Designing minimal computer manuals from scratch

We designed from scratch a minimal manual of the kind proposed by Carroll (1990) for Unix e-mail. The design process involved acquiring from a set of experts information about e-mail use that would be helpful to novices, and acquiring from novices information that guided subsequent versions of the manual. The seventh version of the minimal manual was tested against a commercial manual, in a comparative performance experiment, with 30 naive subjects. It had approximately 13% of the pages of the commercial manual; it resulted in 30% faster learning and more effective use of the e-mail system overall, and significantly better performance on individual subtasks; including the recovery from errors. Significantly more users were satisfied with it than with the conventional manual. Carroll's general principles of manual design for minimal manuals were found to be a good basis for design, and we suggest these guidelines are suitable for the design of such manuals from scratch.     

Designing computer software for problem-solving instruction

The purpose of this article is to identify factors that might influence the effectiveness of computer software designed to teach problem solving. Problem solving is defined and the research literature related to the acquisition of problem-solving abilities and the capabilities of computers for delivering problem-solving instruction are reviewed. The factors critical to the acquisition of problem-solving abilities and the attributes of computers that make them potential tools in problem-solving instruction are identified. These items are synthesized into a list of factors that are expected to influence the effectiveness of computer software designed to teach problem solving.     

Designing computer systems to support peer learning

This article begins with a review of the various roles which computers have played in supporting collaborative learning and argues that, whatever role it plays, technology is not neutral with respect to interactions with and between users. Interfaces to learning environments embody particular representational schemes which have the potential either for competing with representations of the learning domain or for giving access to it. In this respect, the learner-machine interface has ‘Epistemic significance’ and its design is as important as the design of the materials and activities to which it interfaces.     

面向对象的计算机类教学媒体的角色设计

本文在分析总结媒体等同理论的基础上,提出用面向对象的思维模式看待教育媒体设计问题.教学的过程是个互动的过程,对教学媒体的设计首先要把媒体看作教学中的一个社会互动角色,分析其运用的环境,然后确定这个对象所应该具有的属性、行为,从而实现设计的人性化.     

Young children's comprehension and recall of computer screen displayed text

In this study 26 third grade and 36 fifth grade students, experienced in computer-assisted instruction, were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions: computer screen displayed text or traditional printed page text. According to assigned treatment condition, subjects either read a story from the computer screen or printed page booklet. There were no statistically significant differences between the two treatment conditions on measures of reading comprehension. On the attitude survey subjects reported greater interest in the story when reading from the computer, however, they reported that the story was more difficult when reading from the computer screen. The results of the study suggest that extended reading of prose materials on computer screens is feasible for children as young as eight years of age.     

Designing computer learning environments for engineering and computer science: The scaffolded knowledge integration framework

Designing effective curricula for complex topics and incorporating technological tools is an evolving process. One important way to foster effective design is to synthesize successful practices. This paper describes a framework called scaffolded knowledge integration and illustrates how it guided the design of two successful course enhancements in the field of computer science and engineering. One course enhancement, the LISP Knowledge Integration Environment, improved learning and resulted in more gender-equitable outcomes. The second course enhancement, the spatial reasoning environment, addressed spatial reasoning in an introductory engineering course. This enhancement minimized the importance of prior knowledge of spatial reasoning and helped students develop a more comprehensive repertoire of spatial reasoning strategies. Taken together, the instructional research programs reinforce the value of the scaffolded knowledge integration framework and suggest directions for future curriculum reformers.Portions of this paper were presented at the American Psychological Association Meeting, Ontario, Canada, August 22, 1993. under the title of Cognition and instruction in higher education: Applications of advanced technologies. The title of the symposium was New Fellows in Educational Psychology-The Implications of Their Work for University-Level Instruction. This material is based upon research supported by the National Science Foundation under grant MDR-8954753. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.     

Visualizing spatial tasks: A comparison of computer graphic and full-band video displays

Three spatial tasks were created in two forms, as video and as computer graphics. Both forms of each task were presented to third graders, middle schoolers, and adults preferred working with the video but were more accurate working with computer graphics. Third graders preferred the computer but were equally successful working with both displays. The study suggests that the expectations with which students approach an instructional technology may determine the effectiveness of that technology more than characteristics of the technology in question.     

计算机基础课程机考系统的设计与实现

根据计算机基础课程实践性强的特点,强调教学中考试覆盖范围的全面性,指出该课程在考核方式上存在的漏洞,提出了改革考核的方法,研制了在线机考系统,并对该系统进行了设计与实现.这对促进高校计算机基础课程的教学改革有一定的意义.     

计算机蓝屏或自动重启现象的分析和解决办法

中国IT领域的发展速度之快令世界瞩目,特别是随着互联网的发展,计算机已进入千家万户、机关学校、企事业单位。但是随着计算机用户的日益增多,在学习使用计算机的过程中难免会出现各种软硬件故障。笔者在高校计算机房从事计算机系统维护多年,遇到过各种各样的问题,总结了一整套解决方法。     

Designing a computer support system for multimedia curriculum development in Shanghai

The CASCADE-MUCH system was designed to help teacher-designers in Shanghai, China with the development of instructional scenarios for multimedia curricula. After four rounds of prototyping, a summative evaluation was carried out to assess practicality. Results showed that the system was practical for the intended target users in Shanghai and also had potential for users in other contexts. The purpose of this article is to present the design process of the CASCADE-MUCH program and discuss how the evolutionary prototyping approach improved program quality and contributed to the designer’s knowledge growth.     

Designing an intelligent tutoring system for computer programing in the Pacific

Education and Information Technologies - Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs) are educational systems that reflect knowledge using artificial intelligence implements. In this paper, we give an...     

单片机设计性实验与工程实践能力的培养

通过对工程实践与创新能力培养之间关系的分析,指出了工程实践与实验教学可以培养学生的创新精神、创新能力和实践能力,并在此基础上分析了设计性实验对本科生工程实践能力培养的效果.针对目前本科生开展的单片机设计性实验所面临的困难,提出了相应的措施与对策.     

Supplementing floundering text with adjunct displays

Three experiments compared the learning potential of text versus outline and matrix displays. In Experiments 1 and 2, college students read or heard a passage about fish and then studied the text, an outline, or a matrix. In Experiment 3, students heard a passage about wildcats, and then studied text, outline, or matrix displays. In all experiments, the text, outline, and matrix formats were informationally equivalent. However, the two-dimensional matrix appeared more computationally efficient than the linear organized text or outline because it (a) positioned related information about fish or wildcats in closer proximity so that local relations within a single category (such as size) were learned, and (b) organized information spatially so that global relations across categories (such as size and diet) were learned. The learning potential of text, outline, and matrix displays was also examined in combination with variations in thematic organization, amount of study time, and time of testing. The most important and consistent findings were that (a) outline and matrix displays produced greater relational learning than the text, and (b) matrix displays produced greater relational learning than outlines.     

设计性实验的设计思想和方法

阐述在设计物理实验过程中，如何以物理思想与教学论思想为指导，根据实验课题和设计要求，来选择合理的实验方法、最佳的测量方法、合理的配套仪器、有利的测量条件，确定合理的测量次数及数据处理方法。