Training and education have evolved far beyond black boards and chalk boxes. The environment of knowledge exchange requires more than simple materials and assessments. This article is an attempt of parsing through the different aspects of e-learning, understanding the real needs, and conducting the right requirements to build the appropriate…

The structure of an online course, including the navigational interface, visual design of materials and information, as well as the communication tools to facilitate learning, can affect students, instructors, programs and educational organizations in various ways. This paper examines online course structural issues derived from previous research…

Zoomable user interfaces (ZUIs) have received a significant amount of attention in the 18 years since they were introduced. They have enjoyed some success, and elements of ZUIs are widely used in computers today, although the grand vision of a zoomable desktop has not materialised. This paper describes the premise and promise of ZUIs along with…

Libraries today face an increasing challenge: to provide relevant information to diverse populations with differing needs while competing with Web search engines like Google. In 2009, a large group of libraries, including the University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, joined with Innovative Interfaces as development partners to design a new type of…

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…

Interactive learning environments (ILEs) are increasingly used to support and enhance instruction and learning experiences. ILEs maintain and display information, allowing learners to interact with this information. One important method of interacting with information is navigation. Often, learners are required to navigate through the information…

Provides information on designing an effective and efficient computer user interface. Topics include determining an audience's mental model of the subject; creating effective navigation systems; components of the interface; what to consider when designing the interface; and the multimedia interface design process. (Author/LRW)

Presents six principles for building and evaluating Web-based information retrieval interfaces: help the user develop an understanding of the interface and search process, judge the value of continuing search paths, and refine search queries or search topics; avoid complex navigation; make system actions explicit; and provide verbal labels…

This paper promotes further discussion and analysis of interactivity in learning environments and contains a classification of interaction types appropriate for consideration in multimedia settings. Through an examination of related factors associated with navigation and control, a matrix of interactive dimensions is proposed. (Author)