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By referring to existing prototypes and systems, in this paper the advantages and disadvantages of computer and multimedia technologies in the development of reference works such as dictionaries and encyclopaedias are discussed. Some positive aspects of multimedia reference works are the possibility of accessing the same entry through a number of keys and research mechanisms, the possibility of ‘navigating’ through the semantic structure of the work itself, and even crossing the borders between different underlying structures. Some systems permit users to select the type of information they desire regarding a certain entry. This characteristic is particularly valuable in educational systems since it relieves users of the not so trivial task of autonomously extracting the information they need from a text which, because of the need for both conciseness and thoroughness, can be cryptic. In addition, some of these systems not only include texts and illustrations but also audiovisual material, tutorials, and ...

This paper describes a research project aimed at investigating the formative value (if any) of logic programming with high school students. Previous experience at the Istituto Tecnologie Didattiche (ITD), both in the specific field of teaching logic programming and in the more general one of teaching information science, formed the idea of developing TESEO. This is a software environment which makes it easier for the student to practise those aspects of logic programming (such as knowledge representation and deduction methods) which we consider are more likely to be formative, while hiding other aspects of the Prolog language which may be considered more technical. TESEO's features are described together with some examples of possible exercises.