Abstract:
How critical is the role of the user interface in E-Learning? Simply put, the best-designed content will be useless without an equally well-designed user interface that will attract the learner's attention, retain the learner's interest, and allow the learner to interact with the content such that learning can take place. This paper presents a rubric that will help assess a user interface's contribution to the efficiency and effectiveness of an E-Learning application. The rubric focuses on the elements and attributes that comprise the user interface's visual design and dialogue design. A discussion on the user interface and the functions it performs in E-Learning applications serves as an introduction to the presentation of the user interface design rubric.
Abstract
Distance education as a primary means of instruction is expanding significantly at the college and university level. Simultaneously, the growth of social networking sites (SNS) including Facebook, LinkedIn, and MySpace is also rising among today's college students. An increasing number of higher education instructors are beginning to combine distance education delivery with SNSs. However, there is currently little research detailing the educational benefits associated with the use of SNSs. Non-commercial, education-based SNSs, such as Ning in Education, have been recently shown to build communities of practice and facilitate social presence for students enrolled in distance education courses. In order to evaluate the largely unexplored educational benefits of SNSs, we surveyed graduate students enrolled in distance education courses using Ning in Education, an education-based SNS, based on their attitudes toward SNSs as productive online tools for teaching and learning. The results of our study suggest that education-based SNSs can be used most effectively in distance education courses as a technological tool for improved online communications among students in higher distance education courses.
One of the most important benefits of conducting a program evaluation is using your findings to improve services, motivate staff, or even to change public policy. This tip sheet focuses on ways to use your results to improve services.
A production from The Berkeley Electronic Press, 2010 that is an electronic journal devoted to the publication of quality refereed articles concerned with studies of the role that spreadsheets can play in education.
Have your students design, create, and test logic diagrams without the need of a breadboard or other electrical equipment. They can see in real time the effects of applying or removing power to gates.