Serious games have a great potential for training and educating people in novel and engaging ways. However, little empirical research has been done on the effectiveness of serious games, and although early findings do point to a moderately positive direction, even less is known about why some games succeed in effectively educating while others do…

Raises critical management issues and proposes guidelines for technical management of large-scale development of courseware with complex content. Discussion covers the technical management of such a project as it relates to organizational structure; leadership shifts throughout the design process; prototype development; and the systematic process…

Reviews instructional design research and theory and relates it to the design of computer-based instructional materials. Instructional design guidelines are offered to aid software developers in making design decisions on three macrolevel and four microlevel of instruction. (Author/LRW)

Arguing that the evolution of intelligent tutoring systems better reflects the recent theoretical developments of cognitive science than traditional computer-based instruction (CBI), this paper describes a general model for an intelligent tutoring system and suggests ways to improve CBI using design principles derived from research in cognitive…

The guidelines in this article help in developing educational software. The first rule is that educators should not develop software for education, but should develop an "educational system" that uses software. The distinction is that the former is primarily concerned with the computer and its requirements while the latter focuses on…

Briefly describes the benefits of computer-assisted instruction for library applications in bibliographic instruction and staff training and notes that little quality software is available that is appropriate. Detailed guidelines are provided for librarians to design their own courseware, including planning, designing, writing, programming, and…

The Management Accounting Tutorial System (MATS) is a management accounting database for a carpet manufacturing company. The system allows the display and output of monthly activities, and is intended to provide a means of illustrating the main topics of the second year management accounting course at Manchester University. The system itself…

Discusses four major elements of computer assisted instruction (CAI) program (instructional objectives; presentation, interaction, feedback); describes attributional consistency, which involves developing CAI programs so each major element has a common topography (e.g., to discriminate, describe, demonstrate, depict graphically); and presents…

Discusses standards developed by the Educational Computer Service of the National Education Association that incorporate technical, educational, and documentation components to guide authors in the development of quality educational software. (Author/MBR)

Planning for instructional use of microcomputers should start with the curriculum, not with computers. Planning is a necessity and it should be a fluid process. A planning model offered by the Minnesota Educational Computing Consortium starts with an analysis of current curriculum to identify the content, skills, and attitudes that are considered…

This checklist provides guidelines for designing computer screen displays and evaluating those designed by others. The checklist covers three important aspects of designing a computer screen display: how the screen looks, how the screen interacts with users, and evaluating the screen. (MBR)

Discusses the steps for selecting a suitable authoring system for computer-based training. The factors of power, ease of use, productivity and maintenance, embedded within evaluative scenarios, are used as evaluation guidelines. (SED)

Guidelines represent an important instrument in the development of Web-based Training (WBT). They help to create reliable, portable, and interoperable standardized WBTs of high-quality. The development of guidelines can be considered as a key success factor regarding the effectiveness of WBTs. The effects of guidelines can be both favorable and…

This guide by Margaret Driscoll is for those involved in creation or support of an e-learning program. It covers technical and pedagogical aspects associated with the development and maintenance of web-based training (WBT). The accompanying CD-ROM contains templates, design documents, worksheets, and direct web links to additional information and…

This paper presents a guide, based on the experiences of some online teachers and students at Ohio University, offering practical information for instructors who want to teach online more effectively. Online instructional tips are organized and provided in four main areas. The first area of guidelines focuses on pedagogical aspects, and discusses…