The use of ICT to enhance teaching and learning depends on effective design, which operates at many levels of granularity from the small to the very large. This reflects the range of educational problems from course design down to the design of activities focused on specific learning objectives. For maximum impact these layers of design need to be…

Sensory overload and split attention result in reduced learning when instructors read slides with bullet points and complex graphs during a lecture. Conversely, slides containing relevant visual elements, when accompanied by instructor narration, use both the visual and verbal channels of a student's working memory, thus improving the chances of…

Analyzes the requirements for constructing collaborative learning activities in distance computer assisted learning (CAL) systems; shows why an active database can satisfy the requirements with a collaborative homework example; and proposes procedures for using an active database to construct collaborative learning activities in distance CAL…

Scenario refers to specific courses of action/events occurring within computer simulations and attempting to recreate lifelike situations. This article identifies critical features and their elements in designing effective scenarios in computer-based instructional simulations: (1) sequence; (2) operating procedures; (3) characteristics of…

Explores strategies for creating online learning environments on the World Wide Web. Describes a framework that identifies elements needed in the design of online learning: course content, learning activities, and learning supports. Concludes that online courses are more successful when they are not designed as supplements to conventional teaching…

Discusses the benefits of Web-based training for organizations, including immediacy, convenience, and consistency, and addresses issues that arise when converting a classroom course. Topics include organizational readiness; time allocation; technical readiness; course appropriateness for the Web; and design strategies, including converting text,…

Discusses the use of multimedia to develop higher-level thinking skills, particularly for training systems. Examines Navigation, access, and manipulation in learning activities. A case study in a corporate environment includes requirements for designing networked multimedia computer-based training. (LRW)