Describes how data displays can be classified into four types: conventional, perceptual, informational, and aesthetic. Argues that conflicts among the standards can be resolved by allowing the rhetorical situation to guide the design process. Explores a case in information design to show how the rhetorical situation shapes data displays, telling…

Discusses the importance of harnessing children's natural tendency to make maps. Argues for a geographic curriculum based on building a relationship between the structure of the local landscape and the shape of children's lives. Lists mapping activities that can be used with various age groups. (CCM)

Tests the hypothesis that pictographs can improve recall of spoken medical instructions. Junior college subjects (N=21) listened to two lists of actions, one of which was accompanied by pictographs during both listening and recall while the other was not. Mean correct recall was 85% with pictographs and 14% without, indicating that pictographs can…

Argues that instructors can help to alleviate students' fears regarding different multimedia techniques by taking time to give some basic file explanations. Discusses a few of the most common multimedia file types in Windows (graphic, audio, and video), as well as compressed files. Uses slide show software as a base because of its widespread use…

Describes a visual tutoring system for programming distributive-memory multiprocessor networks. Highlights include difficulties of parallel programming, and three instructional modes in the system, including a hypertext-like lecture, a question-answer mode, and an expert aid mode. (Author/LRW)

Career counselors use occupations information to help clients make informed vocational decisions. A literature review of career information reveals a significant lack of study of the visual content of career information materials. By taking account of visual images in career information resources, counselors can help clients explore imagined…

Observation of two students from nondominant cultures demonstrated the role of social and visual learning in the classroom as children watched each other for direction. The need for appropriate visual cues and for structure was apparent. (SK)

Presents instructional tips for science instructors whose class includes deaf students from different educational backgrounds. Discusses visual enhancement, writing and reading, speaking and class participation, and laboratory interactions. (JRH)

Uses Shneiderman's Object-Action Interface model along with the engineering design process as a framework for understanding software interface elements. Provides an educational framework from which instructional materials can be developed. (Author/CCM)

The purpose of this article is to awaken the reader to the possibilities which exist when working on Person-Centered Planning and the individual with intellectual disabilities, specifically, Down syndrome. Although Person-Centered Planning has been in existence for more than two decades, it is viewed in a new way through the experiences documented…

There are a number of issues that face individuals who would use learning objects for instructional purposes. These issues include problems with decontextualization, enabling meaningful reusability, and overcoming biases toward didactic approaches in the use of learning objects. We discuss these problems in some detail, and present a project-based…

The fields of mathematics, science, and engineering are replete with diagrams of many varieties. They range in nature from the Venn diagrams of symbolic logic to the Periodic Chart of the Elements; and from the fault trees of risk assessment to the flow charts used to describe laboratory procedures, industrial processes, and computer programs. All…

Meeting the diverse needs of Pamela Malkin's students forced her to really look at what she teaches and how she teaches it. While she was teaching her sixth-grade students to create a mask from clay, she found that many were having a hard time remembering all the steps of my demonstration. Since most of the process was taught through…

This study found that the provision of ergonomic workstations for 12 older persons with age-related macular degeneration who used low vision devices significantly increased the participants' reading speed and decreased their discomfort when reading.