Intelligence in an ITS authoring system could rely on content-based engineering of instructional design (ID) knowledge, i.e. based on principles such as conceptualization, standardization and theory-awareness. An ontology-based architecture with appropriate ontologies has been proposed for a theory-aware ITS authoring system. Ontological engineering (OE) as a collaborative process jointly conducted by an OE expert and an ID expert is presented as a step on a roadmap towards a theory-aware ITS authoring system.

This article defines primary knowledge components for entities, actions, and processes. It also defines primary instructional strategy components. It proposes that a different combination of strategy and knowledge components is required for different kinds of instructional goals. It further proposes that if these fundamental strategy-knowledge component combinations are not present that there will be a decrement in the student's effective and efficient acquisition of the desired knowledge and skill. It further proposes that the underlying architecture of an instructional strategy is a combination of primary strategy components and primary knowledge components appropriate for, and consistent with, a given instructional goal. Instructional components are a theoretical tool. They are not a method or development procedure. These instructional strategy and knowledge components can be imbedded in a wide variety of different instructional architectures based on a variety of different philosophical orientations. It is hoped that one of the primary benefits of instructional components is to provide a common vocabulary that will enable designers, theorists, and instructional developers to more clearly describe their products and procedures.

Education can profit significantly from hypermedia und etechnologies. However, in our experience the majority of students having the choice of learning on the computer or from a printed script or book prefer the latter when it comes to "challenging" formal domains.

The potential benefits of technology for education have frequently been technology driven,. No more so than with the current developments in multimedia which integrated text, graphics, video and audio to provide a comprehensive representation of a content domain on a single display monitor. In this environment, developers are producing applications which reflect significant changes in the way in which information is presented, delivered and accessed. Consequently, new and different problems are emerging in the way in which learners develop an understanding or mental model of both the content and structure of the instructional software being used. With the challenge to facilitate the rapid formation of accurate mental models, this paper reviews the paradigm shifts which have occurred in the critical areas of instructional strategy, learning theory, interaction and interface design and introduces a reappraisal of learner control research in terms of a set of dimensions required for effective multimedia instruction. A new approach to design at both the interface and instructional level is required to take full advantage of both the technology and learner requirements.

The purpose of this research was to use computer-tracking system data to empirically determine if a relationship existed between effectiveness (learning) and efficiency (time) in using the program and the way the learner navigated the system’s rules, examples, and practice areas. Four simple regressions were conducted. Three statistically significant relationships were found between success (learning) and the way the learner navigated the system’s rules, example, and practice areas. No significant relationship between success (learning) and efficiency (time in the instructional program) was found. This study provides support for using a computertracking system to improve the process of evaluating instructional software programs. The process of evaluating instructional software is a necessary component of the instructional design process and widely accepted as an important factor in the development of computer-based training. “Without evaluation, neither developers, nor the organization sponsoring training, know with any certainty or in any detail how well the training is functioning ” (Gibbons, 1995, p. 13-1). Evaluation possesses special features (distinguished from traditional research) with the investigation focused on supporting and making sound value judgments (Scriven, 1980). A properly conducted evaluation can help to determine the effectiveness, efficiency, usability, and acceptability of an instructional

The number of coursewares available on the Internet has increased greatly recent years. The amount of information we can obtain from the networked environment is enormous. However, the importance of getting right information draws much attention from researchers in the community. Currently, searching techniques are developed to help the learners as well as teachers find information in the World Wide Web. Nevertheless, the users can be confused with search results due to irrelevant information, misinformation, insufficient information, etc. Searching can be performed accurately and efficiently by utilizing metadata for the Web coursewares. This paper proposes a metadata management system trying to help search appropriate coursewares and shows that utilizing metadata for search can facilitate obtaining right information on the Web. Elements of the metadata are selected and their relationships are identified in order to organize them in a relational database. Procedures to obtain the metadata for Web coursewares are designed and implemented in the Microsoft ASP(Active Server Pages). Issues on managing the metadata are addressed and implemented in the system so that addition, deletion, and update operations can be done easily via the Web. The overall metadata management system provides user-friendly interfaces to give essential information on the coursewares and to handle user enquiry correctly and efficiently.

Abstract. The APOSDLE project aims to improve knowledge worker productivity by supporting work-integrated learning. Our

In today’s knowledge economy, technology is utilized more than ever to deliver instructional material to the learner. Nonetheless, information may not always be presented in a manner that maximizes the learning experience, resulting in a negative impact on learning outcomes. Drawing on the Task-Technology Fit model, a research framework was developed to investigate the influence of vividness, interactivity, task complexity, and learning style on performance, satisfaction, interest, and perceived mental effort in the context of learning how to use an office productivity tool via a computer-mediated learning environment. It was hypothesized that vividness and interactivity would increase satisfaction and interest and that the affects of vividness and interactivity on performance and perceived mental effort would vary depending on the complexity of the task. It was also hypothesized that vividness and learning style would interact to influence performance and perceived mental effort when a task was more complex. A laboratory experiment was employed to test the research model. The experiment manipulated two levels of vividness, interactivity, and task complexity, resulting in six unique treatment conditions. In each of these treatment conditions, subjects viewed a computerbased tutorial on how to complete a task using a specific tool in Microsoft Excel. Subjects were

This research examines asynchronous participatory examinations, a new technology-mediated assessment strategy especially suitable for online courses. The participatory exam innovation utilizes information technology to support engaging students in the entire examination lifecycle, including creating and solving problems, and grading solutions. These learning processes enable students to not only gain new knowledge but also to strengthen their assessment skills. A five-semester field study in the U.S., supplemented by a small scale replication in Austria, investigated how participatory exams can facilitate higher-order learning and what explains students’ acceptance of the innovation. An extended version of the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), adapted to the educational context, predicts acceptance based on three key constructs: “perceived enjoyment, ” “perceived learning, ” and “recommendation for use. ” The study results support the premises that participants perceive learning from all stages of the cooperative exam process, and that the innovation acceptance is a function of both intrinsic motivations (e.g., enjoyment of the experience) and extrinsic motivations (e.g., perception that one has learned from the process).

U.S. Government, the Department of Defense, or any of its agencies.