Cognitive scientists investigate mental models (how humans organize and structure knowledge in their minds) so as to understand human understanding of and interactions with the world. Cognitive and mental model research is concerned with internal conceptual systems that are not easily or directly observable. The goal of this research was to…

This paper examines factors that influence the post-adoption satisfaction of educators with e-learning systems. Based on the expectation-confirmation framework, we propose a research model that demonstrates how post-adoption beliefs affect post-adoption satisfaction. The model was tested at a university by educators (n = 175) who use an e-learning…

In this paper, we present a synchronous text-based communication tool, referred to as Adaptive Communication Tool (ACT), which provides capabilities for adaptation and personalization. ACT supports both the free and the structured form of dialogue. The structured dialogue is implemented by two types of Scaffolding Sentence Templates (SST); i.e.…

Discussion of the predictive evaluation of educational software, i.e. the evaluation of software prior to its intended use, focuses on a model known as the Jigsaw Model, which attempts to integrate usability and educational issues. Highlights include the failure of checklists for evaluation and two studies that tested the model with practicing…

A framework is proposed for the formative evaluation of multimedia. It describes techniques that have worked well in the evaluation of software development and gives examples of the use of evaluation results. The focus is primarily on the degree to which the instructional multimedia program supports the user's activities and tasks in the user's…

This paper reflects on the author's participation in two government-sponsored educational software development projects that used a holistic design paradigm in which classroom formative assessment and teacher input played a critical role in the development process. The two project were: R-WISE (Reading and Writing in a Supportive Environment)--a…