Reports on a survey that revealed that few U.S. libraries (46 of 485 responding institutions) offer self-guided English-only or multilingual audiotape tours for user orientation. Barriers to their implementation included lack of funding and the prospect of frequent revision. Issues of technological advancement, appropriateness, and maintenance are…

Proposes a framework for designers and teachers to research better design methodologies for distance education and to choose the most appropriate technologies and design better instructional tasks. Presents a scenario in which inherent characteristics of technologies are merged with task characteristics to create positive and powerful educational…

Describes the nature of technology. Summarizes the claims of the anti-technologists, such as Marcuse and Ellul, and the moderate pro-technologists, such as Ferkiss, Mesthene, Brooks and Bowers, National Academy of Engineering, Norman, and Weizenbaum. Provides 79 references. (YP)

Discusses how the lack of information infrastructures supporting scientific and technical research hampers attempts to transfer certain information technologies, such as online database searching, to developing nations. It is argued that laserdisk information storage technologies, such as CD-ROM, conform more closely to the prevailing conditions…

Discusses the role of librarians as information intermediaries and suggests that this role be emphasized instead of encouraging enduser searching that relegates librarians to the role of advisor or consultant. Highlights include librarians' roles in public education; reference services; academic librarians; and the appropriate use of technology.…

Discusses the impact of electronic information on the role of librarians. Highlights include the future of print materials; redefining librarians as publishers, information network experts, or information engineers; a focus on information as opposed to library materials; matching information with the appropriate format; users' use of new…

Examines the role of educational technology from a constructivist perspective. Discusses the subset of computer-based technologies, especially the Internet, that are changing the way interactivity is defined, and examines how these technologies interface with constructivist approaches to pedagogy. Explores the place of constructivism as a…

A study investigated the effects of integrating assistive technology into the homes of 13 children with learning disabilities (ages 9-16). All placements were judged to have had positive effects on children and/or their families. Eight placements were judged successful in all three categories of technology performance and child and family…

Discusses hybrid libraries in higher education based on the influence of eLib (Electronic Libraries Programme) in the United Kingdom and on interviews with staff involved in hybrid libraries. Topics include cultural shift; considerations about libraries of the future, including use of electronic resources and costs; and a proposed model of a…

Discusses the experiential learning and arts-based approach of the Lab School of Washington, DC, and describes projects that use technology as a valuable tool in teaching students with learning disabilities. Teaching approaches using the computer and specific software are matched with characteristics of learning disabilities and…

Describes the Task-Technology Fit model that provided the conceptual basis for the assessment of the impacts on the end-users of the Integrated Information Center (IIC) at the University of Minnesota. A chart of the Technology-to-Performance Chain is included. (JAK)

Describes an ethnographic study of a selected group of faculty end-users; the purpose of this qualitative assessment was to triangulate on several phenomena under investigation to better understand the impacts of the Integrated Information Center (IIC) at the University of Minnesota on end-user work behaviors. (Author/JAK)

Reviews three learning models (objectivist, collaborative, and constructivist) and information technologies that can be used to support the effective application of these learning models in construction engineering education. The effectiveness of an information technology is analyzed through the appropriateness of the technology in supporting a…

Discusses problems in teaching science and technology from a societal perspective if not handled with prudence. The misapplication of scientific and technological knowledge in Nazi Germany in World War II is explored in particular. Suggests that an issue-oriented education is needed to help students gain an overall understanding of scientific…

Discusses virtual universities and virtual classrooms, exploring both the benefits and the disadvantages of technology-based delivery systems. Highlights include competitive pressures to use technology; impacts on students; the need for flexibility to meet unique student needs and learning styles; learning environments; impact on society; and…