This article aims at clarifying and conceptualizing game-based learning (GBL) in order to pinpoint directions for practices and research. The authors maintain that GBL should be conceptualized toward the transformation of a textbook-learning culture. The authors emphasize the importance of a paradigm shift in learning and a reorientation in…

This article focuses on informal learning and its implications for instructional design and performance improvement. The authors begin by sharing a story of how a novice instructional designer employs informal learning strategies in her professional and personal life. Next, they offer a definition of informal learning that encompasses both…

Jan Herrington is a Professor of Education at Murdoch University in Perth, Western Australia, where she teaches educational technology in the School of Education, including a compulsory first year unit called "Living and Learning with Technology." She has been active in the promotion and support of the effective use of educational…

This article takes a contrarian position: an "instructional design" or "teacher training" model, because of the sheer number of its interconnected parameters, is too complex to assess or to compare with other models. Models may not be the way to go just yet. This article recommends instead prior experimental research on limited…

Instructional design can be more effective if it is as fixedly dedicated to the accommodation of individual differences as it currently is to the accommodation of subject matters. That is the hypothesis. A menu of accommodation options is provided that is applicable at each of three stages of instructional development or administration: before,…

Most classrooms in the U.S. are composed of students with different learning styles and experiences as well as different achievement levels (Ferguson, 2001). Personalized learning is a unique way of students' learning determined by their own learning style, pace, and needs. Focusing on individual differences, personalized instruction aims to…

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…

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…

Briefly describes stages of the systematic design process for educational software including learning goals identification; considering medium suitability; developing performance objectives, criterion-referenced tests, and instructional strategies; and product evaluation and dissemination. Events of instruction are discussed in detail as they…

Describes a feasibility study designed to investigate interactive video and the balance of student versus program control with respect to the sequence of content presentation, the choice of how many practice exercises to do, and the strategy for alternating between the modes of receptive and active learning. (MBR)

Defines cognitive computer tools as software programs that use the control capabilities of computers to amplify, extend, or enhance human cognition; suggests seven ways in which computers can aid learning; and describes the "Learning Tool," a software package for the Apple Macintosh microcomputer that is designed to aid learning of…

Discusses elaboration theory (ET); its major components--epitomes and elaboration levels; its seven macro strategies--elaborative sequences (conceptual, procedural, or theoretical), within-lesson sequences, lesson summarizers, lesson synthesizers, analogies, cognitive strategy activators, and learner control; and its compatibility with hypermedia.…

Discusses the use of mental models to build bridges between three models of instructional design that are described and thus provide a more powerful foundation: one that stresses learning outcomes in knowledge structures; one that focuses on learning processes; and one that focuses on real-life task performance and strategies for authentic…

Discusses instructional design for computerized pedagogic materials and emphasizes the elements of activity and discovery in creating effective learning experiences. Describes a virtual learning environment designed in Brazil that is open to different forms of use so teachers and students can decide on the best ways of using it. (LRW)

Discusses the relationship between instructional design and situated learning. The transfer of knowledge and skills to a variety of settings is considered; and ways in which instructional design can contribute to the goals of situated learning are described, including planning learning experiences that are situated in the real world. (24…