Now in a substantially revised and updated second edition, this comprehensive professional resource and text is based on cutting-edge research. In each chapter, leading scholars provide an overview of a particular aspect of comprehension, offer best-practice instructional guidelines and policy recommendations, present key research questions still…

While case method teaching has long been associated with business and medical schools, in the past few years there has been increased interest in teaching with cases in secondary schools, colleges, and professional schools. This book, for teachers at all levels and in all subjects, examines this pedagogy and serves as a guide for pre- and…

Theories of situated learning attempt to overcome the ill-structured nature of some domains of learning, and to use students' tendencies to construct knowledge representation on context and prior experience. Success comes when students apply abstract principles to real life. This study compares the effectiveness of two different lesson structures…

The hypertext markup language (HTML) used to develop pages for the world wide web also has potential for use in creating some types of multimedia instruction destined for CD-ROMs. After providing a brief overview of HTML, this document presents pros and cons relevant to CD-ROM production. HTML can offer compatibility to both Windows and Macintosh…

Several factors have indicated the necessity of formally requiring computer literacy at the university level. This paper discusses the reasoning for, the development of, and content of two computer literacy courses required of all freshmen. The first course contains computer awareness and knowledge that students should have upon entering the…

The instructional design possibilities of a computer-assisted learning environment that would provide feedback to students in an introductory statistics class were studied. Cognitive styles that were thought to relate to mathematical or statistical processes were tested, including field independence and field dependence, locus of control, and…

There is an emphasis on meaningmaking, problem solving, and discovery in contemporary educational settings--facts and concepts integrated into the curriculum by unifying themes that connect to real-world experiences. Using graphics to represent the thinking of students in learning and the thinking of teachers in integrated planning can be…

Visual learning has long been recognized as an integral process in educating biology undergraduates, who must develop specific visual skills and knowledge in order to communicate and work in the extensive visual culture shared by practicing biologists. Student experiences with field observations and the development and application of verbal/visual…

This encyclopedia provides scholarly information on all aspects of educational technology. It treats integrating educational technology as a problem-solving process. The book consists of 123 papers by numerous authors, divided into five sections. Section 1, "Educational Technology: Definition and Conceptual Background," introduces educational…

This handbook provides an overview of research in the field of educational communications and technology. The handbook may be used to familiarize students and researchers with a domain of research in this field prior to their own research, or may be used as a guide for selecting research topics or methodologies. The book consists of 42 papers by…

This presentation describes the distance education program at Memorial University (Newfoundland), which operates the Telemedicine Centre, including an audiographic, teleconference network that uses a combination of hardware and software to turn an MS DOS computer into an interactive long distance blackboard. Topics covered by the presentation…

This final report describes activities of the 3-year Activating Children Through Technology (ACTT) Outreach program housed in Macomb Projects in the College of Education at Western Illinois University, which attempted to integrate assistive technology into early childhood services for children, ages birth to 8, with disabilities. Major program…

A model, derived from the literature, is presented of the influence of learners' preconceptions on the amount of mental effort invested in learning from television. The proposed model suggests that learners' preconceptions are influenced by the characteristics of the media, the characteristics of the task, and the characteristics of the learner.…

Researchers at Northern Illinois University have begun to compile findings from a study investigating the most critical audience factors impacting the design and delivery of instruction for international learners in higher education settings in the United States. The findings are being incorporated into small bulletins called…

Educational assessment is discussed, describing three images of instructional design that can be used to construct classroom learning environments, and focusing on the nature and uses of portfolios and authentic assessment. The following three designs for schooling are considered: (1) discipline-centered schooling, the most familiar vision of…