Synthesizes information that is available on software evaluation and provides a software evaluation checklist to help educators examine software based on linguistic and pedagogical criteria. The checklist allows educators to compare and contrast software products, enabling them to select software that is best suited to their classrooms.…

Presents a study undertaken to determine what types of visuals are being used for presentations in different business organizations. Discusses findings in terms of: description of respondents; creating and using visual aids for presentations; presentation software used; using special software features; and presenting the visual aids. Includes…

Discusses online help systems in application software design and describes two experiments in which adult computer novices learned to use experimental graphics software by task-based exploration. Topics include operative help; function-oriented help; effects on learning performance; schemata; mental models; and implications for the design of…

Outlines the generic features of enterprise information portal applications, or corporate portals, which provide users with access to internal and external information resources through a customizable Web browser interface. Examines approaches being taken by vendors, many of whom are adapting software developed for document management and…

As Internet use becomes integral to the life of institutions, awareness of what it takes to make Web sites accessible to each and every user is crucial. Successful Web sites are easy to access and navigate, including software designed to help people with disabilities. This article presents guidelines for building sites that are truly accessible.…

Examines current state of children's software evaluation practice. Predicts future educational software evaluation in light of the dynamic nature of educational and "edutainment" software. Discusses key issue such as the best way to evaluate the appropriateness of software for children at each age group and the most efficient means of making this…

Reviews problems with educational software and presents a framework for educational software design, focusing on topic selection, knowledge presentation (simplicity, presentation, program control, structure versus exploration, navigation), knowledge construction (multiple choice, tasks, case studies) and evaluation. (PEN)

Schools are currently receiving increased funds for multimedia software for classrooms. There is a need for good software in the schools, and there is a need to know how to evaluate software and not naively rely on advertisements. Evaluators of multimedia software for education must have the skills to critically evaluate and make decisions not…

Seventy-seven children between the ages of 6 and 10 years, with severe mixed receptive-expressive specific language impairment (SLI), participated in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of Fast ForWord (FFW; Scientific Learning Corporation, 1997, 2001). FFW is a computer-based intervention for treating SLI using acoustically enhanced speech…

Students enrolled in a single-subject design course studied the repeated acquisition of response sequences by using CHAINS, a QuickBASIC 4.5 program, which runs in DOS or Windows. For about 2 months, students examined the learning of such sequences as a function of various treatments. Each week students graphed their data, discussed their…

This report compares two integrated course delivery packages: "Centra 6" and "WebEx". Both applications feature asynchronous and synchronous audio communications for online education and training. They are relatively costly products, and provide useful comparisons with the two less expensive products to be evaluated in the following report #53.…

Most successes in intelligent tutoring systems have come in well-defined domains like algebra or physics. We investigate how to support students in acquiring ill-defined skills of intercultural competence using an online environment that employs clips of feature films from a target culture. To test the effectiveness of a set of attention-focusing…

Learning optical mineralogy requires students to integrate a complex theory with microscope manipulations and image interpretation. To assist student learning, we performed lecture demonstrations during which digital photomicrographs were taken and delivered to students using Tablet PCs, whereupon they were imported into note-taking software and…

Software is a critical component of systems ranging from simple consumer appliances to complex health, nuclear, and flight control systems. The development of quality, reliable, and effective software solutions requires the incorporation of effective software engineering processes and leadership. Processes, approaches, and methodologies for…

Online education is a modality of teaching that has proliferated throughout higher education in such a rapid form and without any guidelines that its quality and merit is largely unknown, hotly debated, and still evolving. Institutions have used online education as a method of reducing costs and increasing enrollments and students have flocked to…