Volume 8, Number 1 1999
J.M. Ewing, J.D. Dowling, and N. Coutts
Department of Educational Studies Northern College, Dundee Campus, Gardyne Road Dundee, Scotlandj.m.ewing@norcol.ac.uk
In this paper the major focus is the place of learning theory in the planning, designing and implementation of learning tasks using Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The current interest in the constructivist approach is recognised and some of the recent writing is summarised, looking at both the more general understanding of constructivism and at the attempts to relate it specifically to hypermedia applications of learning. A possible model for applying constructivist theory to learning (based on six principal features) is proposed. An example of the application of this proposed model to a learning task involving the use of the World Wide Web (WWW) is described and some directions for a wider applicability are identified.
Effects of Violating Screen Design Principles of Balance, Unity, and Focus on Recall Learning, Study Time, and Completion Rates
Michael Szabo
Department of Educational Psychology University of Alberta, 6-102 Education North Edmonton, Alberta, CanadaT6G 2G5mike.szabo@ualberta.ca
Heather Kanuka
Department of Educational Policy Studies University of Alberta, 7-104 Education North Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6G 2G5Heather.kanuka@ualberta.ca
The purpose of this experimental research study was to determine if artistic screens (screens that employ accepted principles of visual design) influence the learning process. The independent variable was screen design; the dependent variables were recall learning, lesson completion time, and completion rate. Fifty-two adult subjects from a research university in Western Canada participated in this study. Comparisons of the two groups showed that there was no difference in achievement scores between subjects who used the lesson with good design principles and those who used the lesson with poor design principles. However, it was found that subjects who used the lesson with good design principles completed the lesson in less time (21%) and had a higher completion rate (74% vs. 45%) than those who used the lesson with poor design principles. Possible explanations focused on automaticity of control processes while learning and complexity of cognitive processing as a function of complexity of visuals.
Spatial Versus Conceptual Maps as Learning Tools in Hypertext
Sharon McDonald
University of Sunderland St. Peter’s Campus, St. Peter’s Way Sunderland SR6 0DD, ENGLANDSharon.McDonald@Sunderland.ac.uk
Rosemary J. Stevenson
Department of Psychology, University of Durham Durham DH1 3LE, ENGLANDTwo studies are described that examined the effects of navigational aids on navigation and learning in hypertext. Experiment 1 examined the effects of localised spatial maps, textual contents lists and no aid on subjects’ ability to locate information in hypertext and answer questions about the subject matter of the text. The results showed that a spatial map was better than a contents list at facilitating navigation but the two aids did not differ in their ability to facilitate learning. The no aid condition performed worst on both navigation and learning. Experiment 2 compared a spatial map, a conceptual map and no aid on both navigation and learning. The results showed that navigation was best with a spatial map whereas learning was best with a conceptual map. Subjects with no aid also navigated poorly, but their learning was better than that of the spatial map subjects. These results are discussed in relation to the way in which navigational and learning aids facilitate different memory representations, a superficial and short lived structural representation of the text or a deeper and more durable situation model of the information presented in the text.
The Effects of System Response Time on User Behavior in a Hypermedia Environment
David Allen Child
Indiana University-Bloomington 201 North Rose Street Bloomington, IN 47405, USAdchild@indiana.edu
This study examined the information location strategies of users of a specialized hypermedia system when a five-second system response delay was introduced. Seventy-four participants used Hypertext on Hypertext to complete three information location tasks. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance with independent variables of Group and General Computer Experience indicated significant main effects of Group for all dependent variables with one exception. There were no significant main effects of General Computer Experience, nor were there any significant interactions.
Analyses of user behavior support the notion that a short delay produces two distinct strategies. Delays resulted in a “locate-in-depth” strategy: users viewed longer strings of consecutive screens in the same section (i.e., “page-turning”), and accessed reference areas such as the Index more often. When no delay was present, users employed a “locate-in-breadth” strategy: they frequently switched sections, viewed more screens of information, took longer to complete the tasks, and tended to backtrack more often.
One unexpected result of the study was that regardless of the strategy employed, or affective factors such as frustration, all users were able to complete at least one of the assigned tasks, and 71 of the 74 participants were able to complete all tasks to some degree.
CD/Web Hybrids: Delivering Multimedia to the Online Learner
David P. Diaz
Cuesta Community College P.O. Box 8106 San Luis Obispo, CA 93403-8106, USAZaiddave@thegrid.net
The World Wide Web (WWW) represents an exciting and potent force for educational content delivery. There are numerous multimedia technologies that can facilitate self-directed, practice-centered learning and meet the challenges of educational delivery to the adult learner. However, delivering content via the WWW has been plagued by unreliability and inconsistency of information transfer, resulting in unacceptable delays and the inability to effectively deliver complex multimedia elements including audio, video, and animation. This article describes how a CD/Web hybrid, essentially a web site on a compact disc (CD), combines the strengths of the CD-ROM and the WWW, and facilitates the delivery of multimedia elements while preserving connectivity. Pressing a web site onto a CD-ROM can reduce the amount of time that students spend interacting with a given technology, and can increase the amount of time they spend learning.
Ernestine Enomoto
University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii 96822, USAenomotoe@hawaii.edu
Victor Nolet
Western Washington University Ballingham, WA 98225-9009, USAGary Marchionini
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USAIn 1995, the Baltimore Learning Community (BLC) project established a networked electronic learning community through the use of high quality digital science and social studies resources and high-speed networking. When fully implemented, the project will enable middle school teachers to access images, text, Web sites and full motion video via high speed Internet connections. Extending such multimedia configurations into urban middle schools has fostered a rethinking of teaching and learning in content classes as well as a reconsideration of how media and method are integrated. BLC facilitates teacher engagement in designing authentic classroom instruction framed by performance assessments. It links project teachers and school site coordinators through a client server, enhancing learning across schools. However, such a project is not without its challenges, human as well as technological.