This field experiment begins to build a theoretical framework for exploring the effects of media characteristics on subjects' understanding and integration of information. Students in two eighth-grade science classes wrote term papers with one class using a print encyclopedia and the other an electronic encyclopedia to conduct their research. A…

Factors contributing to the uniqueness of educational software are analyzed from contextual and textual perspectives. Contextual (or external) technological, economic, and social factors are examined briefly, and are identified as the dominant factors in the future evolution of educational software. Feedback and interactiveness, two significant…

This paper presents research on the concept of idealized learning environments called Havens that facilitate learning, introduces the topic of technologically-created Havens, and discusses various components of Havens that can facilitate comprehension. Three experiments involving college students at Vanderbilt University are described. Designed to…