Children's brains develop faster in the early years than at any other time in their lives. If you want to make the most of this pivotal period, there is no time to waste. With newly updated research, the second edition of this bestseller provides parents and educators with strategies for building a brain-compatible environment where young learners…

The purpose of this review paper was to conduct a literature review on the effects of colors on learners' learning cognition and emotions. Findings of this review could inform practitioners about better color choices they could use to present information and design learning materials in ways that decrease learners' cognitive load, increase their…

Extending studies on emotional design in multimedia learning beyond college samples and further considering individual differences, we examined the effects of emotional design on middle school students' learning and whether this relationship is moderated by learners' prior knowledge, using a computer-based lesson covering the topic "the…

The visual is a dominant mode of information retrieval and understanding however, the focus on the visual dimension of Technology Enhanced Learning (TEL) is still quite weak in relation to its predominant focus on usability. To accommodate the future needs of the visual learner, designers of e-learning environments should advance the current…

Cognitive psychologists have discovered different design principles to enhance memory performance. It has been said that retrieving process depends on many variables and one of them is colour. This paper provides an overview of research on colour and learning. It includes the effect of colour on attention, retention and memory performance, and…

The present study tested the "interference hypothesis"-that learning and using more advanced representations and strategies requires the inhibition of prior, less advanced ones. Specifically, it examined the relation between inhibitory control and number line estimation performance. Experiment 1 compared the accuracy of adults' (N = 53)…

Information design has practical and theoretical components. As an academic discipline we may view information design as a combined discipline, a practical theory, or as a theoretical practice. So far information design has incorporated facts, influences, methods, practices, principles, processes, strategies, and tools from a large number of…

With virtual public school initiatives in each of the 50 states, there is an impetus to develop and implement online programs for the elementary grades (Cavanaugh, 2004, pp. 262-266; Oliver et al., p. 56). Yet, learner usability characteristics for successful online schooling for the elementary grades are unknown and/or unspecified. The purpose of…

In this article, the author describes a lesson he created for his second-grade classes which was inspired by the children's book, "Why is Blue Dog Blue?", by George Rodrigue. In this lesson, the students make associations between places, food and events to determine the color of their dogs. (Contains 3 resources.)

This article describes how the author applied principles of universal design to hybrid course materials to increase student understanding and, ultimately, success. Pulling the three principles of universal design--consistency, color, and icon representation--into the author's Blackboard course allowed her to change the types of reading skills…

This experimental investigation replicates previous investigations of the effects of left margin screen background color hue to signal lesson sections on declarative knowledge and extends those investigations by adding a measure of structural knowledge. Participants (N = 80) were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 4 computer-based lesson treatments…

Undergraduates of different levels of ability (IQ) profited differentially from color cueing of instructional materials pertaining to the human heart. Visualization was not equally effective in achievement of different educational objectives (drawing, identification, terminology, and comprehension tests). Delayed retention of material was not…

Discusses the impact of the presentation of data on the educational effectiveness of computer assisted learning systems, describes some of the existing systems for controlling the display of instructional data on CRTs, and outlines a project undertaken at the University of Western Ontario to exploit the capabilities of microcomputer color…

Discusses the role of the graphic technologist in preparing computer screen displays for interactive videodisc systems, and suggests screen design guidelines. Topics discussed include the grid system; typography; visual factors research; color; course mobility through branching and software menus; and a model of course integration. (22 references)…

Evolving from concern for the increasing requirements for literacy, especially visual literacy, the purpose of this study was to determine the impact of color on learning. Sixty midwestern college students were assigned to groups where they read and studied a graphic presentation, and then were tested on their recall and retention. The following…