Presents a group of semiotic principles for software design and uses them to show how they explain different educational possibilities. Discusses interface design and describes Theater in the Computer, a software environment for children, to illustrate semiotic-based principle of interface design. (Author/LRW)

Examines metaphor's limitations as a visual-rhetorical framework for designing, evaluating, and critiquing user interfaces. Outlines an alternate framework for visual rhetoric, that of genre ecologies, and discusses how it avoids some of the limitations of metaphor. Uses an empirical study of computer users to illustrate the genre-ecology…

Recent research on annotation interfaces provides provocative evidence that anchored, annotation-based discussion environments may lead to better conversations about a text. However, annotation interfaces raise complicated tradeoffs regarding screen real estate and positioning. It is argued that solving this screen real estate problem requires…

Grid computing allows large groups of computers (either in a lab, or remote and connected only by the Internet) to extend extra processing power to each individual computer to work on components of a complex request. Grid middleware, recognizing priorities set by systems administrators, allows the grid to identify and use this power without…

Presents issues raised in designing a software interface as a teaching aid for a preschool user group. Addresses issues such as message variance caused by disappearance of information when media access varied by user, and finding commonalities across a user base. (PA)

This study consists of two experiments. Pitch, volume, and tempo in auditory-haptic geographic information systems were compared in terms of effectiveness for multimodal interface; volume was determined to be better. Auditory display with volume and haptic display with vibration were compared and the results showed that, in more complex geographic…

This paper reflects a collaborative effort between the New Media Consortium (NMC) and the JISC Innovation Support Centres, CETIS and UKOLN. The research underpinning the report makes use of the NMC's Delphi-based process for bringing groups of experts to a consensus viewpoint, in this case around the impact of emerging technologies on teaching,…

Ken Klingenstein has led national networking initiatives for the past 25 years. He served as director of computing and network services at the University of Colorado at Boulder from 1985-1999, and today, Klingenstein is director of middleware and security for Internet2. Truth is, this networking innovator has participated in the development of the…

This paper discusses a generic query tool that enables an end user to query a metadata store through filters that impose search criteria on attributes. The Metadata Query Tool (MQT) is generic in the sense that it dynamically creates its user interface, based on configuration files that define the metadata scheme and the query functionalities.…

A museum can talk to its audience through a variety of channels, such as Web sites, help desks, human guides, brochures. A considerable effort is being made by museums to integrate these different means. The Web site can be designed to be reachable or even updateable from visitors inside the museum via touchscreen and wireless devices. But these…

Examines the relationship between computer-user interface (character-based or graphical) and the quality of documents written by college students. Finds that, after six weeks of business communication instruction, IBM users excelled on the criteria of mechanics and format, but that after five more weeks the two groups demonstrated no significant…

Discusses Web-based learning, also referred to as distributed learning, and outlines eight areas that are part of a framework to use to design successful Web learning environments. Includes pedagogical issues, technological factors, interface design, evaluation, management, resource support, ethical issues, and institutional considerations. (LRW)

Evaluted a peer-assessment process implemented over several years in a Human-Computer Interaction class. Questionnaires, open-ended questions, and interviews revealed that overall students approved of the process (which included peer assessment based on explicit criteria along with subjective ranking exercises not included in grading), its…

Describes a study where 66 subjects were asked to perform some predefined book purchasing task in a series of Web sites with varying interface quality. A strong relationship between interface quality and trust was found and some components of user interface quality were more important than others. Discusses implications for Web site design.…

Learner centred design methods highlight the importance of involving the stakeholders of the learning process (learners, teachers, educational researchers) at all stages of the design of educational applications and of refining the design through an iterative prototyping process. These methods have been used successfully when designing systems…