Examines the "media effects" debate-whether media in and of itself affects learning-and presents an analysis of various arguments from a learning theory perspective. Proposes a dynamic process of instructional design where assessments are aimed at instructional practices as well as learning outcomes, and instructional media and method…

Applies the concept of classroom community to asynchronous learning networks by considering how to design and implement a course that fosters community among learners who are physically separated from each other. Examines student-instructor ratio, transactional distance, social presence and instructor immediacy, lurking, social equity,…

Relates aspects of the didactic tradition, especially the German didactic tradition, to the theory and practice of instructional design. Focuses on processes that are necessary to the modeling of reality and describes the design and development of a virtual enterprise as a complex teaching-learning environment in a German business school.…

Explains three worlds of instructional design: the world of knowledge, including knowledge structures and instructional strategies; the world of learning, including learning processes; and the world of work, focusing on real life task performance. Discusses implications for future research, stressing the promise of mental models as a theoretical…

Outlines issues that all students planning a distance learning course should consider relating to choice of course, time management, funding ,and adjusting to the different nature of distance learning. Advises developing a support network for distance learning students, either in person or electronically, to increase motivation and completion.…

Looks at seven key lessons learned when developing a distance-learning program that focuses heavily on needs assessment as well as team working and the need to consider a multiprofessional approach. Offers practical advice to those in the medical and dental professions wishing to produce their own educational programs. (Contains 21 references.)…

Discusses an alternative teaching approach that incorporates action learning principles along with authentic project-based methods into the full-time study of instructional design. Describes the implementation of action learning principles within a graduate program in instructional technology at George Mason University. (Author/LRW)

This article provides an international perspective on learning technology developments, with emphasis on the special challenges of designing distance learning technologies (DLT) in the developing countries of Asia. A commentary on the current achievements and problems of DLT designers is provided, based on the authors' recent study tour of…

To integrate technology into mathematics teaching and learning effectively, teachers could create a technology-based learning environment that provides students with opportunities to experience the process of mathematical investigation. These opportunities range from exploring using mathematical ideas to making and testing conjectures, as well as…

This paper presents a platform-independent method for packaging learning objects and learning designs. The method, entitled a Smart Learning Design Framework, is based on the MPEG-21 standard, and uses IEEE Learning Object Metadata (LOM) to provide bibliographic, technical, and pedagogical descriptors for the retrieval and description of learning…

There are a number of issues that face individuals who would use learning objects for instructional purposes. These issues include problems with decontextualization, enabling meaningful reusability, and overcoming biases toward didactic approaches in the use of learning objects. We discuss these problems in some detail, and present a project-based…

The provision of lifelong learning facilities is considered to be a major new direction for higher and distance teaching educational institutes catering for the demands of industry and society. ICT networks will in future support seamless, ubiquitous access to lifelong learning facilities at home, at work, in schools and universities. This implies…

There has been a considerable growth in the use of flexible methods of delivery for workplace learning and development. However, in designing programmes of flexible learning there is often the assumption that learners will exhibit uniformity in the ways in which they process and organise information (cognitive style), in their predispositions…

Effective teaching should focus the attention of learners to its essential aspects. It follows that instructional software can be designed in such a way that allows learners to experience the important variations in the critical aspects of the content to be learned. This paper reports on the experience of designing such special kinds of…

In this paper we discuss an experiment that was carried out with a prototype, designed in conformity with the concept of parallelism and the Parallel Instruction theory (the PI theory). We designed this prototype with five different interfaces, and ran an empirical study in which 18 participants completed an abstract task. The five basic designs…