Effective navigation is becoming more and more critical to the success of electronic commerce (E-commerce). It remains a challenge for educational technologists and Web designers to develop Web systems that can help customers find products or services without experiencing disorientation problems and cognitive overload. Many E-commerce Web sites…

This book provides effective approaches for designers, information architects, and web site managers who are faced with sites that are becoming difficult to use and maintain. The book is divided into 10 sections. Chapter 1: "What Makes a Web Site Work" considers site users needs when designing the architecture; Chapter 2:…

Reports findings of a three-part research project that examined the information seeking behavior and success of 22 seventh-grade science students in using the Web. Discusses problems encountered, including inadequate knowledge of how to use the search engine and poor level of research skills; and considers implications for Web training and system…

New information technology is rapidly becoming part of the localized education process, while offering the tools and the infrastructure for the establishment of a distance education process. At Rhodes University (South Africa), an Interactive Remote Tutorial System (IRTS) was built to support distance education. IRTS will be used as an…

This paper describes IRI (Interactive Remote Instruction), a computer-based system built at Old Dominion University (Virginia) in order to support distance education. The system is based on the concept of a virtual classroom where students at different locations have the same synchronous class experience, using networked computers to communicate…

The Virtual Workshop is a World Wide Web-based set of modules on high performance computing developed at the Cornell Theory Center (CTC) (New York). This approach reaches a large audience, leverages staff effort, and poses challenges for developing interesting presentation techniques. This paper describes the following techniques with their…

In 1997, Gettysburg College (Pennsylvania) deployed the CNAV (College Navigation) Web tool to allow the students' and the entire college community the ability to better navigate through its college's curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular offerings. CNAV is unique because, rather than treating the Web as a series of static pages, it treats…

This paper describes a solution to the user identification and tracking problem within an educational World Wide Web environment. The paper begins with an overview of the Teaching Support System project at the University of Girona (Spain); the main objective of the project is to create an integrated set of tools for teachers to use to create and…

This paper describes an authoring tool, Visual Constructor, that is being developed to help users without technical knowledge to create and organize World Wide Web-based course contents. The following goals of Visual Constructor are highlighted: (1) it does not require any knowledge of evolving Web technology; (2) the user interface is easy to…

Modeling the functions of a teacher in a computer interface is not a new practice; most computer applications employ electronic performance support systems (EPSS) such as online help, wizards, coaches, and even some forms of artificial intelligence. This paper presents easy-to-implement strategies for increasing learner autonomy by embedding…

This paper outlines CLEW (collaborative learning environment for the Web). The project combines MUD (Multi-User Dimension), workflow, VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) and educational concepts like constructivism in a learning environment where students actively participate in the learning process. The MUD shapes the environment structure.…

This paper describes the architecture and discusses implementation issues of a scalable Internet-based teaching and learning system (SKILL) being developed at the University of Essen (Germany). The primary objective of SKILL is to cope with the different knowledge levels and learning preferences of the students, providing them with a collaborative…

This paper describes the development of two World Wide Web sites, "Our Place in the World" (OPITW) and "Chicana and Chicano Space" (CCS), specifically designed as resources for art educators, and describes a framework for three blended levels or layers of navigation that support knowledge construction within the domain. The…

The 1997 WebNet conference addressed research, new developments, and experiences related to the Internet and intranets. The 257 contributions of WebNet 97 contained in this proceedings comprise the full and short papers accepted for presentation at the conference. Included are positions papers by leading experts in the field; descriptions of ideas…

This paper describes a University of Girona (Spain) project in which an interdisciplinary group has created an integrated platform for teachers to use to create and publish dynamic and interactive teaching materials that make use of new information technologies. Project objectives are summarized and an overview is provided of the functions of the…