Our case study is a response to the need for research and reporting on specific strategies employed by software designers to produce effective multimedia instructional solutions. A systemic approach for identifying appropriate software features and conducting a formative evaluation that evaluates both the overall effectiveness of the multimedia…

This article examines the effectiveness of a software that supports formative assessment in real-time of learners' vocabulary knowledge through an interactive highlighting method. Students in a classroom are given a passage on their computer screen and asked to highlight the words they do not understand. This information is summarized on the…

The paper proposes a contingent, learner-centred usability evaluation method and a prototype tool of such systems. This is a new usability evaluation method for web-based learning systems using a set of empirically-supported usability factors and can be done effectively with limited resources. During the evaluation process, the method allows for…

Cognitive scientists investigate mental models (how humans organize and structure knowledge in their minds) so as to understand human understanding of and interactions with the world. Cognitive and mental model research is concerned with internal conceptual systems that are not easily or directly observable. The goal of this research was to…

This study examines the effects of interactive and learning structures enabled by different Learning Management Systems (LMS) on satisfaction and learner engagement in online courses. An LMS can support or hinder active engagement, meaningful connections between segments of the course, easy communication, and formative feedback by making it easier…

This paper examines factors that influence the post-adoption satisfaction of educators with e-learning systems. Based on the expectation-confirmation framework, we propose a research model that demonstrates how post-adoption beliefs affect post-adoption satisfaction. The model was tested at a university by educators (n = 175) who use an e-learning…

The design and development research, first proposed by Brown and Collins in the 1990s, is currently among the well-known methods in educational research to test theory and validate its practicality. The method is also known as developmental research, design research, design-based research, formative research and design-cased and possesses…

The paper analyzes three major problems encountered by our team as we endeavored to turn problem solving examples in the domain of programming into highly reusable educational activities, which could be included as first class objects in various educational digital libraries. It also suggests three specific approaches to resolving these problems,…

Although the term data-driven decision making (DDDM) is relatively new (Moss, 2007), the underlying concept of DDDM is not. For example, the practices of formative assessment and computer-managed instruction have historically involved the use of student performance data to guide what happens next in the instructional sequence (Morrison, Kemp, &…

Web-based courses and programs have increasingly been developed by many academic institutions, organizations, and companies worldwide due to their benefits for both learners and educators. However, many of the developmental approaches lack two important considerations needed for implementing Web-based learning applications: (1) integration of the…

This usability study evaluated users' perceptions of a multimedia prototype for a new e-learning tool: Anatomy of the Central Nervous System: A Multimedia Course. Usability testing is a collection of formative evaluation methods that inform the developmental design of e-learning tools to maximize user acceptance, satisfaction, and adoption.…

This paper examines the impact the use of the Java programming language has had on the way our students learn to program and the success they achieve. The importance of a properly constructed first course in programming cannot be overstated. A course well experienced will leave students with good programming habits, the ability to learn on their…

This paper reviews a series of formative assessment studies that were conducted to inform and evaluate a large-scale instructional software development project at the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR). The three-year project, entitled "Taking the Next Step in Engineering Education: Integrating Educational Software and Active Learning,"…

Electronic portfolios are becoming more prevalent on colleges and universities and can be a valuable tool in assessment efforts on campus.