Mentors, Collaborators, Worlds or Wooden Legs: Some Images of the Role of Computers in Educational Contexts

For most users, including students, the choice of interface metaphors defines the nature, purpose and capabilities of both the computer and its software. In educational contexts the choice of interface metaphors includes consideration of beliefs and theories concerning the nature and purpose of education and the way in which learning takes place. These understandings are modified over time, resulting in changes to the types of metaphors which are felt to be appropriate for educational software. In addition to the choices made deliberately by software designers, most metaphors carry with them a legacy of extraneous understandings or entailments which may not necessarily be in keeping with their intended purposes.This article critically examines a selection of the most common and arguably the most influential of those broader metaphorical conceptions concerning the role of the computer in the classroom which have been responsible for setting the tone of student- com puter interaction. © IFIP, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers     

Virtual realities in environmental education: the project LAKE

This article proposes the use of virtual realities (VR) in environmental education. It also presents the first results of an application to the phenomenon of eutrophication in lakes. Although our virtual environments are not immersive, they give the opportunity to students and educators to develop their own worlds and understand the population dynamics in a lake. The learning environment can be manipulated and controlled in a powerful way, enhancing students experiences leading to knowledge construction, and sensitizing students to current environmental problems. Our pedagogical approach is to build a theoretical model for virtual learning environments, expanding constructivism and combining it with experiential learning. Our operational and practical approach is to exploit the characteristics of desktop VR systems in virtual learning environments     

Collaboration in a Virtual World: Support for Conceptual Learning?

Immersive and semi-immersive Virtual Reality (VR) systems have been used for training in the execution of procedures, in exploring (often static) 3D structures such as architectural designs or geographical features, and in designing buildings or constructing molecules. In a separate line of technological development, the availability of distributed computing capabilities has led to VR systems that provide facilities for groups of students that are geographically separated to learn together in a collaborative manner. However, relatively little work has been done to investigate the advantages of such Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) for learning the underlying conceptual content.A pilot study is described which features several worlds designed as part of the Distributed Extensible Virtual Reality Laboratory (DEVRL). The basic results are presented along with a discussion as to how the research could be moved forward to provide improved support for conceptua l learning. The discussion also raises the issues of how the interfaces design affects conceptual learning; of navigation and conceptual learning; of the role of collaboration in learning; and of the difficulties associated with constructing dynamic VR worlds. © IFIP, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers     

多媒体网络技术和策略培训的整合——一次旨在促进学习者自主的教学改革

大学生自主学习能力已经成为近年来由国家教育行政部门主导的大学英语教学改革的一个热门话题。越来越多的教育专家和研究人员正在积极地探求如何培养大学生自主学习英语能力的方法和途径。在研究自主学习能力和学习策略培训密切关系的基础上探讨一种新的教学模式——整合多媒体网络辅助教学(CALL)和学习策略培训——在优化培养大学生英语自主学习能力模式方面的效果和可行性。     

Supporting Cognitive Design: Lessons from Human-computer Interaction and Computer-mediated Learning

Cognitive engineering has led to a consideration of the capabilities and limitations of users in relation to the products of system design. However, there has not been a similar recognition of human limitations in the process of design. One way to improve the products of system design is by making improvements in the process of design and, in particular, by addressing the limitations of designers through scaffolding with the technology that is the object of design. To do this we need to identify what we know about the process of designing for computer-mediated learning systems, and to build an understanding of how the design process might benefit from cognitive strategies and computer technology. Here we survey various approaches to support the design process, in order to identify approaches and opportunities that may inform both fields. Specific suggestions include heuristics for design, and scaffolding the design process through support tools. © IFIP, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers     

The golden rule and the ten commandments of teleteaching: harnessing the power of technology in education

Few will disagree that teleteaching or teaching using computers and telecommunications technology is becoming increasingly popular among educators. There is much more uncertainty, however, about whether technology is as effective a mode of teaching as its proponents claim. This hesitation in endorsing technology is undoubtedly a result of the inconclusive results of teaching experiments using technology with out an adequate pedagogical base. This paper proposes guidelines for the effective use of technology. These may help the educator to avoid frustrating and stultifying practices that may prejudice the educator and student against using a rich educational resource. While the golden rule urges a two-way constructivist approach to teaching, the ten commandments draw the educator's attention to issues of access, hardware and software selection, learner and teacher preparedness for technology, and human factors in the use of technology     

User Interfaces for a Virtual Learning Environment: Two Study Cases

A recent powerful idea in the design of Web-based learning environments is the usage of virtual places. The employment of interface metaphors is one of the approaches enabling inexperienced users to feel comfortable in such virtual environments. We have designed a Virtual Environment for Distance Education and Training (VEDET), which provides basic virtual spaces, resources, and services. In this paper we discuss the user interface of two Web-based distance learning courses Business on the Internet and Business English, developed on the basis of VEDET. A web-based learning environment has been implemented to support the delivery of these courses. Two examples of interface metaphors have been developed and adopted, each presenting a coherent image of the environment. © IFIP, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers     

原型法与人机界面开发

本文简要阐述了原型法的概念、特征及其优点,分析了原型法在人机界面软件开发中的适用性,扼要介绍了原型法开发技术,最后简明地概括了人机界面开发工具UIMS与原型法开发技术的关系。     

Interactivity and multimedia interfaces

Multimedia technology offers instructional designers an unprecedented opportunity to create richly interactive learning environments. With greater design freedom comes complexity. The standard answer to the problems of too much choice, disorientation, and complex navigation is thought to lie in the way we design the interactivity in a system. Unfortunately, the theory of interactivity is at an early stage of development. After critiquing the decision cycle model of interaction – the received theory in human computer interaction – I present arguments and observational data to show that humans have several ways of interacting with their environments which resist accommodation in the decision cycle model. These additional ways of interacting include: preparing the environment, maintaining the environment, and reshaping the cognitive congeniality of the environment. Understanding how these actions simplify the computational complexity of our mental processes is the first step in designing the right sort of resources and scaffolding necessary for tractable learner controlled learning environments.     

词汇教学中的学习策略培养

文章强调了学习策略在英语学习中的重要性,分析了几种词汇教学中策略训练模式和方法,就教师如何在课堂词汇教学过程中对学生进行策略训练提出了一些建议.     

元认知策略教学与自主学习之研究

通过在某高校进行的一项元认知策略教学的研究,探讨了元认知策略教学在自主学习中的必要性及其教学方法和教学效果。研究结果表明,元认知策略教学对于培养学生的自主学习成效显著,在外语教学中具有广泛的应用前景。     

英语专业新生培训课程的实验报告

大学新生面对新的学习环境、学习内容、教学方法、管理模式等,感到不适应、不知所措,影响了他们的学习积极性。学生非常需要教师的指导。培训课程首先通过问卷调查形式了解学生的语言学习观念和语言学习策略,根据其中反映出的问题,教师有针对性地在语言学习理论,语言学习策略,学习任务和学习要求等方面对学生进行指导、培训,目的是帮助学生尽快适应大学学习,学会如何学习外语,成为独立的学习者。     

大学英语自主学习能力培养中存在的问题及对策

目前,关于自主学习的研究和自主性学习能力的培养在我国方兴未艾,本文主要探讨了大学英语教学在培养学生自主性学习能力的过程中存在的一些主观和客观方面的问题,并根据现代二语习得理论就这些问题提出了相应的对策。     

外语自主学习研究的回顾与思考

自主学习模式是现代外语教学发展的趋势,众多专家、学者都从不同的角度和层面对其进行了大量的研究.文章从自主学习的概念界定、特征及目的、主要研究内容及研究方法方面综合介绍了国内外学者的主要研究成果并详细地进行了论述.同时,指出目前国内研究中存在的不足之处及今后的研究方向,以有利于进一步进行自主学习理论与实践的研究.     

大学英语多媒体计算机辅助教学研究

本文阐述了大学英语多媒体计算机辅助教学的理论基础,即建构主义学习理论,以及多媒体计算机辅助教学的特点、存在的问题及对策,指出多媒体自主学习与教师课堂面授相结合的教学模式为大学英语的最佳教学模式。     

Cognitive Profiles in Elementary Algebra: the PÉPITE Test Interface

The work presented here is part of a multidisciplinary project, called the PÉPITE project. Its aim is to set up a system to diagnose student profiles starting from a multidimensional analysis grid to evaluate their competences in elementary algebra. This paper deals with the design, the making and the evaluation of an interface in Computer Based Learning Environments. In it, we present the method adopted to set up software which proposes tasks to the students and collects data for the diagnosis module.We consider here the problems linked to the re-use of didactic know-how based on pencil-and-paper tasks and in particular how to transfer these tasks to a data processing environment. These problems are considered from the interface designer's point of view. In an attempt to make this clear, we make a distinction between ergonomic problems connected with the functioning of the interface and problems related to the field of application. © IFIP, published by Kluwer Academic Publishers     

Language learning strategy in helping Chinese EFL university students with CET4 Written Test as a goal

This article discusses the application of theories in the field of learning strategies to ELT classroom in Chinese universities.By reviewing the literature of learning strategies,this article examines the possible connection between theories and the Chinese ELT classroom in specific,in which it focuses on the requirements of CET 4 examination.By doing so,this article tries to offer some suggestions that could be used in the classroom.     

基于STM32的USB HID接口多功能控制器设计

在STM32处理器平台上使用USB HID接口协议设计了一种低成本的多功能控制器,控制器通过USB接口收到上位机指令后可进行变频、变占空比的PWM信号输出、GPIO读入和输出、模拟量AD采集等多种功能;上位机软件采用一组通用的HID接口的API函数实现对下位机硬件的读写控制,而且免驱安装,能显著降低开发成本.实验验证的...