Contemporary educational practices have been calling for pedagogical models that foreground flexibility, agency, ubiquity, and connectedness in learning. These models have, in turn, been stimulating redevelopments of educational infrastructure--with physical contours reconfigured into novel complex learning spaces at universities, schools,…

In response to an acknowledged gap in the literature -- concerning a lack of actionable knowledge about the relations between the designed environment and learning activity -- we make a case for moving the field forward by reframing pedagogical challenges in ergonomic terms in order to reach satisfactory epistemic resolutions. This article…

As institutions continue to expand their online learning programs, it becomes increasingly important to identify research-based strategies to support their design. Numerous professional organizations provide guidance to institutions to direct the mechanics of online delivery. The Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework (Garrison, Anderson, Archer,…

Knowledge obtained in higher education through de-contextualised tasks and activities often remains "inert" and learners cannot readily transfer understanding to novel contexts. Nowhere is this more evident than in learning a foreign language. Typical language interaction exercises in class do not mirror real-life language use and such…

This article uses a variety of principles of cultural-historical activity theory to extend Herbert Simon's (1996) insight into the inherent linkage between the creation of artifacts and design. We argue that design research must grapple with the doubly artificial, as the classrooms in which many educational designs are implemented are themselves…

Despite several researchers reporting evidence that 3D Virtual Worlds can be used to effectively support educational processes in recent years, the integration of this technology in real learning processes is not as commonplace as in other educational technologies. Instructional designers have to balance the cost associated with the development of…

Despite the central role that well organized and structured course content plays in engaging online learners with content, the authors point to the absence of guidelines for organizing content in ways that meet course learning goals. Recognizing the need for a design solution and, perhaps, the need for a new design model, "design…

Learning design is currently slanted to reflect a course-based approach to learning. This article explores whether the concept of learning design could be applied to support the informal aspects of work-based learning (WBL). It also discusses the characteristics of WBL and presents a WBL-specific learning design that highlights the key features…

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…

There is a common predicament faced by educational designers, that is, the lack of learning design tools for nontraditional pedagogies of learning. Because of this lack of alternatives, educational designers often use traditional design tools (such as task analysis) in contexts where nontraditional learning activities (such as collaborative…

Explores changing curricular designs and the differences between traditional and authentic learning. Identifies significant design features of authentic design, and provides examples of these features with instructional units. (AEF)

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…

Proposes a framework for designers and teachers to research better design methodologies for distance education and to choose the most appropriate technologies and design better instructional tasks. Presents a scenario in which inherent characteristics of technologies are merged with task characteristics to create positive and powerful educational…

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)