Courseware designers aim to innovate information communications technology (ICT) tools to increase learning experiences, spending many hours developing eLearning programmes. This effort gives rise to a dynamic technological pedagogical environment. However, it is difficult to recognise whether these online programmes reflect an instructional…

Years ago, working in isolation meant that to develop professionally, librarians had to read journals and wait for the two times per year there were librarian conferences locally, statewide, or nationally that would help them improve their program. Now colleagues, suggestions, and Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are merely a click away.…

This mixed methods study explored the dynamics of interaction within a self-paced online learning environment. It used rich media and a mix of traditional and emerging asynchronous computer-mediated communication tools to determine what forms of interaction learners in a self-paced online course value most and what impact they perceive interaction…

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…

Addresses cognitive style and visual literacy in use of instructional computing, focusing on learner interaction with screen displays and ways cognitive style and visual preferences facilitate or inhibit learning, and asks whether having computers in classrooms is only a case of utilizing another form of television. Research areas are suggested.…

This paper describes the results of a United Kingdom research program evaluating computer-based learning software and determining its suitability in supporting the different learning styles of users. A design taxonomy is proposed that helps designers build software to target multiple specific learning styles. This enables the courseware to be more…

Designed to address the management and use of computer software in education and training, this paper explores both good and poor software design, calling for improvements in the quality of educational software by attending to design considerations that are based on general principles of learning rather than specific educational objectives. This…

Investigates whether students perform best after using computer-based learning (CBL) courseware with three types of animation-control strategies: program control, linear control, and learner control. Results suggest that accommodating learners' individual differences in the design of computer-based learning lessons is an important concern. (AEF)

Contrasting traditional linear media (in which all learners proceed through the instructional materials in an essentially fixed sequence) with interactive technologies and hypermedia (in which two learners may take different paths through the same instructional materials), this paper highlights the importance of recording and analyzing the…

This study of the application of cognitive style theory to the development of computer-based instruction explored two questions, i.e., whether computer-based courseware can be designed to address specific learner characteristics, and, if so, which characteristics. Several factors involved in the optimization of instruction are described: learner…

Adaptive Hypermedia Systems (AHS) can be developed to accommodate a variety of individual differences, including learning style and cognitive style. The current research is an attempt to examine some of the critical variables, which may be important in the design of an Adaptive Educational System (AES) based on student's cognitive style. Moreover,…

Reviews current research on different learning styles and capabilities of experts and novices which may guide software design: memory, cognitive processing, and performance differences; automatization, and coping strategies. Procedures which may enhance expert and novice performance when built into software are outlined. (MBR)

This document contains the following full and short papers on cognition and conceptual change from ICCE/ICCAI 2000 (International Conference on Computers in Education/International Conference on Computer-Assisted Instruction): (1) "A Method of Creating Counterexamples by Using Error-Based Simulation" (Tomoya Horiguchi and Tsukasa…

Discusses reasons for failure in open learning, describes areas that can adversely affect student performance, and suggests possible corrective actions. Highlights include validation, or developmental testing, of courseware; the climate for learning; the role of local instructors; consequences of success or failure; course design; learning style…

Describes study of health care employees that was designed to determine whether learning styles affect outcomes of learning with two computer-assisted instruction (CAI) design strategies, linear and branching. Use of the 4MAT Learning Styles Inventory is explained, and implications of the results for educators and courseware designers are…