Static, animated, and interactive visualizations are frequently used in electronic learning environments. In this article, we provide a brief review of research on visuospatial cognition relevant to designing e-learning tools that use these displays. In the first section, we discuss the possible cognitive benefits of visualizations consider used…

Investigates the related characteristics of asynchronous learning material used for distance education and Web-based instruction and proposes a material characteristics model. Discusses the relationship among the degree of difficulty of the material, student characteristics, and student abilities; social factors; suitability of teaching materials…

Describes the development of a computer-based learning courseware that presented associative learning between abstract and concrete domains and discusses results of a study of college students that determined whether various audio-visual combinations and differences in IQ levels influenced learning and long-term retention using the courseware.…

Describes a study of Australian secondary school students that identified the conditions and individual characteristics that would best support learners' acceptance of control within hypermedia, based on evidence from the learner control literature. Investigated effects of prior domain knowledge, learning activity structure, ability, and attitudes…

Describes and evaluates Metacognition in Studying from Texts (MIST), a system that helps students develop metacognitive skills by providing a process-based interface and support for collaboration and reflection. A study of 20 ninth graders determined that high ability students used the interface and intervention productively, but that low ability…

Describes the design of the Computer-Supported Intentional Learning Environment (CSILE), a database that allows the storage and retrieval of information in several media, e.g., text and drawings. Research on cognitive abilities and learning strategies is reviewed, learner control is discussed, and the implementation of CSILE in grades five and six…

In this review of the research on how current computer learning environments can foster the acquisition of complex cognitive skills, two issues emerge: (1) what cognitive accomplishments are likely in the computer environment; and (2) what factors predispose students to benefit from the environment. (MBR)