Teaching new media composition studies in a lifelong learning context

Governmental proposals for lifelong learning, and the role of Information and Learning Technologies/Information Communication Technologies (ILT/ICT) in this, idealistically proclaim that ILT/ICT empowers learners. A number of important governmental funding initiatives have recently been extended to the development of ILT in further education, which provides a particularly appropriate environment for lifelong learning. Yet little emphasis is given to more problematic research findings that students may be ‘disarmed’ in the process of learning to use technology. In the current global shift towards new forms of multimedia literacy, it is important to recognize human diversity by carrying out research focusing on the actual problems students face in adapting to Web‐based technology as a new authoring medium. A case study into multimedia creative composition carried out with FE students in 1996–9 found that students tend to experience a problematic but potentially useful period of ‘creative mess’ when authoring in multimedia, and that ‘scaffolding’ strategies can be useful in overcoming this. Such strategies can empower students to derive benefits from multimedia composition if close attention is given to the setting up of the learning environment: a teachers’ model for supporting novice hypermedia authors in further education is proposed, to assist teachers to understand and support the learning processes students may undergo in dynamic composition using new media technology

Intuitive expertise in ICT graduate supervision

Intuitive expertise in the application of advanced interdisciplinary facilitation is the subject of this personal reflection on the graduate supervisory style of Professor David Squires in computers in education. This single‐case reflective study examines the characteristics of effective supervision observed during masters and doctoral supervision at King's College in the years 1990–9. Interdisciplinarity in ICT graduate studies particularly requires a fluency of supervisory expertise in enabling supervisees to combine multiple complex perspectives from a number of fields of knowledge. Intuitive combinatory aspects of supervision are highlighted in this reflection on the role carried out by an academic expert in facilitating student success. This is examined from a perspective incorporating affective as well as intellectual elements, informed by characteristics identified in professional sports and performing arts coaching/mentoring. Key characteristics comprising a model of intuitive expertise in ICT graduate supervision were outlined. The resultant portrait aims to complement existing literature on graduate supervision, with reference to the field of ICTI computers in education relating to student hypermedia composition

User-centred design of flexible hypermedia for a mobile guide: Reflections on the hyperaudio experience

A user-centred design approach involves end-users from the very beginning. Considering users at the early stages compels designers to think in terms of utility and usability and helps develop the system on what is actually needed. This paper discusses the case of HyperAudio, a context-sensitive adaptive and mobile guide to museums developed in the late 90s. User requirements were collected via a survey to understand visitors’ profiles and visit styles in Natural Science museums. The knowledge acquired supported the specification of system requirements, helping defining user model, data structure and adaptive behaviour of the system. User requirements guided the design decisions on what could be implemented by using simple adaptable triggers and what instead needed more sophisticated adaptive techniques, a fundamental choice when all the computation must be done on a PDA. Graphical and interactive environments for developing and testing complex adaptive systems are discussed as a further step towards an iterative design that considers the user interaction a central point. The paper discusses how such an environment allows designers and developers to experiment with different system’s behaviours and to widely test it under realistic conditions by simulation of the actual context evolving over time. The understanding gained in HyperAudio is then considered in the perspective of the developments that followed that first experience: our findings seem still valid despite the passed time

Courseware in academic library user education: A literature review from the GAELS Joint Electronic Library Project

The use of courseware for information skills teaching in academic libraries has been growing for a number of years. In order to create effective courseware packages to support joint electronic library activity at Glasgow and Strathclyde Universities, the GAELS project conducted a literature review of the subject. This review discovered a range of factors common to successful library courseware implementations, such as the need for practitioners to feel a sense of ownership of the medium, a need for courseware customization to local information environments, and an emphasis on training packages for large bodies of undergraduates. However, we also noted underdeveloped aspects worthy of further attention, such as treatment of pedagogic issues in library computer‐aided learning (CAL) implementations and use of hypertextual learning materials for more advanced information skills training. We describe how these findings shaped the packages produced by the project and suggest ways forward for similar types of implementation

Adaptive hypermedia for education and training

Adaptive hypermedia (AH) is an alternative to the traditional, one-size-fits-all approach in the development of hypermedia systems. AH systems build a model of the goals, preferences, and knowledge of each individual user; this model is used throughout the interaction with the user to adapt to the needs of that particular user (Brusilovsky, 1996b). For example, a student in an adaptive educational hypermedia system will be given a presentation that is adapted specifically to his or her knowledge of the subject (De Bra & Calvi, 1998; Hothi, Hall, & Sly, 2000) as well as a suggested set of the most relevant links to proceed further (Brusilovsky, Eklund, & Schwarz, 1998; Kavcic, 2004). An adaptive electronic encyclopedia will personalize the content of an article to augment the user's existing knowledge and interests (Bontcheva & Wilks, 2005; Milosavljevic, 1997). A museum guide will adapt the presentation about every visited object to the user's individual path through the museum (Oberlander et al., 1998; Stock et al., 2007). Adaptive hypermedia belongs to the class of user-adaptive systems (Schneider-Hufschmidt, Kühme, & Malinowski, 1993). A distinctive feature of an adaptive system is an explicit user model that represents user knowledge, goals, and interests, as well as other features that enable the system to adapt to different users with their own specific set of goals. An adaptive system collects data for the user model from various sources that can include implicitly observing user interaction and explicitly requesting direct input from the user. The user model is applied to provide an adaptation effect, that is, tailor interaction to different users in the same context. In different kinds of adaptive systems, adaptation effects could vary greatly. In AH systems, it is limited to three major adaptation technologies: adaptive content selection, adaptive navigation support, and adaptive presentation. The first of these three technologies comes from the fields of adaptive information retrieval (IR) and intelligent tutoring systems (ITS). When the user searches for information, the system adaptively selects and prioritizes the most relevant items (Brajnik, Guida, & Tasso, 1987; Brusilovsky, 1992b)

Reviews

Brian Clegg, Mining The Internet — Information Gathering and Research on the Net, Kogan Page: London, 1999. ISBN: 0–7494–3025–7. Paperback, 147 pages, £9.99

ImpacT2 project: preliminary study 1: establishing the relationship between networked technology and attainment

This report explored teaching practices, beliefs and teaching styles and their influences on ICT use and implementation by pupils. Additional factors explored included the value of school and LEA policies and teacher competence in the use of ICT in classroom settings. ImpaCT2 was a major longitudinal study (1999-2002) involving 60 schools in England, its aims were to: identify the impact of networked technologies on the school and out-of-school environment; determine whether or not this impact affected the educational attainment of pupils aged 816 years (at Key Stages 2, 3, and 4); and provide information that would assist in the formation of national, local and school policies on the deployment of IC

Marketing education, distance learning and hypermedia: teaching current issues in marketing in a virtual campus

This article reports on a project at the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya (UOC: The Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona) to develop an innovative package of hypermedia-based learning materials for a new course entitled 'Current Issues in Marketing'. The UOC is a distance university entirely based on a virtual campus. The learning materials project was undertaken in order to benefit from the advantages which new communication technologies offer to the teaching of marketing in distance education. The article reviews the main issues involved in incorporating new technologies in learning materials, the development of the learning materials, and their functioning within the hypermedia based virtual campus of the UOC. An empirical study is then carried out in order to evaluate the attitudes of students to the project. Finally, suggestions for improving similar projects in the future are put forward.Aquest article informa sobre un projecte de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya per a desenvolupar un paquet innovador de materials didàctics hipermèdia basat en un nou curs titulat "Qüestions Actuals de Màrqueting". La UOC és una universitat a distància es basa íntegrament en un campus virtual. El projecte es va dur a terme els materials d'aprenentatge per tal de beneficiar-se dels avantatges que ofereixen les noves tecnologies de comunicació a l'ensenyament del màrqueting en l'educació a distància. L'article repassa els principals temes implicats en la incorporació de noves tecnologies en materials d'aprenentatge, el desenvolupament dels materials d'aprenentatge, i el seu funcionament dins del hipermèdia basat en el campus virtual de la UOC. Després s'ha portat a terme un estudi empíric per a avaluar les actituds dels estudiants del projecte. Finalment, es presenten suggeriments per a la millora de projectes similars en el futur.Este artículo informa sobre un proyecto de la Universitat Oberta de Catalunya para desarrollar un paquete innovador de materiales didácticos hipermedia basado en un nuevo curso titulado "Cuestiones Actuales de Marketing". La UOC es una universidad a distancia se basa íntegramente en un campus virtual. El proyecto de materiales didácticos se llevó a cabo con el fin de beneficiarse de las ventajas que ofrecen las nuevas tecnologías de la comunicación para la enseñanza del marketing en la educación a distancia. El artículo repasa los principales temas implicados en la incorporación de nuevas tecnologías en materiales docentes, el desarrollo de los materiales didácticos, y su funcionamiento dentro del hipermedia basado en el campus virtual de la UOC. Entonces se ha llevado a cabo un estudio empírico para evaluar las actitudes de los estudiantes al proyecto. Por último, se presentan sugerencias para la mejora de proyectos similares en el futuro

Quo vadimus? The 21st Century and multimedia

The concept is related of computer driven multimedia to the NASA Scientific and Technical Information Program (STIP). Multimedia is defined here as computer integration and output of text, animation, audio, video, and graphics. Multimedia is the stage of computer based information that allows access to experience. The concepts are also drawn in of hypermedia, intermedia, interactive multimedia, hypertext, imaging, cyberspace, and virtual reality. Examples of these technology developments are given for NASA, private industry, and academia. Examples of concurrent technology developments and implementations are given to show how these technologies, along with multimedia, have put us at the threshold of the 21st century. The STI Program sees multimedia as an opportunity for revolutionizing the way STI is managed

CAL evaluation: Future directions

Formal, experimental methods have proved increasingly difficult to implement, and lack the capacity to generate detailed results when evaluating the impact of CAL on teaching and learning. The rigid nature of experimental design restricts the scope of investigations and the conditions in which studies can be conducted It has also consistently failed to account for all influences on learning. In innovative CAL environments, practical and theoretical development depends on the ability fully to investigate the wide range of such influences. Over the past five years, a customizable evaluation framework has been developed specifically for CAL research. The conceptual approach is defined as Situated Evaluation of CAL (SECAL), and the primary focus is on quality of learning outcomes. Two important principles underpin this development. First, the widely accepted need to evaluate in authentic contexts includes examination of the combined effects of CAL with other resources and influential aspects of the learning environment. Secondly, evaluation design is based on a critical approach and qualitative, case‐based research. Positive outcomes from applications of SECAL include the easy satisfaction of practical and situation‐specific requirements and the relatively low cost of evaluation studies. Although there is little scope to produce generalizable results in the short term, the difficulty of doing so in experimental studies suggests that this objective is difficult to achieve in educational research. A more realistic, longer‐term aim is the development of grounded theory based on common findings from individual cases