Profitable creative ideas can emerge from within virtually any phase of the instructional design and development process. However, the design of user interactions is perhaps where learners can most directly experience the benefits of such ideas. In this article, the authors discuss principles of learner interaction as found in the instructional…

Many studies have been conducted on the topics of tools, computers, and technology designed to promote student learning. However, researchers have rarely raised the critical issue of the lack of consensus on conceptualizing "cognitive tools" or the possible challenges associated with previous definitions. By examining the limitations on research…

Learning is a social activity, which requires interactions with the environment, tools, people, and also ourselves (e.g., our previous experiences). Each interaction provides different meanings to learners, and the associated emotion affects their learning and performance. With the premise that emotion and cognition are distributed, the authors…

Computer and video games have recently attracted significant attention from educators as a medium for learning. Clark's (2007) critique of the "Serious Games" movement provides a set of useful guidelines for moving that particular industry forward. This article argues for another way of framing the emerging field, as "Games, Learning, and…

Recently, attention has been paid to computer and video games as a medium for learning. This article provides a way of conceptualizing them as possibility spaces for learning. It provides an overview of two research programs: (1) an after-school program using commercial games to develop deep expertise in game play and game creation, and (2) an…

Discusses the lack of progress in creating valuable electronic learning (e-leaning) experiences and considers reasons for it, including the lack of incorporating appropriate media. Explains the need to focus on learner-centric instructional design rather than content-centric design and considers good interactions, challenging the learner, and…

Describes features that can increase quality of student interaction in computer based materials, with emphasis on interactive videodisc projects. The features discussed include nonlinear format, user-control options, feedback that ensures remediation, modular content organization, program flexibility to accommodate individual user needs, and…

Instructional Transaction Theory specifies a set of rules for automated instructional design and development. Components include descriptive theories of knowledge and of strategy, and a prescriptive theory of instructional design. Rules include selecting and sequencing knowledge objects, selecting and sequencing instructional transactions,…

Since the designer of interactive materials must ensure that the learner is directed to the information that he will be expected to acquire, he must recognize the components of the delivery system employed and the process by which they interact to deliver the information. (Author/RAO)

Describes a five-step set of procedures for designing and developing instruction that promotes student-teacher interaction and teacher responsiveness. The steps described address instructional content, objectives, questions, boundaries, and entry behavior. (MBR)

Examines forms of media in today's electronic environment including television, microcomputers, video games, and music television, and considers these media forms and their effects on cognitive processing. Implications for teachers and instructional designers in achieving curricular balance between print and electronic media are discussed. (MBR)

Briefly reviews the literature on instructional interactions and introduces the Mega Interactive Model of Instruction, the variable dimensions of which are instructor, learner, instruction/content/context, and time. (RAO)

Provides a structural definition of interactivity in instruction, with the goal of describing and delimiting a broad and general process. Examines the four major attributes to the concept of interactivity, and defines four additional variables that arise through the structural study of interaction. Outlines five common patterns that deal with…

Proposes an instructional transaction class hierarchy and describes capability, knowledge, interactions, and associated transactions for three classes of transactions: (1) component transactions (identify, execute, and interpret); (2) abstraction transactions (judge, classify, decide, generalize, and transfer); and (3) association transactions…