Addresses usability issues pertaining to the purpose of educational software, followed by suggestions for ways in which educational software can meet the language, physical, social, and cognitive needs of children. Guidelines and recommendations are provided for adapting usability engineering and testing procedures to educational software to…

The purpose of this mixed methods follow-up single case study was two-fold: to determine if a school district was able to sustain a professional learning community (PLC) and to identify factors that enhanced, inhibited, or promoted the sustainability of a PLC from a district-wide perspective, with particular focus on how a change in leadership,…

This exploratory study describes a framework for data-driven learning (DDL), in General (non-major) English university classes, in which learners "construct" linguistic corpora instead of merely "consulting" them. Prior related work has addressed the needs of language specialists, in particular trainee translators who are…

Game-based learning has been a popular development and recommended as an effective pedagogy in educating new generations of learners. Few studies, however, have demonstrated the efficacy of game-based learning on learners' academic performance with empirical data. The described learning outcomes of game-based pedagogy within the limited available…

The paper presents the facilities offered by the open learner model maintained in the web-based, adaptive, activity-oriented learning environment SCALE (Supporting Collaboration and Adaptation in a Learning Environment), in order to guide online students who become disengaged and support their reengagement. The open learner model (OLM_SCALE)…

This bulletin summarizes the chief quantitative findings of a survey of 264 small and medium sized colleges and universities in the midwest concerning their use of and interest in academic scheduling software. This type of software assists in planning course offerings, assigning instructors and course functions to facilities and time slots, and…

This booklet provides basic information about computers, assistive devices for computers, and computer software for young children with disabilities. Guidelines for assessing the child's readiness for computers are provided, as are tips on planning computer-related goals and incorporating computer use into the Individual Family Service Plan and…

This final report contains a detailed description of six software systems designed to assist individuals with blindness and/or speech disorders in using inexpensive, off-the-shelf computers rather than expensive custom-made devices. The developed software is not written in the native machine language of any particular brand of computer, but in the…

This digest describes the "Counseling Software Guide" (Walz and Bleuer, 1989). It summarizes the contents of the guide: (1) general information about the use of computers in counseling; (2) practical guidelines on what to look for in software; (3) an overview of trends and developments in availability and use of software; (4) an overview…

Describes the Great American History Machine (GAHM) software, stating that it is a powerful tool for interactively accessing and exploring county-level census and election data. Outlines a course at Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh) in which GAHM was used and concludes that the software enables students to approach historical problems…

Evaluates several voice synthesis programs for emergent readers which can be used to help make the transition from listening and speaking to reading and writing. (MM)

Explains how microcomputer-based test generation systems work and how to select and use such a system. Discusses several available programs, recommending the Harpertest and Micro-Pac systems for ease of use and versatility. Describes the benefits and limitations of microcomputer test generation systems. (GEA)

Discusses the special needs of foreign language word processing and features that should be considered before investing in word processing equipment. Gutenburg, Jr., a word processing program, is critically reviewed. (LMO)

Describes the categories of available information management software, and provides guidelines for needs assessment, software selection, testing, and evaluation. The annotated bibliography cites general discussions and program reviews for the following types of software: file management, general database management, bibliographic management,…

Presented are reviews of several microcomputer software programs. Included are reviews of: (1) Microstat (Zenith); (2) MathCAD (MathSoft); (3) Discrete Mathematics (True Basic); (4) CALCULUS (True Basic); (5) Linear-Kit (John Wiley); and (6) Geometry Sensei (Broderbund). (RH)