One of the problematic issues in the content development for learning environments is the process of importing various types of course material into the environment. This paper describes a method for importing material into the A&O open learning environment by introducing a material model for metadata recognized by the environment. The first…

As museums and educators struggle with the challenges of presenting their material in a digital format, many overlook the application that has spearheaded the development of virtual reality for the average consumer: 3D realtime game engines. These 3D game engines offer greater versatility, usability, maturity, simulation, and codebase than most…

This paper is a case study of Longfellow Elementary, a K-8 school in San Diego (California) that is using the concepts of information architecture to develop its Web site. The site is intended to be a virtual meeting place for all of the school's constituents: parents, teachers, students, and the community at large. The site is a dynamic, ongoing…

This paper describes a model for the use of the Web to engage communities in better understanding and appreciation of cultures through partnership among a knowledge organization, K-12 teachers and learners, museums, and regional and virtual communities. Museums and other content providers offer artifacts for object-based learning. Content…

This paper describes an approach for developing adaptive electronic textbooks and presents InterBook, an authoring tool based on this approach which simplifies the development of adaptive electronic textbooks on the World Wide Web. The following topics are discussed: (1) content structuring, including the domain and user models, the glossary, and…

Based on research conducted in 1996 and 1999, this paper discusses theoretical issues and provides an overview of the purposes for which school libraries are creating and maintaining home pages or World Wide Web sites. In 1996, a content analysis was performed of Web sites of 50 school libraries in the United States, Australia, Canada, Sweden,…

This paper presents aspects of modeling, authoring, and presenting structured documents corresponding to teaching material presented in the World Wide Web. In this context, the importance of providing the formalization of the structure of the documents using Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) is discussed. Next, specifications for…

This paper proposes a framework for supporting the authoring process of distance learning courses. An overview of distance learning courses and the World Wide Web is presented. The proposed framework is then described, including: (1) components of the framework--a hypermedia design methodology for authoring the course, links to related Web sites,…

One obvious reason that teachers hesitate to create Web sites for their distance courses is the lack of computer/technology skills. Other teachers who know how to create a well-structured course site are put off by the fact that it takes a lot of time to maintain it. Thus there is a risk that the course site will be ill-structured and poorly…

The Macquarie University (Australia) vision is to provide flexible learning options for all students. This will involve the dual development of resource-based curricula and information technology (IT) capacity across the university. This paper highlights major issues underpinning the design, development, and delivery of flexible learning and how…

This paper describes the electronic ACT-R Bookshelf, a system which supports learning ACT-R, a well-known theory in the field of cognitive psychology, over the World Wide Web. ACT-R Bookshelf is a collection of electronic books on various aspects of ACT-R. The primary role of ACT-R Bookshelf is to serve as a 24-hour information resource for…

This paper describes the faculty training model utilized in the development and/or conversion of course materials to be delivered on the World Wide Web. A description of the online learning environment (WTOnline) is provided, as well as the process by which faculty members in the West Texas A&M University College of Education interact with…

While much visually oriented teaching material that uses the new technologies is being developed, there is little understanding or research into the demands such material makes on students' information processing. This paper outlines an innovative approach to teaching complex economic models that incorporates the convergence of text and graphics…

The accessibility of the World Wide Web and its flexibility for conveying digital information in various forms makes it a convenient mode of communication for education. With the help of a distance learning application called "Easy Ed," this paper demonstrates how these properties of the Web along with a data model can be used to provide…

The construction of a very fast network backbone between all Scottish universities, in conjunction with the formation of a common core curriculum for Scottish medical schools teaching child health, has provided the schools with an opportunity to provide collaborative, computer assisted learning (CAL) across the World Wide Web, delivered by a…