The concepts of usability and user-centered design (UCD) have grown in popularity over the past 20 years as measured by the number of research and mainstream articles devoted to their discussion. As with all new developments, however, there are always the questions of how things work in practice compared to theory. A survey of 83 software…

This paper looks at the analysis leading to and design of a Web-based "hint system." The hints are designed to help middle-grade teachers participating in a mathematics professional development effort, called InterMath, achieve a high degree of success when working open-ended mathematical investigations. The model upon which InterMath is…

Providers of online information with a high visual content face an uncompromising dilemma--how to achieve fast delivery while maintaining good picture quality. As storage space or bandwidth increases, the demands placed on it by the user are always two steps ahead. Since limited bandwidth for communicating images looks like it may remain a problem…

The purpose of this study was two-fold: (1) to investigate the effects of visual information, background knowledge, and academic reading experience, and (2) to identify the non-native readers' problems in comprehending Japanese academic texts. Sixty-three foreign students studying at universities and graduate schools in Japan participated in this…

The aim of this exploratory study is to identify the skills needed by developers of Electronic Commerce (e-Commerce) systems. The paper proposes a framework pertaining to three categories of e-Commerce development knowledge: technical, human, and organizational. The initial findings reveal that there are some 16 possible e-Commerce skills tapping…

Regulatory agencies around the world require that those involved in producing pharmaceutical products be adequately trained. E-learning can accomplish this, providing consistent delivery and learner assessment. However, there are some unique expectations that regulators and the pharmaceutical industry have of e-learning solutions. These include…

This research begins to refine a cognitive model of interactive information seeking for use in the design of information retrieval (IR) systems. The research reported in this paper critically examines several interactive information seeking and retrieval models that have emerged over the last two decades. Building primarily on the stratified…

The authors developed a Web-based negotiation system that is closely modeled on real-world transactions. This paper illustrates the generality of the system by discussing two disparate applications of the system: one taken from business and the other from collaborative e-learning. The application generates, in real time, transparency-controlled…

In this study, the Bystander Turing Test (BTT) paradigm is used to determine whether participants rate particular dialog moves in tutoring transcripts to be generated by a computer tutor, AutoTutor, or by a skilled human tutor. Currently, AutoTutor initiates a conversation with the learner by posing a question or presenting a problem for the…

"Design Inspection Reviews" are structured meetings in which participants follow certain rules of procedure and behavior when conducting detailed readings of design plans to identify errors and misunderstandings. The technique is widely used in the software engineering industry, where it is demonstrably more effective than testing at…

This paper introduces the concept of a reusable assessment framework (RAF). An RAF contains a library of linked assessment design objects that express: (1) specific set of proficiencies (i.e. the knowledge, skills, and abilities of students for a given content or skill area); (2) the types of evidence that can be used to estimate those…

This paper provides an overview of thin-client/server computing in higher education. Thin-clients are like PCs in appearance, but they do not house hard drives or localized operating systems and cannot function without being connected to a server. Two types of thin-clients are described: the Network Computer (NC) and the Windows Terminal (WT).…

This implementation paper introduces principles for the information architecture of an educational digital library, principles that address the distinction between designing digital libraries for education and designing digital libraries for information retrieval in general. Design is a key element of any successful product. Good designers and…

This paper presents the results of a three-year project of the 22 libraries of the California State University (CSU) system to create an entirely new approach to information access. The Unified Information Access System (UIAS) is designed to provide integrated, single-search access to the full range of library information resources. In addition to…

Introduces five articles in a special journal issue devoted to research about, design of, and use of multimodal interfaces. Article highlights include: algebra instruction; presentation of data summaries; interaction with complex spatial displays (maps); access to computing for the visually impaired; and design for portable devices for use in…