Research on the use of software programs and tools such as pedagogical agents has peaked over the last decade. Pedagogical agents are on-screen characters that facilitate instruction. This meta-analysis examined the effect of using pedagogical agents on learning by reviewing 43 studies involving 3,088 participants. Analysis of the results…

This paper reports on the implementation of a self-directed learning process in a circuit theory course, incorporating dynamic training elements which were designed on the basis of a cybernetic model of cognitive process management. These elements are centrally linked in a dynamic learning frame, created on the monitor screen, which displays the…

We present the Personal Learning Environment (PLE) as a practical intervention concerning the organization of technology in education. We explain this by proposing a cybernetic model of the "Personal Learner" using Beer's Viable System Model (VSM). Using the VSM, we identify different regulatory mechanisms that maintain viability for learners, and…

As certain areas of practice in higher education shift online, the work of learners and teachers increasingly takes place within the domain of the image. The "digital turn" we are experiencing, both in higher education and in the wider culture, accompanies an "iconic turn" in which the logic of the image as it emerges on our screens has a growing…

An outline of the educational technology approach to defining a training problem and developing a suitable learning system with the use of audiovisual equipment. (BP)

ON THE PREMISES THAT THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROGRAMED LEARNING BY RESEARCH TEAMS OF SUBJECT AND TECHNIQUE SPECIALISTS IS INDISPUTABLE, AND THAT THE EXPERIENCED TEACHER IN THE ROLE OF INDIVIDUAL TUTOR IS INDISPENSABLE, THE TECHNOLOGY TO SUPPORT PROGRAMED INSTRUCTION MUST BE ADVANCED. AUTOMATED DEVICES EMPLOYING SEQUENTIAL AND BRANCHING TECHNIQUES FOR…

This book on the aspects of instructional processes focuses on control of student cognitive activity during instruction. Chapter 1 introduces the cybernetic approach to the theory of instruction. It is followed by a chapter on instructional effectiveness and efficiency. The third chapter discusses cognitive processes and thinking. Chapter 4…

Various Soviet conceptions of technology and their influence on the automation of instruction in the Soviet Union are examined, and the history of the development of Soviet programed instruction is sketched. Key principles and techniques from Soviet psychology, pedagogy, computer technology, and cybernetics are explained in terms of their…

This book of readings in educational psychology for teachers contains selections which are both historical and technological. More emphasis is placed on general information and direct educational applications than on theoretical and experimental education psychology, and some of the articles have been abridged. Topics covered include teacher…

This document reports the results of an examination of the external and internal environments of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the most promising technological tools and methods to create the training system capabilities the IRS will need in the future. Following an executive summary, chapter 1 describes how the document was developed.…