This paper explains the design of a graphics-based virtual environment for instructing computer hardware concepts to students, especially those at the beginner level. Photorealistic visualizations and simulations are designed and programmed with interactive features allowing students to practice, explore, and test themselves on computer hardware…

Accepting the fact that culture and language are interrelated in second language learning (SLL), the web sites should be designed to integrate with the cultural aspects. Yet many SLL web sites fail to integrate with the cultural aspects and/or focus on language acquisition only. This study identified three issues: (1) anthropologists'…

Good learning experiences ask students to investigate and make sense of the world. While there are many ways to do this, K-12 curriculum has traditionally skewed toward reading and writing to interpret and express students' sense-making. But there is another way. Infographics represent data and ideas visually, in pictures, engaging more parts of…

Individual or group presentations are common assignments in business communication courses, and many students use PowerPoint slides as audiovisual support. Frequently, curriculum constraints don't allow instructors much time to teach effective design and delivery of presentation graphics in their courses; guidelines in the form of minilectures or…

With the shift in numbers between Canadian-born students in the university classroom and the increased number of international students, it is a primary concern for instructors and instructional designers to know and understand learner characteristics in order to create effective instructional messages and materials. Recognizing how culture might…

Discusses the problems of a live Internet demonstration and describes guidelines for making a canned presentation. Highlights include organization, slides, paper handouts, presentation software, screen images, electronic text and graphics, local copies of home pages, editing, exploring services, and testing performance. (AEF)

Focuses on how three-dimensional graphical and interactive features of computer-based instruction can enhance learning and support human cognition during technical training of equipment procedures. Presents guidelines for using three-dimensional interactive graphics to teach equipment procedures based on studies of the effects of graphics, motion,…

Discussion of the use of authoring systems for courseware development focuses on guidelines to be considered when designing authoring systems. Topics discussed include allowing a variety of instructional strategies; interaction with peripheral processes such as student records; the editing process; and human factors in computer interface design,…

In this article, we present CTRL_SPACE: a design for a software environment with companion hardware, developed to introduce preliterate children to basic computational concepts by means of an animatronic face, whose individual features serve as an analogy for a programmable object. In addition to presenting the environment, this article briefly…

The purpose of this book is to assist pre-service and in-service K-12 teachers in selecting instructional strategies and media that will ensure that students achieve desired learning objectives and to illustrate how teachers can develop more effective curriculums by engaging in applied research. The first five chapters comprise Part 1, an overview…