Goal: The use of an online game for learning in higher education aims to make complex theoretical knowledge more approachable. Permanent repetition will lead to a more in-depth learning. Objective: To gain insight into whether and to what extent, online games have the potential to contribute to student learning in higher education. Experimental Setting: The online game was used for the first time during a lecture on Structural Concrete at Master’s level, involving 121 seventh semester students. Methods: Pretest/posttest experimental control group design with questionnaires and an independent online evaluation. Results: The minimum learning result of playing the game was equal to that achieved with traditional methods. A factor called “joy ” was introduced, according to Nielsen (2002), which was amazingly high. Conclusion: The experimental findings support the efficacy of game playing. Students enjoyed this kind of e-Learning. Keywords: Game-based learning, e-Learning, Human-Computer Interaction,

A key to the Web's success is the power of search. The elegant way in which search results are returned is usually remarkably effective. However, for exploratory search in which users need to learn, discover, and understand novel or complex topics, there is substantial room for improvement. Human computer interaction researchers and web browser designers have developed novel strategies to improve Web search by enabling users to conveniently visualize, manipulate, and organize their Web search results. This monograph offers fresh ways to think about search-related cognitive processes and describes innovative design approaches to browsers and related tools. For instance, while key word search presents users with results for specific information (e.g., what is the capitol of Peru), other methods may let users see and explore the contexts of their requests for information (related or previous work, conflicting information), or the properties that associate groups of information assets (group legal decisions by lead attorney).

Abstract: This paper describes an eLearning approach to distant teaching a master course for civil engineering students. The course has been implemented using a novel eLearning system, called WBT-Master. Typical learning platforms provide only standard tools without taking into consideration special needs of such specific user groups as Civil Engineering students. The aim of this project was to extend the WBT-Master functionality to support the specific eLearning paradigm. The paper describes such specific features and processes and evaluates the experience gained during practical system usage. Subsequently the benefit of the approach is summarized and discussed. It should be especially noted that the recommended changes have made the eLearning environment substantially more useable and have increased the students ’ acceptance.

Abstract: Nowadays, advanced E-Learning systems are generally pedagogy-aware. Commonly, these systems include facilities for defining so-called learning scenarios that reflect sophisticated pedagogical approaches such as collaborative writing or project-oriented learning. To support different learning activities from such scenarios the technological infrastructure of these systems must be appropriately adjusted and configured. Usually, this configuration process is laced with a number of difficulties. Most of these difficulties are caused by the fact that scenario capturing is achieved through informal user-developer dialogues. Typically, the result of such informal dialogues contains inconsistent and incomplete information because of misunderstandings and the complexity of the interactions within a scenario. Consequently, the configuration of the system is suboptimal and a number of iterations are required in order to achieve better results. In this paper an approach to improve this situation is presented. This approach is based on a general formal representation model for describing learning scenarios. A particular formal description of a concrete learning scenario is obtained through a user dialogue with a wizard tool. At the next step, this formal description might be automatically processed to facilitate configuration process. The paper is concluded with some experiences gained by applying this approach in two E-Learning projects. Keywords: E-Learning, E-Learning system, learning scenario, formal representation, configuration

With the increasing use of dynamic media in multimedia learning material, it is important to consider not only the technological but also the cognitive aspects of its application. A large amount of previous research does not provide preference to either static or dynamic media for educational purposes and a considerable number of studies found positive, negative or even no effects of dynamic media on learning performance. Consequently, it is still necessary to discern which factors contribute to the success or failure of static or dynamic media. The study presented here can be seen as another brick in the wall of understanding students ’ learning supported by dynamic media. In this study, aspects of cognitive load and the ability to generate mental representations for the purpose of appropriate animation design and development are considered. The learning performance of static versus dynamic media amongst a total of 129 Computer Science students, including a control group, was investigated. The results showed that learning performance using dynamic media was significantly higher than those of the static textbook lesson when the learning material had a certain level of complexity; the more complex the learning material, the larger the benefit of using animations. The results were examined for possible factors that contributed to the success or failure of dynamic media in education. In conclusion, this study has