This paper describes the development of augmented group awareness tools that take mutual user ratings of their online discussion contributions as input, aggregate these data, and visually feed these data back to the members in real time, thereby informing participants about how the group as a whole perceives their contributions. A specific group…

In today's knowledge economy, technology is utilized more than ever to deliver instructional material to the learner. Nonetheless, information may not always be presented in a manner that maximizes the learning experience, resulting in a negative impact on learning outcomes. Drawing on the Task-Technology Fit model, a research framework was…

Recent progress in wireless and sensor technologies has lead to a new development of learning environments, called context-aware ubiquitous learning environment, which is able to sense the situation of learners and provide adaptive supports. Many researchers have been investigating the development of such new learning environments; nevertheless,…

For the second language student, proficiency is a measure of what tasks can be accomplished with acquired language and how well they can be accomplished. The necessity for specification of functional proficiency arose, and resulted in the publication of guidelines by the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL)'s guidelines…

This paper discusses the importance of considering the social context in which an instructional product will be used during the development process. It is contended that traditional instructional product development models are inadequate because they ignore social context. The use of inadequate traditional design models results in the development…

This paper addresses questions concerning the role of education and technology in a fair and equitable global political and economic system. The education and information professions have worked to design effective learning environments and produce various formats for the delivery of instructional materials. These presentational formats have tried…

The ARCS Model of Motivational Design, developed by John M. Keller of Florida State University, is a systematic model for designing motivating instruction. The ARCS Model identifies four essential strategy components for motivating instruction: attention strategies for arousing and sustaining curiosity and interest; relevance strategies that link…

This paper provides a unit of instructional design for teaching an undergraduate public speaking course at Southern Arkansas University. According to the paper, the unit, consisting of 6 lessons, is designed to be taught in a 50-minute period 3 times each week. The paper points out that students are given many opportunities to practice the…

This paper describes the "Sickle Cell Counselor" (SCC), a goal based scenario on permanent display at the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. SCC is an exploratory hypermedia simulation program which provides users with a basic understanding of Sickle Cell Anemia. The user of the program plays the role of a genetic counselor, and,…

Two types of instructional design strategies, hints and learner control, that can be used to enhance metacognitive strategies in problem solving, are discussed. Metacognition refers to the active monitoring and consequent self-regulation for which one's own mental activities become the objects of reflection. Hints provide guidance that can lead…

This paper offers a rationale for offering sexuality education for youth with mental handicaps, and outlines several myths about human sexuality and the mentally handicapped. Sexual rights of the mentally handicapped are listed. Items that should be included in sexual counseling are noted. The paper also discusses critical content areas in…

The interpretation of information and the generation of knowledge is dependent on the existing metaphorical conceptual frameworks or mental models of the learner. Metaphorical mental models are both a method of representing and a way of organizing knowledge, and summarize an individual's beliefs about a system. Since the particular metaphors…

This paper describes a new and innovative approach to school improvement called Knowledge Work Supervision (KWS). KWS draws on individual and team-based knowledge work; uses school-community strategic planning methods; encourages participative work redesign; and redesigns knowledge work, social architecture, and environmental relationships. KWS…

Instructional Design Expert (ID Expert) is a prototype instructional design expert system which supports the instructional design phase of instructional system development. It differs from other instructional design toolkits in that it is built using a knowledge engineering approach, and has been implemented as an expert system. The system…

This discussion of the potential roles of learners and instructors as they affect the learning environment argues that the roles of teachers and learners are the key issues rather than learning styles. It begins by discussing the roles of learners as receivers, detectives (problem solvers), generators (developers of new ideas), and facilitators…