Online discussion plays an increasingly significant role in asynchronous online learning environments. While previous attempts have been made to develop learning analytics dashboards to facilitate such discussions, most of these dashboards have been designed without reference to data or visualization techniques that have been proven to make online…

Many recent technologies provide the ability to dynamically adjust the interface depending on the emerging cognitive and collaborative needs of the learning episode. This means that educators can adaptively re-design the learning environment during the lesson, rather than purely relying on preemptive learning design thinking. Based on a…

I begin by introducing Virtual Design Apprenticeship (VDA), a learning model--built on a solid foundation of education principles and theories--that promotes learning of design skills via overlay design tools. In VDA, when an individual needs to learn a new design skill or paradigm she is provided accessible, concrete examples that have been…

This article reviews research pertaining to the use aesthetics design, and usability in education. This article focuses on defining the role of visual elements and aesthetics in the user interface while exploring the importance of their application in a web-based learning environment. Research demonstrates that aesthetics are pivotal in…

The aim of the present study was to examine the technological affordances of a web-based collaborative learning technology, Knowledge Practices Environment (KPE), for supporting different dimensions of knowledge creation processes. KPE was used by engineering students in a practically oriented undergraduate engineering course. The study…

This article describes how the author applied principles of universal design to hybrid course materials to increase student understanding and, ultimately, success. Pulling the three principles of universal design--consistency, color, and icon representation--into the author's Blackboard course allowed her to change the types of reading skills…

This article surveys research in the areas of aesthetics and design, usability, visual aesthetics in education, and recent statistics related to online education. The focus of the article is on defining the role of visual content and aesthetics in the user interface and exploring what importance aesthetics and visual content have to education.…

This experimental investigation replicates previous investigations of the effects of left margin screen background color hue to signal lesson sections on declarative knowledge and extends those investigations by adding a measure of structural knowledge. Participants (N = 80) were randomly assigned to receive 1 of 4 computer-based lesson treatments…

Understanding the user and customizing the interface to augment cognition and usability are goals of human computer interaction research and design. Yet, little is known about the influence of individual visual-verbal information presentation preferences on visual navigation and screen element usage. If consistent differences in visual navigation…

The development of potentially powerful computer-based tools within rich learning environments is hampered by the constraints of delivery systems (specifically low-resolution, low-real estate displays). In designing a World Wide Web-based tool for manipulating time-based information, the authors have encountered a lack of guidelines or empirical…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…