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This document contains abstracts of 29 research projects in progress in Great Britain divided into six sections: (1) the current phase of Information Technology in Education Research (InTER) programs on groupwork with computers, tools for exploratory learning, conceptual change in science, and bubble dialogue as an ethnographic research tool; (2) projects supported by other agencies on computer-aided learning in music, computer testing of musical ability, effects of gender and interaction in computer-based learning, computer models of reading and spelling, computer-supported collaborative learning in physics, a computer-based program for mathematics teachers, the gap between arithmetical and algebraic thinking, computers in the secondary school curriculum, and information technology and training; (3) Economic and Social Research Council Linked Research Students projects on a knowledge-based approach to question answering in online systems and the design of knowledge-based advisers for learning; (4) Training Agency projects on supporting technology across the curriculum, whole school development in information technology, computer-based modelling, information technology-based open learning, authoring environments for simulation, and the DISTIL survey; (5) Developing European Learning through Technological Advance (DELTA) projects on a knowledge-based authoring facility, European cooperation in technology-based education, and student model acquisition in a natural laboratory; and (6) updates of InTER projects on the design of the Writer's Assistant and characteristics of human search procedures. (MES)

This paper describes the new phase of the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) initiative in Information Technology in Education for the period 1988-93. The first sections of the paper discuss the rationale and framework of the program as a whole, followed by outlines of the initial programs of research started in autumn 1988 to investigate three issues--group work with computers, conceptual change in science, and tools for exploratory learning. Program evaluation, coordination, and management are then addressed. The paper continues with the longer term provisional agenda for future research, and describes a strategy and structure for basic research into the applications of information technology to learning and teaching. The appendixes provide a summary of the pilot phase of the program from 1985 to 1988, a list of seminars, and a list of occasional papers. (MES)

This report of a seminar on information technology (IT) and language development begins by presenting background on language skills and information technology in order to define the scope of the topic. The report then pulls together and elaborates on the output of the seminar. The first section discusses media-centered issues, including the design of new media and the exploitation of media. Learner-centered issues covered in the next section encompass cognitive questions, including applications of IT as a support environment for psycholinguistic development and as a domain for new linguistic cognitions; and social questions. The third section deals with institutional issues, including questions of language and curriculum policy and questions concerning classroom practice. The conclusion identifies topics for future research in several areas: (1) the interaction of linguistic theory, IT design, and applied pedagogical issues; (2) the role of IT in individual language development; (3) social aspects of IT use; (4) IT and curriculum policy; (5) classroom practice with IT; and (6) monitoring individual use. A list of seminar participants is included. (89 references) (MES)