Desktop virtual reality is an emerging educational technology that offers many potential benefits for learners in online learning contexts; however, a limited body of research is available that connects current multimedia learning techniques with these new forms of media. Because most formal online learning is delivered using learning management…

Learning environment design and development is essential for the field of educational technology, because it is a relatively new field compared to many disciplines of scholarly inquiry. The focus of this dissertation is on the design and development of the EASE system and the general design of EASE History, a case-based learning environment that…

The structure and composite nature of a learning object is still open to interpretation. Although several theoretical studies advocate integrated approaches to the structure and aggregation level of learning objects, in practice, many content specifications, such as SCORM, IMS Content Packaging, and course authoring tools, do not explicitly state…

Interactive learning environments (ILEs) are increasingly used to support and enhance instruction and learning experiences. ILEs maintain and display information, allowing learners to interact with this information. One important method of interacting with information is navigation. Often, learners are required to navigate through the information…

Interactive computer simulations with complex representations and sophisticated graphics are a relatively new addition to the classroom, and research in this area is limited. We have conducted over 200 individual student interviews during which the students described what they were thinking as they interacted with simulations. These interviews…

Adaptation and personalization services in e-learning environments are considered the turning point of recent research efforts, as the "one-size-fits-all" approach has some important drawbacks, from the educational point of view. Adaptive Educational Hypermedia Systems in World Wide Web became a very active research field and the need of…

The aim of this study was to assess the learning effectiveness and motivational appeal of a computer game for learning computer memory concepts, which was designed according to the curricular objectives and the subject matter of the Greek high school Computer Science (CS) curriculum, as compared to a similar application, encompassing identical…

The paper describes a classification system for adaptive methods developed in the area of adaptive educational hypermedia based on four dimensions: What components of the educational system are adapted? To what features of the user and the current context does the system adapt? Why does the system adapt? How does the system get the necessary…

Reports on an exploratory study which used tracking records and evaluation questionnaires to examine the ways students use a hypermedia system. Findings in the following areas are discussed: enjoyment, ease of use, perception of system control, actual search strategies, perceived purposive search strategies, and effectiveness of search strategies.…

Expands on constructivist theories that were discussed in an earlier issue. Highlights include cognitive flexible theory; multiple knowledge representations; prespecification of knowledge; teaching content versus skill; and cognitive flexibility hypertexts (CFHs), including the kinds of knowledge domains for which they should be used and the…

An adaptation technique of multimodal interfaces based on a cognitive modeling of users is presented in this paper. The adaptation process tries to select a combination of modalities that best fits the cognitive profile of each user. This profile contains indicators of cognitive abilities and styles. This paper focuses on output modalities and…

Explains hyper-systems and discusses their role in active learning, presents results from an expert evaluation of current hyper-systems that use HyperCard, and suggests implications for designers of educational hypermedia. System criteria discussed include purpose, domain or content, structure, navigation methods, control mechanisms, and style of…

The fundamental problem for control languages is that they must be able to deal with the simultaneous actions of multiple objects. Accordingly, it is the basic premise of the HyperTechnic system that it is easier for children to view control problems in terms of relationships between multiple agents, rather than as one agent responding to a…

Examines the psychological basis of hypermedia as a medium for learning, surveys the characteristics of current hypermedia systems, and suggests ways to make hypermedia systems more valuable as instructional environments. Highlights include parallels between human memory and hypermedia architectures; and hypermedia as knowledge presentation,…

Discusses the design and use of a Hypertext tutorial for teaching choice of access points to beginning cataloging students at San Jose State University. The tutorial, used widely by students, was designed to include linear, hierarchical, and decision tree metastructures to accommodate the multidimensionality of cataloging problems. (12 references)…