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Arguments for the use of interactive 3D simulations in education and training depend to a large extent on an implicit assumption that a more accurate and complete spatial cognitive model can be formed through active user-controlled exploration of such an environment than from viewing an equivalent animation. There is a similar implicit assumption that the viewing of animated view changes provides advantages over the viewing of static images due to the value of optical flow. The results to date, however, do not clearly support these assumptions. In particular, the findings of Peruch, Vercher, and Gauthier (1995) and Christou and Bulthoff (1999) conflict in relation to the importance of active exploration and of optical flow. This article reports the results of two studies exploring the importance of active exploration and of optical flow for spatial learning in 3D environments. The results indicate that active exploration can provide greater spatial learning than viewing of animations, but only if there is...

In order to understand the task of instructional designers who produce learning support software, this paper reviews the influence of learning theory on instructional design, recent developments in computer technology, and the evolving role of the instructor as a facilitator of higher-order thinking. Constructivist principles of learning and an appreciation for the fact that the learner must become more independent and skilled in metacognitive self-assessment and self-management are fundamental to this changing role. Two cognitive tools that provide learner/user support for personal construction of knowledge systems are “MindMap” and “Learning FourMat Processor.” These tools are examined in the light of current learning theory and a recent study comparing the work of novice and expert writers using different forms of performance support. Recommendations are made for the development of a more complete set of cognitive tools that enables users to construct their own multimedia knowledge systems based on higher-order thinking and problem solving.

This paper explores the application of distributed cognition theory to educational contexts by examining a common learning interaction, the 'Copy and Paste' function. After a discussion of distributed cognition and the role of mediating artefacts in real world cognitions, the 'Copy and Paste' function is redesigned to embed an effective interaction strategy, based on encoding strategies, into the interface. The current affordances of the 'Copy and Paste' interaction derived from its business heritage (speed and accuracy of reproduction) are contrasted with those needed for a learning interaction (the meaningful processing of content for understanding). An empirical study was conducted to test the efficacy of the redesigned function through an experimental treatment. The study examined the impact of an experimental treatment based on changes to the 'Copy and Paste' function in terms of:(a)changes to interaction strategies employed by learners; (b)changes in learner familiarity with note taking and summarisation interaction strategies; (c)changes to the features of the text produced by learners. The experimental task consisted of participants completing three short written assessment tasks based on multiple text resources using either: (i) Control treatment: standard notepad tools supplemented by a text-based resource outlining note-taking and summarisation strategies; or (ii) Experimental treatment: the modified notepad. The results of the study showed that participants in the experimental group spent significantly more time engaged in activities that indicated higher levels of cognitive processing and produced notes that contained text features that also indicated significantly higher levels of cognitive processing.

For educational software to take advantage of contemporary views of learning, instructional designers need to employ design models that incorporate the variety of ideas that are based on constructivist frameworks for developing learning environments. These environments, if well designed, can support learner construction of knowledge, however, such frameworks are based upon arguments that learners should be placed in authentic environments that incorporate sophisticated representations of context through such constructs as “virtual worlds”. Within these environments the learner is supported by visual metaphors constructed to represent the information structure and how the “world” operates. This paper will discuss the framework employed in the development of several virtual solutions and the process by which they were constructed.

The past decade has seen a significant expansion of distance, open, and flexible learning as advancements in information and communication technologies have offered new opportunities for teachers a...

This chapter builds on and brings up to date the work described in Chapter 6. The authors report on a decade of empirical work with teaching practitioners which has led them to conclude that learning designs (by which they mean a specific form of graphical representation and explanatory text) are usable by university teachers. Designs are referred to for guidance and inspiration, in what the authors see as an example of case-based professional learning. Having a classification system seems to support this, even though it is not directly related to subject area. An important finding is that learning designs from the AUTC project can support the integration of pedagogy, technology and content knowledge in practitioners' design thinking.

This study reports the results of an evaluation study of a training process that provided teachers with information about how to use an interactive multimedia package for classroom instruction The ways in which the teachers accessed relevant printed text and hypertext information were mapped and analysed. Search patterns for each information source were tentatively classified into two cognitive strategies labelled as ‘sequential search strategies’ and ‘goal-oriented search strategies’. It was found that the ‘sequential search strategies’ broke down in the non-sequential hypertext environment and users had to be supported by conceptual maps to ensure meaningful outcomes.

This paper describes an R&D project carried out at the University of Wollongong during 1993‐94 to explore ways in which an appropriate definition of quality management could be implemented within the institution and supported through the development of an information system. The project identified a quality management framework, developed a series of indicators of institutional performance, created a database based upon user‐defined information requirements and provided an interface to the information which could be used at all levels within the institution. While the emphasis was originally upon the role that performance indicators might play within quality management, the final outcome showed that the original conception was too limited and that a broader approach should be adopted. The project also demonstrated an information structure through which all staff might contribute to effective organisational decision‐making and operation. The paper describes both the products and the development pr...

This paper describes the issues surrounding information systems (IS) in the school, in particular the concerns which need to be considered when generating a comprehensive strategy for the implementation of an educational integrated IS. The paper reviews both IS strategy research and innovations in educational technology, and reports on two studies of the problems in IS strategy of educational professionals. In the major study, survey responses from 432 high schools were analyzed to examine the relative use of microcomputer school IS for efficiency of routine functions versus effective decision making defined as greater use of information by school personnel. Schools showed significantly greater use of the systems for more efficient processing of routine tasks. However, operational factors related to the use of the systems as informing tools for more effective decision making were able to be singled out, and relationships among measures of efficiency, effectiveness, decision making and operational factors were identified. The article concludes with implications for institutional practice, related research and professional preparation of educational administrators.

This chapter provides an overview of recent research and development (R&D) activity in the area of educational design patterns and pattern languages. It provides a context for evaluating this line of R&D by sketching an account of the practice of educational design, highlighting some of its difficulties and the ways in which design patterns and other aids to design might play a role. It foregrounds a tension between optimising design performance and supporting the evolution of design expertise. The chapter provides examples of recent research by the authors on design patterns for networked learning, as well as pointers to complementary research by others. Connections are made with R&D work on learning design and other approaches to supporting design activity.

This chapter describes the development of a taxonomy of learning designs based on a survey of 52 innovative ICT-using projects that formed the basis of a grounded approach to classifying high quality learning designs. The concept of learning designs has the potential to support academics in the process of offering high quality ICT supported learning settings in the higher education sector. The taxonomy is proposed as a mechanism to explore ways in which learning designs can be made accessible to academics and to help with the understanding of the goals of the learning design movement. The development of the taxonomy is described, and user review of the representation of learning designs in a Web context is discussed. Finally, the current gap in the literature about accurate and effective taxonomies describing and distinguishing between various forms of learning design is discussed in relation to future research agendas.

Designing learning experiences supported by information and communication technology (ICT) is becoming an important skill for all academics in the higher education sector. With a range of "quality" measures being implemented and foreshadowed by government, including "dollars" linked to student learning outcomes, all academics will be increasingly asked to examine their instructional strategies and to offer high quality learning opportunities. Sharing learning resources is seen as one strategy to help academics in this change process. As such, online repositories of learning objects are flourishing to encourage the concept of reuse. However, what is lacking are tools to support academics in designing high quality learning environments that incorporate learning objects. This paper presents a prototype tool that uses the concept of a "learning design" as the framework to assist academics in the design process and demonstrates how learning objects can be incorporated.

This paper reports recent work in developing of structures and processes that support university teachers and instructional designers incorporating learning objects into higher education focused learning designs. The aim of the project is to develop a framework to guide the design and implementation of high quality learning experiences. This framework is premised on the proposition that learning objects are resources that can be incorporated within a learning design. The learning design serves as the pedagogical model that drives the development. The first phase of the project required an analysis of metadata schemas by which learning objects could be described, to facilitate discovery, retrieval and inclusion in a learning design. In particular, the pedagogical descriptors within the IEEE Learning Object Metadata (LOM) standard were examined to determine their suitability for use in this project. The findings indicated that enhancement of the educational descriptors was required. To address this, a learning object metadata application profile specific to Australian higher education has been developed. This paper describes the process by which the metadata application profile was developed within the context of the overall project.

This paper describes two empirical studies which investigated the importance for spatial learning of view control and object manipulation within 3D environments. A 3D virtual chemistry laboratory was used as the research instrument. Subjects, who were university undergraduate students (34 in the first study and 80 in the second study), undertook tasks in the virtual laboratory and were tested on their spatial knowledge through written tests. The results of the study indicate that view control and object manipulation enhance spatial learning but only if the learner undertakes authentic tasks that require this learning. These results have implications for educational designers making a choice between video or animation and interactive 3D technologies. The results are discussed within the framework of Piaget's theories on active learning and Gibson's ecological theory of perception and action.

Within the context of an AUTC funded Project: Information and Communication Technologies and Their Role in Flexible Learning, this paper presents an analysis of learning designs using ICTs and how this grounded approach might be a more useful structure to design effective learning environments. The project has developed generic or reusable frameworks for technology-enhanced high quality learning experiences in higher education and this paper will present several examples, of the original design and how the key elements were selected and developed for use by others. As this project is currently developing these generic exemplars of learning designs, the final presentation will demonstrate how the designs might be reengineered to become useful templates for other instructors and other knowledge domains.

In recent years, research has focused on understanding how learners can benefit from tools that can assist in the development of informal reasoning skills when constructing arguments in collaborative learning with web-based learning environments. A common approach taken by each of these systems is to use support mechanisms (scaffolding) to facilitate student learning through the development of improved reasoning and argumentation skills. The authors of this paper have been developing computer-based learning environments for the past ten years, and have developed several award winning CD-ROM packages that feature a range of cognitive tools designed to assist learning. The development of these products has provided a rich source of information about learner use of cognitive tools. Our research has shown that two recurring issues keep emerging: 1. There is a need to develop generic cognitive tools that assist learners to understand and solve problems that relate to different knowledge domains. 2. There is a need to help learners to analyse and structure information gathered, when they use cognitive tools. This paper reports on the outcomes of a study into the reasoning and argumentation skills of pre-service education students engaged in problem solving within a computer-based learning environment. The implications for the design of a support framework to assist in this process will also be discussed.

As teachers adopt technology in their classrooms and develop the pedagogical models that will allow them to make use of the affordances of the technology, we are seeing improved learning outcomes and high-quality learning demonstrated. The pedagogical models that are showing the most promise come from ideas about how designers can implement the class of theories referred to as constructivism. Designers of technology-based learning environments can draw on the work of the many writers who have sought to develop guidelines and heuristics to support new modes of learning (see for example, Grabinger, 1996; Hannafin & Land, 1997; Squires, 1996). Constructivist frameworks are based upon the argument for learners being placed in authentic environments that incorporate sophisticated representations of context through such constructs as virtual “worlds”. Learning experiences, which adopt these approaches, designed around bounded resources, such as CD-ROM technologies, are now well documented and many teachers have been making extensive use of these environments for some time. One such project, Exploring the Nardoo, which has been developed within constructivist frameworks as a virtual world has been acclaimed for its illustration of these concepts. The product displays varying degrees of fidelity of representation, learner immersion and active participation and has been shown to offer learning advantages for users.

This paper discusses the thinking behind MediaPlant, an authoring tool which has been designed to embody several constructivist ideas in its development. It begins with some comparisons with some commonly employed tools and suggests that how the tools are designed to be used poses limitations upon the learning tasks which are designed. The chapter concludes with some examples of how the tools have been used and the types of products that have resulted from its use.

Teachers in a range of disciplines are interested in engaging their students in authentic activities that reflect the experiences of real world practitioners. Adopting this approach requires the design and implementation of learning environments that incorporate and support such activities. This paper describes two real life cases developed as support materials for learners undertaking a major multimedia design project. Their implementation in a graduate education subject forms the basis of a wider study investigating learners' interpretations and use of case materials.

This paper reports on the development and evaluation of cognitive tools used to interpret graphs and tables. The development of these tools was informed by research about how learners interpreted graphs and tables. A prototype of the cognitive tools was trialed with a small sample of preservice teachers. This prototype was then improved and used again with a larger sample. Data from individual audit trails of software use, journal entries and interviews with a small sample of preservice teachers were used to evaluate the cognitive tools. The findings showed that the simple, context-specific cognitive tools developed helped to reduce the cognitive load associated with the interpretation of graphs and tables.

Development of educational software has had a long history of use of authoring environments that have enabled instructional technologists rather than programmers to design and develop applications. The advantage of these tools has been that the designer did not need to be highly skilled in high-level languages, but could use a simpler construction set of pre-programmed modules, often supported by a simple scripting language. The disadvantage was that the developer was limited to the pre-programmed modules available and to the underlying assumptions of the structured instructional design models adopted by the tool. The designer also had to work within the visual and procedural structures employed by the tool designers to represent the design process within which learning activities could be constructed.

The increasing availability of CD ROM based interactive multimedia packages to support learning in science classrooms offers science teachers new pedagogical opportunities for student-centred and cooperative learning. However, many of the current products do not make full use of the existing technology in schools and even when they do they tend to constrain the student to a very limited view of information and how it can be used as part of student reporting of inquiry projects.Interactivity in many packages has been limited to "point and click" rather than employing instructional strategies that immerse and challenge students. The Interactive Multimedia Learning Laboratory at the University of Wollongong has developed two interactive multimedia packages designed for Australian schools that not only attempt to develop problem solving skills but also allow students to express their ideas with different forms of representation in their reports.Investigating Lake Iluka, based on the ecology of a coastal lake environment uses a text based notebook which allows the student to select text and edit it into their report on their problem investigation A second package, Exploring the Nardoo, based on water management issues extends the concept to include multimedia elements in the student's notebook. The evaluation of both packages has examined the ability of students to express themselves in text together with static and dynamic aural and visual forms. This paper also reports on improvement of scientific understanding and improved problem' reporting based on metacognitive supports included in these interactive multimedia packages, especially the use of genre templates and guides.

The emergence of integrated technologies is facilitating the configuration of vision and sound in ways previously impossible with discrete technologies. The attributes of infinite storage, continually increasing speed of access and phenomenal manipulation of images and sound are moving rapidly towards the notion of virtual reality in technology based information and presentation systems. What are the implications for instructional design? This paper discusses effective multimedia design strategies which results in the creation of multimedia programs. Implications for the development of materials with groups located at geographically different places are discussed. This impacts on the possibility of developing multimedia material between different groups in different countries.

Many of the software packages presently marketed as simulations are in fact little more than 'pre-set', limited models of the 'real world' systems they are designed to emulate. There is little scope for the user to interact with the model as they would in a 'real world' experience, and this must compromise the intended educational outcomes. The exact nature of what constitutes a 'good simulation' is not agreed upon among researchers or designers alike, but if the goal of the simulation is to provide experiences which approach those in the 'real world', and in so doing, provide opportunity for the development of higher order skills which research in cognitive science is suggesting are important, one must strive for the greatest degree of user interaction as possible.The achievement of this goal rests with the application of HyperMedia based platforms which may be exploited for their ability to provide the 'genuine interaction' essential to 'real world' systems, across the computer-user boundary. A number of design issues must be addressed if the full potential of HyperMedia based platforms is to be harnessed.

This paper describes the issues surrounding the provision of information systems to small educational organisations, in particular, the concerns which need to be considered when generating a comprehensive strategy for the implementation of an educational integrated information system. The paper reviews both information systems strategy research and innovations in educational technology, and reports on two studies of the problems in information systems strategy of educational professionals. In the major study, survey responses from 432 high schools were analysed to examine the relative use of microcomputer school information systems for efficiency of routine functions versus effective decision-making defined as greater use of information by school personnel. Schools showed significantly greater use of the systems for more efficient processing of routine tasks. However, operational factors related to the use of the systems as informing tools for more effective decision-making were able to be singled out, and relationships among measures of efficiency, effectiveness, decision-making and operational factors were identified. The article concludes with implications for institutional practice, related research and professional preparation of educational administrators.

This chapter first argues that current approaches for sharing and retrieving learning objects or any other kinds of information are not efficient or scalable, essentially because almost all of these approaches are based on the manual or automatic indexation or merge of independently created formal or informal resources. It then shows that tightly interconnected collaboratively updated formal or semiformal large knowledge bases (semantic networks) can, should, and probably will, be used as a shared medium for the tasks of researching, publishing, teaching, learning, evaluating, or collaborating, and thus ease or complement traditional methods such as face-to-face teaching and document publishing. To test and support these claims, the authors have implemented their ideas into a knowledge server named WebKB- 2 and begun representing their research domain and several courses at their universities. The same underlying techniques could be applied to a semantic/learning grid or peer-to-peer network.

Table of Contents An introduction to rethinking pedagogy by Helen Beetham and Rhona Sharpe Part One: Principles and practices of designing for learning Chapter 1 Technology enhanced learning: the role of theory by Terry Mayes and Sara de Freitas Chapter 2 Designing for active learning in technology-rich contexts by Helen Beetham Chapter 3 The analysis of complex learning environments by Peter Goodyear and Lucila Carvalho Chapter 4 The challenge of teachers' design practice by Liz Masterman Chapter 5 Tools and resources to guide practice by By Grainne Conole Chapter 6 Describing ICT-based learning designs that promote quality learning outcomes by Ron Oliver, Barry Harper, Sandra Wills, Shirley Agostinho and John Hedberg Chapter 7 Learning designs as stimulus and support for teachers' design practices by Shirley Agostinho, Sue Bennett, Lori Lockyer, Jennifer Jones and Barry Harper Chapter 8 Representing practitioner experiences through learning designs and patterns by Patrick McAndrew and Peter Goodyear Chapter 9 The influence of open resources on design practice by Chris Pegler Part Two: Contexts for design Chapter 10 Designing for learning in course teams by Rhona Sharpe and Martin Oliver Chapter 11 The art of design by Derek Harding and Bruce Ingraham Chapter 12 Activity designs for professional learning by Rachel Ellaway Chapter 13 Designing for practice: A view from social science by Chris Jones Chapter 14 Student as producer is hacking the university by Joss Winn and Dean Lockwood Chapter 15 The LAMS community: Building communities of designers by James Dalziel Chapter 16 Design principles for mobile learning by Agnes Kukulska-Hulme and John Traxler Chapter 17 Designing for learning in an uncertain future by Helen Beetham

Contents Acknowledgement List of Figures List of Tables Series Editor's Foreword Introduction Charles Juwah Section 1: Theoretical and Pedagogical Perspective Chapter 1. Theoretical Perspectives on Interactivity Online Terry Mayes Chapter 2. Engaging Learners with Designers: Encounter Theory as a Model for Enhancing Communication, Interaction and Engagement Rod Sims and John Hedberg Chapter 3. A framework for analyzing and designing e-learning interactions Atsusi Hirumi Section 2: Design and Learning Environment Chapter 4. Designing interaction as a dialogue game: Linking social and conceptual dimensions of the learning process Andrew Ravenscroft and Simon McAlister Chapter 5. A Model of Authentic Activities for Online Learning Jan Herrington, Thomas C. Reeves and Ron Oliver Chapter 6. Learning Designs, Learner Interactions and Learning Objects Sue Bennett, Lori Lockyer and Barry Harper Chapter 7. Simulation: Designing for Interactivity and Higher Order Learning Rik Min Section 3: Practice Chapter 8. Interactions in learning and teaching on the educational semantic web Terry Anderson Chapter 9. Interactions in Online Discussions: A Pedagogical perspective Sanjaya Mishra and Charles Juwah Chapter 10. Interactions in Peer Learning Charles Juwah Chapter 11. Interactivity and Interactions in Videoconferencing Teaching Wolfgang Greller Section 4: Professional Development Chapter 12. Professional development of online facilitators in enhancing interaction and engagement: A framework Santosh Panda and Charles Juwah Chapter 13. Developing Competencies for Online and Distance Education Teaching Ramesh C. Sharma and Charles Juwah Conclusion Charles Juwah Index