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A qualitative study was conducted to determine the perceptions of preservice teachers on how computers will be used in schools in the future. Undergraduate students (n=40) were given a 60-minute multimedia presentation on how computer and multimedia technologies are used in schools, followed by group discussions on the ways in which computers will be used in schools in 10 years, and an assigned one-page essay addressing the topic. The study revealed that preservice teachers have high expectations for using computers in their classrooms, some of which are unrealistic for the next 10 years. Many students felt that assignments and materials will be accessed via electronic mail or the Internet (n=37); software will be personalized, self-paced, and written by students (n=32); virtual reality, CD-ROMs, and holograms will be commonplace (n=31); and computers will be voice-activated and have touch-screens (n=30). Other students felt the teacher will still be the center of the classroom and computers will be used for grades and attendance records (n=25); every student will have a computer (n=23); computers will replace books and floppy disks will replace paper (n=18); computers will control fire drills, demonstrations, and career exploration (n=13); computer equipment will not be expensive and computer access will be limited (n=1). Student perceptions and further research are discussed. (Contains 10 references.) (SWC)

The potential of holograms has been left virtually untapped in the field of education. A hologram can be described as a three-dimensional photographic record of the interference pattern of two superimposed beams of coherent light. Holography requires: (1) high-resolution film; (2) a laser, often a red-beamed helium neon laser; (3) optical components, including positive and negative lenses, mirrors which redirect light, beamsplitters which create the two superimposed beams, and the film plate holder; and (4) the isolation table, which stabilizes the other components and saves them from vibration. Setups vary according to whether the recording process involves a one-beam transmission or a two-beam transmission. Film processing is very similar to photography but requires pyrogallic acid, sodium carbonate, potassium dichromate, and concentrated sulfuric acid. After the film is developed, it is imperative that the film plate be correctly illuminated to produce a three-dimensional image. Holography has helped advance the arts through the production of popular commercial and fine art images and the study of visual design. It has also made a difference in how scientists and manufacturers gather information about changes in materials and products by allowing them to make extremely precise measurements not possible by any other means. Some museums can even offer three-dimensional replicas of priceless antiques too fragile for public display by using holograms. Holography has even moved into more commercial and educational areas like supermarket bar code scanners, computer data storage, X-rays, microscopy, television, and medicine. For example, medical students can have the opportunity to work on holographic organs before cutting into an actual body. Someday holographic television may implement artificial intelligence in education, by staging recreations of important events, for example. Holograms often depend on the aid of other technologies to accomplish their purpose, and scientists have had trouble increasing the hologram's size while still maintaining a quality image, but even so, the potential of this technology looks enormous. (Contains 17 references.) (BEW)

This paper presents an overview of three-dimensional media technologies (3Dmt). Many of the new 3Dmt are the direct result of interactions of computing, communications, and imaging technologies. Computer graphics are particularly well suited to the creation of 3D images due to the high resolution and programmable nature of the current displays. Computer animation in film making is one example. Research has been undertaken in both conventional television and video display technology and in specialized applications. Autostereoscopic or "glassless" 3D television applications are also being developed. Recent advances have been made in real-time computer generated holography; it demands a high level of involvement and interaction since the virtual information space exists in the mind of the viewer. Three dimensional film technology has been in use for over 100 years. Widespread public exposure to high-quality 3D films can be found in the Disney theme parks and at many other special venues and international expositions. As interactivity in communication media gained importance, virtual realities became the 3D environment of the user/audience through which they can perform their own acts of creative experience. Research at the 3Dmt Center in Montreal (Canada) has centered on a systemic approach to 3D media from a biocybernetic viewpoint, which concerns how the human sensory system responds to and processes information. A new generation of visually literate users is emerging as use of 3D media technologies becomes more widespread. Five figures present information on 3D technologies. (Contains 18 references.) (AEF)

This paper distinguishes several closely interrelated aesthetics terms, establishes criteria for and facets of the aesthetic experience, and examines aesthetic theories which have guided values systems for imagery of the past and present. These include: (1) mimetic theories of art as imitation; (2) instrumental theories of art as teacher; (3) expressive theories of art as feeling; and (4) formal theories of art as form or composition. What needs updating is the list of aesthetic qualities that must be apprehended in order to develop an educated stance toward new technologically-based forms of imagery. Notions of craftsmanship and personal creativity are changing. Children of the future will especially need to be literate with data and images that are in motion, like animation and holography. They should probably begin, however, with the production of art, and then move to aesthetics as philosophic inquiry, or critical reflection and analysis of exemplars. Some basic competencies are listed from the "aesthetic valuing" section of an elementary art curriculum. (Contains 18 references.) (BEW)

This document contains 47 selected papers from the 1995 International Visual Literacy Association (IVLA) conference. Topics include: the cultural significance of tombstone iconography; the predicted impact of multimedia on education and entertainment; the effects of digital imaging on the art of photography; visual representation of the structure of the Internet; the semiotics of World Wide Web homepage icons; anthropomorphizing the user interface; graphic organizers for teaching literacy strategies to at-risk students; visual aids in food safety education; visually translating educational materials for ethnic populations; visual representations of student assessment; the impact of cover art in young adult books; effects of computer visual appeal on motivation in learning; design issues in instructional virtual environments; the aesthetic-emotional response to media at odds with principles of critical viewing; impact of cognitive aspects of human-computer interaction on application design; visual aids and elementary creative writing; women in cyberspace; educational holograms; image maps on the World Wide Web; lessons learned in the development of an interactive multimedia CD-ROM; adaptation of a visual readability instrument to multimedia materials; instruction with digital photography; and electronic performance support systems; what teachers should know to teach students to author hypermedia; formative evaluation and World Wide Web hypermedia; computer animation in the English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learning environments; and using visuals to develop a reading vocabulary. (BEW)

Holograms are capable of taking the two-dimensional ways of envisioning information to another dimension of presentation, representation, and conceptualization. Educational holography is joining display holography, holographic testing of materials, and holographic optical elements as a fourth major field in holography. Holograms are explored as educational tools to explain information visually to everyone. Holograms, based on a unique way of precisely recording light interactions as wavefront interference patterns, are not limited to recording images from original objects, but may be used to synthesize views of anything that can be represented graphically. Embossed holograms have been the most widely seen mass-produced holograms, as the "National Geographic" covers have demonstrated. Making holograms of this type and other varieties is reviewed. Holography can be put to the service of visual literacy, and can dramatically change the ways in which people communicate by graphic information. Educational holography will not solve all problems for visual literacy, but it can suggest where problems exist and point out connections to other disciplines. (Contains 6 references.) (SLD)