Discussion of Web-based distance education focuses on communication issues. Highlights include Internet communications; components of a Web site, including site architecture, user interface, information delivery method, and mode of feedback; elements of Web design, including conceptual design, sensory design, and reactive design; and a Web…

Discussion of information architecture focuses on a model of information interaction that bridges the gap between human and computer and between information behavior and information retrieval. Illustrates how the process of information interaction is affected by the user, the system, and the content. (Contains 93 references.) (LRW)

Examines the relationship between the graphical user interface (GUI) and the cognitive demands placed on the learner in eLearning (electronic learning) environments. Describes ways educators can design appropriate interfaces to facilitate meaningful interactions with educational content; and examines learner engagement and engagement theory using…

Describes an experiment demonstrating Lenz's law by measuring a magnet falling through a copper tube compared to a nonmagnet falling. Presents diagrams and pictures showing the apparatus. (YP)

Describes the use of magnetic field probes interfaced to a microcomputer in measuring the magnetic field in and around a solenoidal "Slinky" spring toy carrying a current of a few amps. (JRH)

Discusses a dimensional scale for the evaluation of the multimedia user interface. Reports on a study of the use of the scale by novice graduate students at the University of Houston Clear Lake. Discusses hypermedia as a subset of multimedia, and investigates dependent measures including navigation. (LRW)

Describes a simple, inexpensive system that allows students to have hands-on contact with simple experiments involving forces generated by induced currents. Discusses the use of a dynamic force sensor in making quantitative measurements of the forces generated. (JRH)

Presents a simple but effective experiment that uses ultrasonic transducers and some basic electronics to study the speed of sound using the Doppler effect. Eliminates the noise problems associated with most sound experiments. Discusses the theory, and describes the apparatus and procedure. (JRH)

Describes CGI (Common Gateway Interface) scripts that are available on the Web and explains how librarians can use them to make Web pages more interactive. Topics include CGI security; Perl scripts; UNIX; and HTML. (LRW)

When providing access to digital images, there are three elements to consider: structure, location, and appearance. These considerations are illustrated with two examples--a book and a photograph collection. Each of the elements is then described in detail. (AEF)

Explains how standardizing computer system hardware and software throughout the school campus can increase efficiency; reduce costs and acquisition lead time; and make training, technical support, and hardware replacement and repair easier. Questions to ask when choosing among different hardware and software systems are highlighted. (GR)

Presents a group of semiotic principles for software design and uses them to show how they explain different educational possibilities. Discusses interface design and describes Theater in the Computer, a software environment for children, to illustrate semiotic-based principle of interface design. (Author/LRW)

A study examined students' thinking processes when using database applications to solve an ill-structured business problem and compared six students using command language with six using menu selection computer interfaces. Students used a subgoal analysis method for problem solving. Command language group was more likely to skip relevant factors…

Computer tracking data were used to determine the relationship between effectiveness and efficiency of 94 students using a database program for instructional tasks. Performance was enhanced by review of rules and presentation forms; additional practice opportunities also benefitted performance. (Copntains 19 references.) (JOW)

Examines metaphor's limitations as a visual-rhetorical framework for designing, evaluating, and critiquing user interfaces. Outlines an alternate framework for visual rhetoric, that of genre ecologies, and discusses how it avoids some of the limitations of metaphor. Uses an empirical study of computer users to illustrate the genre-ecology…