Reviews home learning software award winners, divided into four categories according to age groups beginning at age 3 and ending with ages 12 and up. Prices and vendors' addresses are also included. (LRW)

Explores data transfer speeds obtained with various combinations of hardware and software components through a study of access to the Internet from a notebook computer connected to a local area network based on Ethernet and TCP/IP (transmission control protocol/Internet protocol) network protocols. Upgrading is recommended for higher transfer…

Discusses software design issues for Okapi, an information retrieval system that incorporates both search engine and user interface and supports weighted searching, relevance feedback, and query expansion. The basic search system, adjacency searching, and moving toward a distributed system are discussed. (Author/LRW)

Implementation of Florida Choices, a computer-assisted career guidance system, was evaluated through a survey of 17 high schools. Implementation enablers, barriers, and resource needs were consistent across school type and size. Staff training, collaboration, and adequate resources were key implementation issues. (SK)

States that, concerning declarative information in software manuals, most research methods are aimed at measuring specific information effects, hardly ever yielding data about what users elect/use if they have a choice. Describes a new approach which experiments with operationalization of the information types and three different user types. Show…

States that metaphors/analogies can be helpful when people have to learn to use something. Examines computer software manual material language. Finds that expressions suggesting that computers have an affective relationship to the user or communicate their intentions through human language appear to be perceived as anthropomorphistic and might…

The development of safety-critical systems (aircraft cockpits and reactor control rooms) is qualitatively different from that of other interactive systems. These differences impose burdens on design teams that must ensure the development of human-machine interfaces. Analyzes strengths and weaknesses of formal methods for the design of user…

For measurement of multiple traits, this paper proposes assembling tests based on the targets for the variance functions of the estimators of each of the traits. A linear programming model is presented to computerize the assembly process. An example of test assembly from a two-dimensional item pool is provided. (SLD)

Applies Lotka's Law to metadata on open source software development. Authoring patterns found in software development productivity are found to be comparable to prior studies of Lotka's Law for scientific and scholarly publishing, and offer promise in predicting aggregate behavior of open source developers. (Author/LRW)

Proposes a model called information genetics to elaborate on the origin of information generating. Explains conceptual and data models; and describes a software program that was developed for citation data mining, infomapping, and information repackaging for total quality knowledge management in Web representation. (Contains 112 references.)…

Explores social and biological causes of male literacy underachievement. Suggests strategies for improving male literacy skills. (PKP)

This report describes results of an initial investigation of the utility of a specially designed money management software program for improving management of personal checking accounts for individuals with mental retardation. Use with 19 adults with mental retardation indicated the software resulted in significant reduction in check writing and…

Proposes a model on which activities in children's educational software could be evaluated based on Multiple Intelligences theory. Proposes that, when evaluating the types of activity in children's educational software, one should ask whether it contains at least some of the activities in the model for each learning activity. (Author/SLD)

Describes a range of currently available and developing technologies for creating and presenting annotations, glosses, and other comments on digital documents. Discusses the potential applications of these tools for providing feedback to student writers, supporting extended group discussions around digital texts, and facilitating research and…

Describes efforts by principal of the Willow Elementary School in the Charter Oak Unified School District (California) to provide students with technology-enhanced access to information and learning resources to improve reading and mathematics skills. Includes list of the Web addresses for the skills software used at the school. (PKP)