EDUCATE: the design and development of a networked end-user education program

This paper presents the EDUCATE programs (End-user Courses in Information Access through Communication Technology) for the education of information users. The project is funded by the European Union and will run until January 1997. The aim is to produce a self-paced user education course in the selection and use of information sources and to provide a structured interface to relevant high quality resources.

EDUCATE programs have been designed as multi-media programs which can be used in many ways; for self instruction, as an instrument in formal courses and in distance learning, and as an access tool to information sources. It is based on the WWW with hyper links both within the program and globally. EDUCATE programs have so far been produced in two subject areas: Physics and Electrical and Electronic Engineering. This paper focuses on a description of the programs and on the formative evaluation recently carried out.