Feedback plays a critical role in student learning and performance. However, providing students with effective feedback is challenging in online environments because of physical separation between students and instructors. Technologies can be used to enhance the effectiveness of feedback in online courses. In this article, we propose effective…

Dynamic visualisations capture aspects of scientific phenomena that are difficult to communicate in static materials and benefit from well-designed scaffolds to succeed in classrooms. We review research to clarify the impacts of dynamic visualisations and to identify instructional scaffolds that mediate their success. We use meta-analysis to…

There is a growing acknowledgement that STEM education, at all levels, is not producing learners with a deep understanding of core disciplinary concepts. A number of efforts in STEM education reform have focused on the development of "student-centered" active learning environments, which, while believed to be more effective, have yet to be widely…

Purpose: The current literature examining the design of effective online learning opportunities recommends an array of best practices but no agreed upon and unifying model. The purpose of this paper is to survey the existing research of effective design models for online learning in an attempt to identify best practices and present a new model.…

Cell phone learning (C-learning), as an instructional approach, has been gaining more and more attention in the field of teaching English as a foreign language (EFL) in the last 10 years. While studies have proved C-learning an effective instructional approach in research settings, a review of literature indicates the lack of design principles to…

This article presents an interview with Chris Dede, the Timothy E. Wirth Professor in Learning Technologies at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research interests include the use of emerging technologies in education, with emphases on online professional development, scaling up innovations, and immersive interfaces for learning. He is…

It has become standard practice for professors of mathematics to have a course website with a syllabus and some basic information about the course. The author argues that many professors would be better served by using a course wiki instead. In addition to simplifying all of the tasks of a traditional course website, a course wiki facilitates…

This critical assessment attempts to define a good instructional design through the eyes and the minds of renowned scholars and the most outspoken educational psychologists such as Gagne, John Keller, Jerome Bruner, and Richard E. Mayer and so on. This examination also discusses ways in directing the mental map of students for better knowledge…

Examines the relationship between instructional design (ID) activities and perceived project success. Analysis was based on interviews with 40 practicing instructional designers involved in 77 ID projects. Results indicate that designers don't implement all the ID activities prescribed by traditional models and that certain activities are…

Instructional message design must attract attention and result in learning by facilitating perception, comprehension, and retention. The purposes of this research are: (1) to develop a conceptual framework for message design; (2) to develop a systematic procedure for message design; and (3) to provide one basis for the development of a performance…

State-of-the-art computers being used today for instructional multimedia products have monitors capable of displaying millions of different colors. Designers are given virtually unlimited control over the factors that govern the display of these colors. This paper examines how color is displayed on computer monitors and interrelationships with how…

Scot Headley outlines five roles that online instructors can use to increase the sense of community and depth of learning in their courses; they are space planner, pacesetter, host, connector, and mirror. These roles underscore the importance of strong relationships between teacher and student, particularly in an online setting. Headley provides…

Suggests two guiding principles as a framework to interpret the research findings of environmental psychology that focus on effective classroom design: effective design promotes attention in the classroom and allows for periodic shifts of learner activities. Examines these principles as they apply to the design of a computer classroom, reviewing…

This paper offers a definition for the word "effective" and then discusses implications of research on the environment in relation to designing effective instruction. Similarities and differences involved in designing effective instruction are presented across four different contexts: K-12, higher education, human services, and…

Discusses the use of virtual environments (VEs) in teaching and learning. Examines the characteristics of effective VE in learning environments, looking at the added value produced by immersion, whereby students learn directly rather than through difficult symbol systems. Many apprehensions about VE are corrected, and the conclusions drawn are…