Arguing that understanding what lies behind the apparent usability of direct manipulation style interfaces might not only help in building better interfaces, but can also draw attention to possible side effects, this paper uses examples from a prototype data manipulation system to pursue a characterization of direct manipulation interfaces as…

This paper is an analysis of Intranets and Extranets at selected state libraries in the United States. The paper does not review World Wide Web sites designed for use by the general public; rather, it focuses on Web sites designed and delivered by the state library to a targeted audience, typically state government employees, state library…

A survey of 194 graduate students compared the old and new formats of "Esquire" magazine, combining two issues of each format in a sequence of four viewing pairs (to negate possible bias effects of content). The subjects indicated their preferences and reasons for preferences for old and new logos, typefaces, tables of content formats,…

Learner preferences for varying screen density levels were examined using multiple screen designs (high external validity) and single screen designs (high internal validity). Subjects were 23 graduate and 23 undergraduate student volunteers. When viewing multiple screens for each design in Study I, they indicated the highest preference for medium…

Effective navigation is becoming more and more critical to the success of electronic commerce (E-commerce). It remains a challenge for educational technologists and Web designers to develop Web systems that can help customers find products or services without experiencing disorientation problems and cognitive overload. Many E-commerce Web sites…

A study was conducted to examine newspaper readers' responses to front page design and to explore the perceived differences among traditional, modern, and modular formats of newspaper design. Slides of the front pages of 10 pairs of competing daily newspapers were shown to 91 journalism students. After viewing three slides for each paper, subjects…

This paper compares and discusses the results from two user studies of interactive television (ITV) with a total of 50 subjects. The interfaces of two different ITV information services were studied: one with a place-like interface rich in graphics, animation and audio, and the other a simple interface with text and still images. In the first…

"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 study examined the effects of color on information processing strategies of internal and external locus of control learners. Specific objectives were to: (1) examine the instructional effectiveness of two types of visualized instruction in facilitating achievement for students with different learning styles; (2) determine whether an…

There are several approaches a World Wide Web site designer considers in developing a menu structure. One consideration is the content of the menus (what choices are available to the user). Another consideration is the physical layout of the menu structure. The physical layout of a menu may be described as being one of at least three different…

This paper examines how values education is taught in Chinese and American elementary schools and what values are advocated in Chinese and American elementary textbooks. Differences in attitude, content, method, and outcome are analyzed in the context of social and cultural backgrounds. It is concluded that American textbooks tend to emphasize…

This paper proposes an automated, third party World Wide Web (WWW)-based evaluation service (i.e., an online questionnaire) that focuses on usability issues of WWW-based courseware and can be used by any WWW course instructor/student. Requirements related to the usability of educational systems are summarized, including the learning environment,…

Users of content-based software programs, including hypertexts and instructional multimedia, rely on the navigation functions provided by the designers of those program. Typical navigation schemes use abstract symbols (arrows) to label basic navigational functions like moving forward or backward through screen displays. In a previous study, the…

This study investigated performance differences between three different World Wide Web-based navigation models: linear, persistent, and semi-persistent menu structures. Subjects, 44 graduate and undergraduate students at Indiana University and public school teachers, were placed into one of the three navigation conditions and completed…

This research investigates the ways people learn from multimedia and how navigational patterns can be incorporated into the design structure. The paper begins with a discussion of present navigational research and then presents the results from the initial empirical work, including a pilot study of primary and secondary children using multimedia…