Celebrating the Illinois Reading Council's 25th anniversary year, this 2-part monograph presents 11 papers on diverse aspects of reading and literacy. Papers in the first part, called "Historical Reflections and Challenges," are: "The Illinois Reading Council Celebrates 25 Years" (John W. Logan); "The 'Illinois Reading…

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…

Unauthorized copying and use of computer software, currently protected by the Copyright Act of 1976 (U.S.C. 117), is believed to occur in public schools and on university and college campuses by administrators, teachers, and students. The study described in this paper was undertaken to ascertain the nature, scope, and extent of unauthorized…

The 4MAT system of instructional change is described. The 4MAT system is an eight-step cycle of instruction that capitalizes on individual learning styles and brain-dominance processing preference. Four major learning styles are recognized: (1) imaginative; (2) analytic; (3) common sense; and (4) dynamic. Because in each style there are people…

This study surveyed 29 high schools concerning Japanese language instruction (JLI). A questionnaire focused on five aspects of JLI, including type of textbooks and supplementary teaching materials used; teaching approaches and goals and student achievement; class formation; and ideas for future JLI. Data from 17 high school Japanese language…

In August 1992, the Eastern Iowa Community College District convened a 2-day Developing a Curriculum (DACUM) workshop involving a panel of six computer programmer/analysts (CP/A's) in the identification of specific competencies and tasks expected of CP/A's. To validate the entry-level skills identified, a survey was conducted of 96 businesses…

Interest in Total Quality Management (TQM) at institutions of higher education has been stressed in recent years as an important area of activity for institutional researchers. Two previous AIR Forum papers have presented some of the statistical and graphical methods used for TQM. This paper, the third in the series, first discusses some of the…

The Rural Information Center (RIC), a project of two agencies of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, has served rural information needs since 1988. The targeted audience for the RIC is local officials and citizens, rather than scientists and federal officials, and the thrust of its information is rural development rather than production…

The seven presentations in this collection explore the directions technology is taking, its importance to teaching and learning, and the role of two-year college trustees in realizing technology's contribution to student success. First, Norman Locksley provides a "Welcome and Overview." Next, "Technology Today: Direction for 2001," by Bob Vogt,…

Expanding on its original purpose in developing an electronic community of humanities teachers and students in South Carolina from an existing agricultural telecommunications system, Project REACH received authorization from its sponsor, the BellSouth Foundation, to develop a statewide network for educational telecommunications and to provide…

The purpose of this study was to determine document origination methods used by business professionals, relationships of factors that influence selection of document origination methods, and implications for business curricula. A 3-part questionnaire was used to obtain data from 265 Masters in Business Administration (MBA) graduates (1967-1991)…

A new testing strategy that provides protection against the problem of having examinees in adaptive testing choose difficulty levels that are not matched to their proficiency levels was introduced and evaluated. The method, termed restricted self-adapted testing (RSAT), still provides examinees with a degree of control over the difficulty levels…

This study assessed whether providing examinees with a choice between computerized adaptive testing (CAT) and self-adaptive testing (SAT) affects test performance in comparison with being assigned a CAT or SAT, and evaluated variables influencing examinee choice of either test form. The relative influences of test type and test choice on examinee…

The print-based model of distance education through correspondence continues to be used, but is being supplemented and, in some cases, replaced, by other media. A second generation of distance education in the 1960s and 1970s was characterized by reliance on open broadcasting, supported by correspondence instruction and print materials. A third…

A library has the capacity to deliver much more than just its locally stored and owned resources. By using telecommunications, information can be sought from online databases and from other pupils in schools across the world. This paper includes: (1) an explanation of the link between "virtual reality" and the "virtual…