Whereas Natural User Interface technological devices, such as tablets, are bringing physical interaction back into mathematics learning activities, existing educational theory is not geared to inform or interpret such learning. In particular, educational researchers investigating instructional interactions still need intellectual and…

This research applies Socio-Cultural theory and Distributed Cognition/Activity theory to conceptualize the design of collaborative learning activities in large shared digital spaces. The paper begins by providing a summary of previous work in the creation of a technology platform for large shared digital spaces. It then details how Socio-Cultural…

A museum can talk to its audience through a variety of channels, such as Web sites, help desks, human guides, brochures. A considerable effort is being made by museums to integrate these different means. The Web site can be designed to be reachable or even updateable from visitors inside the museum via touchscreen and wireless devices. But these…

Hypermedia and object oriented programming systems (OOPs) represent examples of "open" computer environments that allow the user access to parts of the code or operating system. Both systems share fundamental intellectual concepts (objects, messages, methods, classes, and inheritance), so that an understanding of hypermedia can help in…

A research project identified and prototyped critical elements of an automated development system for interactive courseware (ICW) for job training. The prototype system incorporated a multimedia database that contained all completed, planned, and partially completed media elements. A web-based approach was taken to overcome the problems of…

Sounds are the result of one or several interactions between one or several objects at a certain place and in a certain environment; the attributes of every interaction influence the generated sound. The following factors influence users in human/computer interaction: the organization of the learning environment, the content of the learning tasks,…

This document presents a theoretical approach and a methodology for analyzing data from students interacting with and learning from hypermedia systems. Interactions are mutually influenced by individual students' goals and strategies and the actions supported by the interface of the learning environment. The approach is illustrated by modelling…

This paper reports on the design strategies and technical solutions that the authors have adopted to increase interaction in a World Wide Web-Based Instruction (WBI) system aimed at supporting new didactic approaches to the subjects of urban planning and architecture through the activation of online modules at the university level. Specifically,…

This paper presents a specific bottom-up implementation method for getting started with multimedia for instructional support at the personal level. Some minimal top-down design considerations for an institutional multimedia system include: (1) the instructor should be able to take work from/to the desktop to/from the classroom; (2) the capability…

Information systems (IS) professionals are called on to produce increasingly sophisticated user interfaces as a part of software development. Although IS education includes coverage of user interface (UI) development, classroom presentation of this topic frequently is cursory and does not provide any particular methodology for the task. In this…

Digital libraries are moving from research and development into commercial use. If they are to realize their full potential, however, the experiences of end users need to be taken into account from the earliest stages of design. Those end users are typically individuals who have no particular skills in information retrieval, and are accessing…

This paper describes the design of a synchronous World Wide Web-based distance education environment developed at the Telematics Laboratory of Computer Engineer and Informatics Department (CEID) and Computer Technology Institute (Greece); the environment uses telematics services to conduct lessons over computer networks, simulating a traditional…

Electronics Engineering Technology majors in the Industrial and Engineering Technology department at Central Michigan University have developed many real-world projects that represent the type of problem-solving projects encouraged by industry. Two projects that can be used by other educators as freestanding projects or as the core for further…

The goal of this study is to show how some concepts and techniques from disciplines outside Instructional Systems Development (ISD) have the potential to extend and enhance the traditional view of ISD practice when they are employed very early in the ISD process. The concepts and techniques employed were user-centered in design and usability, and…

This paper focuses on issues of representation and interaction styles that are relevant considerations in the design and analysis of hypermedia learning environments. Analysis is supported by examples from the "HUGH" series of studies involving learners in reasoning about formal hypermedia representations. The representational issues include…