Describes the R2D2 (Reflective, Recursive Design and Development) model of constructivist instructional design. Highlights include participatory teams; progressive problem solution; phronesis, or contextual understanding; dissemination, including summative evaluation; and a new paradigm that shifts from the industrial age to the information age.…

Contrasts modern and post-modern views of technology and suggests a newer, transformative view of educational technology in an effort to explain why technology has failed and to provide a vision for how it could work. Discusses technology as teaching medium; technology as power; technoglobalism; and mediating the social con-construction of…

Discusses the change in learning materials to digital formats and considers whether current design and production methods for educational software are still appropriate or if there is a need for a new design and production strategy. Describes structural versus associative design strategies and a new three-space strategy. (LRW)

Proposes activity theory as a framework for student project work that is a form of open-ended contextual activity-based learning emphasizing problem solving as a collaborative effort. Topics include project work from a Vygotskian perspective of activity theory; and the design of a prototype for Web-based project work. (LRW)

Reports the results of a survey of course Web sites and online syllabi used by students and faculty at higher education institutions across the country and offers suggestions for ways of incorporating relevant and often overlooked links to other sites. Discusses email, course topic links, administrative links, and disability support. (LRW)

Discussion of distance education for higher education and the use of interactive computer-mediated communication systems focuses on the results of a survey of faculty and administrators that examined motivating factors for participation in distance education and inhibiting factors, including technical support, faculty workload, and concerns about…

Presents a program planning model to be used in developing educational experiences for adult learners in university and continuing education settings. Highlights include general characteristics of students; previously learned competencies; needs; objectives; instructional design; delivery; evaluation; administration and management; and research.…

Discusses the definition and roles of educational technologists. Highlights include an historical background; formal training programs; the marketplace for job opportunities in the field; job titles; and what attracted students to the field. (LRW)

Provides basic guidelines for designing and creating a faculty Web site using a systems approach. Describes instructional design principles used in Web site design, including considering the target audience, clear objectives, home page and contents, site navigation structure, page design, text and graphics, and selecting a Web authoring program.…

Discusses some of the emerging constructivist instructional design models and suggest three guidelines for instructional design that are based on an interpretivist philosophy of science and constructivist theories of learning. Explains recursive (iterative) non-linear design, reflective design, and participatory design. (Contains 72 references.)…

Discusses elements that help define the term "quality" in distance education, emphasizing the need for interaction between all components in the process. Topics include three generations of distance education; quality as process management; the relationship between technology, interactivity, and quality; cost-quality ratio; and cost-benefits…

Discusses the current situation in educational systems based on a consideration of scientific concepts including chaos theory, complexity, and dynamical social systems. Highlights include systemic change in education; perturbation; self-organization; dissipation of rigid structures; sensitivity to initial conditions; entropy; bifurcations; and…

Describes electronic performance support systems (EPSSs) that can enhance performance and reduce training times and costs. Provides examples of EPSSs; explains why instructional designers and trainers should be interested in EPSSs; and discusses design considerations, including part task/whole task support, embedded versus linked, and user…

Discusses graphical user interfaces used for instructional purposes in educational environments, which promote learning goals, and in support environments, which promote performance goals. Explains three key principles of perception and gives guidelines for their use, including the figure/ground principle, the hierarchy principle, and the gestalt…

Discusses synchronous communication in learning via the World Wide Web and considers arguments for advantages of asynchronous approaches. Describes a synchronous Web-based professional development program for mathematics teachers in North Carolina and discusses the nature of online communication. (LRW)