Techniques used by the Special Visual Assessment Clinic for the Handicapped at the University of California-Berkeley School of Optometry are designed to serve handicapped children and adults generally considered "difficult to assess." This article describes the clinic's assessment goals, clientele, and methods for assessing visual ability and…

This article reports the findings of a survey of 37 orientation and mobility specialists who serve preschool-age visually impaired children. It presents demographics of the children and the specialists involved in long cane instruction and identifies the factors related to the decision to begin this instruction. (Author/DB)

This article presents the University of New Hampshire's approach to ongoing training of computer users and argues that training is an investment with a large payoff. The article considers factors affecting training success; computer support; academic computing training; and administrative computing training, including developing a user services…

This paper argues for increased universitywide research planning, with emphasis on collective identification of priorities, open communication at all levels, careful allocation of resources, and long-range strategic planning. (DB)

Discusses design objectives for a project under development at Cornell University that will marry high-bandwidth networking to digital hypermedia databases to permit engineering students at distant sites on a single campus to work together concurrently and to improve the quality of engineering education. Pedagogical and technical concerns are also…

Describes the environmental activities of two PTA members, noting the responsibility and power of the PTA to join their environmental efforts. The article discusses the PTA's leadership role and provides a sample of ideas for ways children and PTAs can help save the environment. (SM)

This paper argues that behaviorism has utility in the design and implementation of early childhood special education services. It explores criticisms of behaviorism, describes critical features of the behavioral approach, and provides examples of the influence and application of the behavioral perspective in early childhood special education.…

This article provides research-based suggestions for developing educational options based on acceleration to meet the needs of gifted students in rural areas. Accelerative options offered by both the home school and universities in Iowa are described. (DB)

Describes the development of a project designed to build a positive role for peer observation in a language program, reports the reactions of the participants, and gives guidelines for the use of peer observation in a language program. (seven references) (GLR)

The experiences of a number of institutions using a variety of approaches show that distance education by television can be both instructionally effective and cost effective. Careful attention to five steps in course development (planning, preparation, rehearsal, presentation, and review) can help colleges save time and avoid pitfalls. (MSE)

Ethnic-studies programs, arising from a student and community grass-roots movement, challenge the prevailing academic power structure and the Eurocentric curricula of American colleges and universities. There is little uniformity or stability among 700 ethnic-specific programs and departments. The challenge is reconciling academic goals (knowledge…

Presents, in dialogue form, the differing viewpoints of two Maine middle-school teachers who developed individual methods and rationales for implementing portfolios in their subject disciplines. Whereas the English teacher has adopted a fairly inclusive, personalized format to evaluate students, the science teacher used portfolios to help students…

The Arts Director of the Model Secondary School for the Deaf at Gallaudet University offers guidelines for recruiting support for an arts program. The importance of demonstrating easily attainable initial goals and positive presentation is stressed. Guidelines include obtaining administrative support, using volunteers, finding creative funding,…

Suggestions for making the academic planning process at the higher education level more productive include being realistic about what can be accomplished; carefully reviewing past planning efforts; preparing others for change; structuring change over time; and tailoring the model to the circumstances of the changes to be made. Substantive…

New information technology is viewed as analogous to a railway network that serves many, in diverse areas, and leads users to new frontiers. It is suggested that higher education can contribute to this system by developing useful new applications, providing guidelines for appropriate "passenger" behavior, and enhancing quality. (MSE)