The amount, range, and quality of information available to students and other academic users have increased enormously in recent years. Consequently, it is possible for individuals to either suffer from information overload or to get lost in cyberspace while trying to locate relevant information. This paper looks at the relevance of cognitive…

This descriptive study investigates the uses of SMART Board, an interactive electronic whiteboard, in secondary school foreign language classes. The paper first discusses how SMART Board can facilitate the teaching process. SMART Board supports the foreign language teaching process in three main ways: it helps the presentation of new linguistic…

Examines four software packages: (1) "Wordbench"--writing and word processing, grades 9-12 (IBM and Apple); (2) "Muppet Slate"--language arts, grades K-2 (Apple); (3) "Accu-Weather Forecaster"--weather analysis and forecasting, grades 3-12 (modem with IBM or Mac); and (4) "The Ripple That Changed American…

Describes the development and advantages of LEGUME ID, a multimedia module for agricultural education. LEGUME ID is an example of how teachers, given the opportunity through accessible computer software programs, can create powerful teaching tools. Summarized is a student response to the use of this teacher-produced software program. (MCO)

Describes the HyperCard Library Instruction Project (CLIP) and the research upon which it is based. Findings of research of HyperCard instruction with secondary students and a description of ways to use HyperCard instruction are presented. A sidebar article describes the California-based CLIP program and the HyperCard modules the organization is…

Describes study that investigated teachers' criteria for the use of courseware packages in Dutch junior high school physics classes. The development of a courseware evaluation instrument is described; drill and practice, simulation, and tutorial courseware packages are evaluated; motivating elements are considered; and implications for the design…

Describes the development, implementation, and assessment of an interactive multimedia instruction (IMI) program that used interactive videodisc to teach listening skills. Results of an experimental study with college students at Radford University (Virginia) that tested the effectiveness of the IMI program are discussed, and future applications…

Conducts a scenario-based usability test with 10 data analysts using visual querying (visually analyzing data with interactive graphics). Details a range of difficulties found in visual selection that, at times, gave rise to inaccurate selections, invalid conclusions, and misguided decisions. Argues that support for visual selection must be built…

Libraries subscribe to thousands of electronic journals and they are difficult for end-users to find. Journal and publisher interfaces and functionalities differ considerably. The recent development in e-media calls for central management of the resources. Lund University Libraries' Head Office has developed a service for presentation and…

Introduction: Specialised subject gateways have become an essential tool for locating and accessing digital information resources, with the added value of organisation and previous evaluation catering for the needs of the varying communities using these. Within the framework of a research project on the subject, a software tool has been developed…

The notion of problem-based physics laboratories enhanced by computer technology has been coined "studio physics" (Wilson, 1994) and has been practised at various institutions for some time (Cummings, Marx, Thornton, & Kuhl, 1999; Williams, MacLatchy, Backman, & Retson, 1997). In recent years, new technology tools have been available to supplement…

This article traces the historical development of the boundaries around computer software and hardware. On one hand, the author documents ongoing discussions about the technical equivalence of hardware and software. On the other hand, he accounts for the stubborn persistence of these terms as markers for two distinct spheres of technology,…

Many credentialing agencies today are either administering their examinations by computer or are likely to be doing so in the coming years. Unfortunately, although several promising computer-based test designs are available, little is known about how well they function in examination settings. The goal of this study was to compare fixed-length…

Digital games have typically been considered a male leisure activity; however, recent statistics indicate that increasing numbers of females are now playing games. The purpose of this review is to investigate how the influx of girl gamers and the emergence of female-oriented game design can inform instructional design for the construction of…

Spelling and grammar checkers help to make surface errors more apparent; do they influence the way in which people revise the content of their writing? We investigated whether the presence of checkers distracts students from making content revisions. Twenty-five freshmen, 20 English majors and 20 graduate students revised two essays on a computer,…