Using Luhmann's communication theory and affordance theories, we develop a framework to examine how kindergarten-grade 2 students interact with tablet computers. We assessed whether cognitive ability and device configuration influence how successfully children use tablet computers. We found that children's limited ability to direct their cognitive…

A fundamental problem for many struggling readers, their parents, and their teachers is that there are few benchmarks to guide decision making about assistive technological supports when the nature of a disability is cognitive (e.g., specific learning disability, SLD) rather than physical. However, resources such as the National Center on…

Elena has a psychiatric disability: bipolar (manic/depressive) disorder. Daniele suffers from depression. Both are serious cognitive disorders that have significant effects on learning, especially learning online. One of the problems students with psychiatric disabilities encounter is finding support in online environments, especially when 10, 50,…

Governments and other stakeholders have become increasingly interested in assessing the skills of their adult populations for the purposes of monitoring how well prepared they are for the challenges of the new information world. The current paper provides an overview of the conceptual framework developed for the assessment of problem solving in…

This concluding paper summarizes the main points and recommendations of the previous papers in this Special issue within a conceptual framework of cognitive load theory. Design of efficient interactive learning environments should take into account main features and limitations of our cognitive architecture. The paper provides a brief overview of…

This article presents a framework for the cognitive diagnosis of learners' errors in an interactive learning activity occurring in an intelligent learning environment. The proposed framework supports the implementation of an authoring tool. This tool helps instructional designers to specify the features of a component for cognitive diagnosis. Two…

Two computer programs were developed to enhance community college students' critical thinking skills in the areas of "Comparison and Contrast" and "Analysis." Instructors have several options in using the programs. With access to an LCD panel and an overhead projector, instructors can use the programs in the classroom, manipulating the computer…

This article reports on two academic courses related to visual literacy: Videology and the Internet. The two projects are examples of how young learners can be educated and prepared for a visual world via courses in visual literacy. The article provides an overview of the impact of television on American society, describes each project, discusses…