A Design Model for Educational Multimedia Software

IFAC Proceedings Volumes, 1998

We describe a design method for educational multimedia software using the principles of concurrent engineering. This requires a close collaboration between the social scientist's and the engineer's approaches and a mutual questioning at every stage of the design process. Thus we present how the educational specifications, the processing/management of data and the multimedia product itself can be developed as well as the relationships each step has with the others. We also take a detailed look at the effect of introducing multimedia tools in education. Our general design method is then applied to the ongoing realization of a specific multimedia project.

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Educational software is somewhat unique in that the goal of the software is not to facilitate use of the software itself, but to produce an impact on the user learning that will affect the user’s behavior outside of the software. Although there are many areas where educational software designers can learn from practices in productivity and game design, there are reasons to be cautious in applying such principles to educational software. This chapter considers several design elements in educational software and discusses ways that software principles taken from other areas do or do not apply to educational software design.

British Journal of Educational Technology, 1998

He has published in diverse fields of information technology research, including, IT use in teacher education; interactive multimedia and learning; instructional design in on-line and multimedia environments; interface design; and human-computer interaction. He is currently developing performance support systems for teaching and learning.

Journal of Interactive Media in Education, 2002

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the construction of a systematic theoretical base for educational multimedia design. The paper delineates different layers of explanation. It then argues for the interactional layer as the most appropriate for multimedia learning environment design. It proposes 'context' as the central construct at this layer. The relationships between multimedia contexts are explored, especially the concept of different levels of contexts corresponding to different educational demands. Further meta-theoretical clarification on the difference between procedural and declarative modes of explanation precedes the final section of the paper. This section explores how the internal structure, the morphology, of contexts might best be delineated for capture in a systematic knowledge base. The paper argues strongly that this type of theoretical clarification is required if we are to move towards a more systematic, 'scientific' base for the construction of educational multimedia systems.

Australasian Journal of Educational Technology, 1995

The aim of this literature review is to outline the context of theory in designing educational software for vocational education and training, and to give an account of the significance of the "key ingredients" which constitute best practice.

2003

This study focuses on the development of prospective computer engineers' conceptions about the design of educational software. More specifically, we investigate how the experiences of such engineers in the design, implementation and evaluation of educational software helped them to enhance their knowledge. These engineers were involved in constructing educational software dealing with concepts of Computer Science by also taking into account theoretical educational considerations regarding constructivism and social views about knowledge construction. The analysis of the data shows that prospective computer engineers frequently start by considering the design of educational software as an "easy" or "soft" task. This attitude is typically based both on these engineers' expertise regarding software design as well as the specific subject matter. Despite these initial perceptions, they have difficulties interpreting the theoretical educational framework in design specifications. Communication between the members of each design team and between the members of all the teams as well as the reflection on the early versions of the software were significant factors that helped these engineers improve the quality of software specifications. Finally, the evaluation process helped these engineers to realize that the learners' demands are crucial in the design of educational software. They also realized that in contrast to the general principle of software design that 'customers' specifications must not be violated', these specifications were frequently ignored in the case of educational software where learners are viewed (by the engineers) as possessing the knowledge of the designer.

Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 2006

Design of educational multimedia rarely starts from scratch, but rather by attempting to reuse existing software. Although redesign has been an issue in research on evaluation and on learning objects, how it should be carried out in a principled way has remained relatively unexplored. Furthermore, understanding how empirical research on information and communication technologies (ICT) should feed back into redesign remains difficult. The present paper addresses these problems from the viewpoint of carrying out pedagogical expert evaluations, in the absence of empirical studies of target learners, in order to generate recommendations for redesign. Firstly, redesign proposals should be based on a coherent reconstruction of pedagogical foundations of educational ICT (software, documentation). Secondly, redesign proposals should result from dialogue between stakeholders, such as future users, pedagogical experts, software designers, and deciders. To these ends, we propose a framework, called GESTALT (Goals, (E) SiTuations, Actions, Learners, Tools), as a 'boundary object' for dialogical redesign. Within an activity theory approach, GE-STALT is based on analysis of available tools, the actions they support, the characteristics of learners who perform actions, and pedagogical goals that could be achieved in specific situations. An illustrative GESTALT analysis of educational software is provided, principally from the viewpoint of pedagogical experts. Finally, the strengths and limits of GESTALT are discussed.

Computers & Education, 2001

Research on educational technologies--ranging from motion pictures to computer-based tutoring systems--documents a disapointing history in which strong claims for a new technology are followed by large-scale implementations which eventually fail Mayer, in press). For example, in 1922, the famous inventor Thomas Edison proclaimed that "the motion picture is destined to revolutionize our educational system and that in a few years it will supplant...the use of textbooks" (cited in Cuban, 1986, p. 9). Yet, in reviewing the role of motion pictures in schools over the decades since Edison's grand predictions, Cuban (1986, p. 17) concluded that "most teachers used films infrequently in classrooms." Similarly, fifty years later in the 1970s, the game-like computer-assisted instruction (CAI) programs that were tauted as the wave of the future in education eventually proved to be no more effective than teacherbased modes of instruction (Cognition and Technology Group at Vanderbilt, 1996). Today, similarly strong claims are being made for the potential of multimedia learning environments.