Collaboration, Design, and Technology: Themes in the Architecture of Interactive Learning Environments.

INTRODUCTION TO A SPECIAL JILR ISSUE

During a recent ED-MEDIA conference a number of participants discussed that while we often share our experiences of using educational technology and the relationship between technology and learning, there were few resources that provide insights (both technical and theoretical) into the developments of such learning environments. We were particularly interested in the software requirements needed to build interactive learning environments; issues related to stability, flexibility, and platform independence; mechanisms to facilitate effective dialogues between educators and developers; use of formative evaluation; and identification of appropriate software tools. While the selected articles in this special issue all address one or more of these issues, a number of common themes are also evident. In this introduction we would like to identify these themes in order to gain a deeper understanding of the issues involved in the development, deployment, use, and evaluation of interactive learning environments.

Barney Dalgarno identifies five classes of highly interactive learning resources (simulations and microworlds, guides or intelligent agents, cognitive tools, practice tools, and scaffolding tools) that he uses to analyse web-based learning environments. Barney argues that this analysis could help designers develop appropriate learning material. This article explores components available for the deployment of web-based learning tools and suggests practical approaches that promote active learning through different forms of interaction, or types of learning environments. He distinguishes between learner-to-learner, learner-facilitator, and learner-to-machine collaborations, focusing on the role of learner-to-machine collaborations. We could argue that the development of the knowledge society is not solely driven by the free flow of information, but rather by the technologies that allow collaboration. The development of intelligent agents and cognitive tools are steps in the evolution of collaborative systems. T his first paper includes all three themes--collaboration, design and technology--that are the foci of this Special JILR Issue.

Evaluation of synchronous computer-mediated communication (CMC) systems by C. Candice Chou provides insights into the use of this type of collaborative tool in a learning environment. Candice argues that such systems should require low-bandwidth; be easy to navigate, accessible, non-intrusive, fun and pleasurable, humanizing and sensitive; provide positive feedback; have good audio-visual quality; support knowledge construction tools; and play a role in community building. CMC systems are not just for social collaboration but should also play a role in scaffolding and development of cognition.

John Hedberg and Rod Sims speculate that "new types of design dialogues are important" to effectively combine the skills of instructional designer, subject matter expert, and programmer. They propose that the learner could play the role of an actor who is part of a narrative encounter in the design framework that includes the different components of the development team. Such collaboration and interaction is a critical component for the success of learning environments and "may provide a higher level of engagement and learning than previously realised." Here successful learning requires collaboration between the development team members and also among the team and the learner. Therefore the learner-developer interaction is another important collaboration component.

What about instructional designers who need to work with unfamiliar content? Mike Keppell proposes the use of the Content Production Process where the construction of knowledge maps helps designers to "think carefully about unfamiliar content," acts as a useful "communication prop," and provides the foundation for clarification through a "teachback" procedure that can further develop understanding. Here a cognitive development tool supports the design process and acts as a communication device.

In the case study of the development of a web/CD hybrid application, Rob Phillips explores the relationships between educational design, software design, project management, and formative evaluation, leading to a set of general principles that inform the development of interactive learning environments. Success of such projects appears to be heavily dependent on documentation, use of standards, accessibility, quality assurance, and project management skills. Here collaboration is intrinsically bound to the retrieval of information and use of technological tools (i.e., developer-developer and developer-computer collaborations).

Adventure style games offer the opportunity to develop many different learning and cognitive skills. However, the relationship between educational theory and game design is complex. Alan Amory proposes a model that directly links these two elements and provides insights into the development of such complex virtual learning environments. What is of interest here is that modem object-orientated programming principles are used to formalize the relationships between abstract educational concepts and the practical implementation, thus bridging the gap between computer science and education that lays a foundation for the development of cognitive tools.

A web-based assessment system that supports cognitive development, is student-centred, and follows an objectives-based model of teaching and learning is presented by George Fernandez who argues that to encourage deep learning such systems should include evaluation and feedback cycles (learner-machine collaboration). This article also describes the technology used in the development of one such assessment tool that is customized for science and engineering languages.

The management of assessment is just one aspect of the management of learning. Steve Hansen and Graeme Salter report on the complex collaborations that are needed to design appropriate learning management systems on a university-wide basis. The design is only the first step; we then need to work at having the majority of staff adopt and use such technological systems effectively. All three themes of collaboration, design, and technology are addressed in this article on organisational issues.

The last article in this series is by Gerrit Hiddink, and discusses the architecture of database-supported learning where software components provide dynamic, instead of static, information. The design of databases and use of specific technologies, such as Extensible Markup Language (XML), need to be carefully planned to facilitate successful machine-to-machine collaboration. The technical details discussed here clearly demonstrate the complexity of interactive learning environments and provide insights into the design of such systems.

The outcome of this exploration of the relationship between technology and learning could be summarised simply: the success of educational technology is totally dependent on collaboration between all parties that includes learners, facilitators, designers, and technological tools. The five classes of highly interactive learning resources, different GMC systems, games, and assessment tools, and so forth can all be described as different faces of the communication revolution.

We trust that this collection of nine papers from authors on four continents will add to our global understanding of how to build effective interactive learning environments.