This study explores distance instructors' perceptions and attitudes related to applying key elements of instructional design in preparing to teach at a distance. Although one role of a distance instructor is to design instruction, it is not known if and how he or she knows, understands, and applies instructional design elements when he or she…

Traditionally, Cognitive Load Theory (CLT) has focused on instructional methods to decrease extraneous cognitive load so that available cognitive resources can be fully devoted to learning. This article strengthens the cognitive base of CLT by linking cognitive processes to the processes used by biological evolution. The article discusses recent…

For this study, we examined the cogency, comprehensiveness, and viability of team-based problem solutions of a Web-based hypermedia case designed to promote student understanding of the practice of instructional design. Participants were 14 students enrolled in a graduate course on advanced instructional design. The case was presented to students…

Skepticism about online instruction often erroneously blames the electronic medium for shortcomings in instructional design or technique. This essay discusses the performance expectations for fully online group problem-solving via threaded discussion boards. Four years of administering this assignment in a basic oral communication course yield…

This study engages the question of where successful emerging (pretenure) scholars are most likely to publish their research. Spurred on by findings of a survey of leaders in the field of educational technology instructional design and technology (ETIDT) to determine the advisability of a rank-ordered list of journals for the purposes of decision…

Visits to science museums can provide a complement to the science learning carried out in schools. However, science museums are informal learning environments where teachers usually have very little control over the ideas being implicated or the experiments that the students carry out. It is necessary to design educational materials for the visit…

There has been considerable emphasis on the availability and reuse of learning content in recent years. Since 2000, the ADL initiative has refined the recommendations contained in the SCORM documents through progressive stages represented in the SCORM 1.0, 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3 documents. Fundamental to SCORM is the notion of the Shareable Content…

This article describes a specific approach to a teacher investigation of students' written work. The aim of the investigation was for in-service middle school teachers to externalize their thinking about their students' mathematical thinking and to then reflect upon these externalizations and make refinements accordingly. This aim mirrors the…

Purpose: The increased pressure to incorporate communication technologies into learning environments has intensified the attention given to the role of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in academic settings. However, the issue of how and why these technologies, especially synchronous CMC applications, has been given less attention in…

It is not uncommon today to hear university leaders and students lament higher education's failure to more fully capitalize on its investments in information technology (IT), especially in support of residential instruction. While instructional technology's potential is being realized in isolated pockets of innovation, its impact at the…

In this paper, the authors describe a mechanism for the introduction of small variations in the original learning design process defined in a particular Unit of Learning (UoL). The objective is to increase the UoL reusability by offering the designers an alternative to introduce slight variations on the original design instead of creating a new…

A frequent concern raised by distance educators is that e-learning takes more time to facilitate than traditional classroom instruction. The simple fact that it takes more time to read and write than to speak and listen warrants consideration. To establish viable e-learning programs, we need to optimize the amount of time educators spend online.…

Instructional design and technology (IDT) is a young field. Having coalesced as a unified field during the last half of the twentieth-century, IDT is a relative newcomer among educational disciplines. As such, it is not surprising to find its members frequently engaged in processes of reflection and inquiry to define areas of primary concern and…

Evaluation is a powerful stage of both the instructional design and the human performance technology models. Unfortunately, it is not often done at a level that will measure the impact of training or other performance improvement interventions on-the-job and its value to the organization. If done properly, systematic evaluation can provide the…

A school or district's technology education program consists of a series of courses that address standards. Recent trends (e.g., No Child Left Behind), administrative pressures to increase student achievement, or the school's desire to align with standards, challenge the technology education teacher to implement new courses into the technology…