (a game to illustrate the distribution of energy). Notes the programs are available from the authors. (MVL)

Describes the range of products and services offered by VTLS, a company that offers comprehensive, integrated library automation software and customer support. VTLS's growth and development in the United States and abroad is described, and nine sidebar articles detail system features and applications in public, academic, and virtual libraries. (20…

Describes the effects of one computer program used in a nonmajors biology course to provide a model for implementing and validating the use of software programs that incorporate tutorials with laboratory simulations. (Contains 27 references.) (MDH)

Examines the decision-making process of purchasing CD-ROMs for libraries. Evaluation criteria include hardware requirements, ease of installation, adequacy of documentation, user friendliness of displays, ease of searching, frequency of updates, downloading and printing capabilities, technical support, and vendor reputation. Identifies sources and…

This article provides a report on NetMeeting as an appropriate fourth-generation tool for interactive language learning in distance mode. It follows on earlier research by Wang and Sun (2000, 2001) on the most urgent problem facing distance language education--lack of provision of oral-visual interaction and the emergence of a fourth-generation…

The identification and integration of reusable and customizable CSCL (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning) may benefit from the capture of best practices in collaborative learning structuring. The authors have proposed CLFPs (Collaborative Learning Flow Patterns) as a way of collecting these best practices. To facilitate the process of CLFPs…

This study investigated the effects of augmenting and deleting elaborations in an existing self-instructional text for a micro-computer database application, "Microsoft Works User's Manual." A total of 60 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to the original, elaborated, or unelaborated text versions. The elaborated version…

This book examines the "think aloud method," which asks people to think aloud while solving a problem so that the resulting protocol can then be analyzed to answer questions about problem solving behavior. The method is presented in detail in the book, along with examples. The book finds that the method is useful both for psychological…

This paper details a study of knowledge-building activities in the domain of computer software. Thirty-six adults--evenly split among beginning, intermediate, and advanced knowledge levels--were videotaped while they attempted to learn a common spreadsheet package. Subjects were asked to think aloud while learning. Each knowledge building activity…

The visual image is so information-rich that describing its content fully can be very problematic. Trying to codify or analyze the content in any systematic way often proves even more difficult. Nevertheless, reducing certain aspects of visual data to a set of numbers can be useful because it exposes characteristics of the message that might be…

This paper describes how electronic presentations are currently used by business people. Business people in the United States and Sweden were surveyed to determine how they are using the medium. A questionnaire was mailed to 506 business people in the United States (201 returned) and to 80 business people in Sweden (76 returned). Results are…

The purpose of this brochure, which was produced as a service to the academic community, is to provide a brief outline of what can and cannot be done legally with software, and to clarify the implications and restrictions of the U.S. Copyright Law. Relevant facts concerning copying software precede the EDUCOM statement of principle on intellectual…

This paper presents a detailed derivation of method of moments estimates used in computer programs for the four-parameter beta compound binomial strong true score model. A procedure is presented to deal with the case in which the usual method of moments estimates do not exist or result in invalid parameter estimates. The results presented…