Developing a CAI Graphics Simulation Model: Guidelines. (1989)

Developing a CAI Graphics Simulation Model: Guidelines Producing effective instructional software is a team effort that requires the balancing of course content and technological capabilities. Instructional design is a fundamental requirement of courseware in the way that the organization and presentation of material are critical to a book's usefulness to and acceptance by the reader. The courseware should take maximum advantage of technology and such software capabilities as branching, graphics, help screens and windows. But virtuoso complexity may add time and costs to development without necessarily enhancing the learning process. Courseware development efforts can often be criticized as being of questionable educational significance. While certain topics (e.g., math games) have been explored thoroughly, others remain virtually untouched. A primary concern when evaluating courseware is that it help resolve an instructional problem previously unaddressed or inadequately resolved through other means. Courseware Design Principles for instructional software (courseware) design have evolved over the last 20 years; the important ones are: * Learner/computer interaction; * Sequencing of instructional events; and * Graphics screen design. Interaction involves a cycle of presenting on-screen questions to the learner, accepting responses and having the program provide the appropriate feedback. Learner control over the sequencing and pacing of a lesson can increase student motivation by presenting screens that coincide with student interest and reading ability. Student control rather than software control, can also eliminate the frustration of having the software program determine prematurely that a student is ready for the next learning sequence. Organization and sequencing must be well-developed and communicated to the learner. One method of preparing the learner for instructional material is the use of advance organizers. These help the student to formulate a mental pathway that will link previously learned material to the current instructional unit. A similar method of advance organizing can be presented through learning or performance objectives. Students benefit by being informed of what they must do to demonstrate mastery. Performance objectives may also encourage students to progress more rapidly because expectations and/or requirements are perceived and more readily understood by the student. Another approach to sequencing instructional events is sometimes referred to as elaboration theory--an intuitive process of presenting simple concepts first, the elaborating with the more detailed learning concepts. Students are first presented with learning tasks that would involve the most important concept to be taught; and then the lesson is elaborated upon in stages of greater detail and complexity. Well-designed screens may inherently increase student attention. In general, they are visually stimulating, are easy to read and exhibit no annoying or distracting features. Suggestions for designing screens are: * Phrase text carefully. * Limit the number of text lines to three, when possible. * Use continuity in graphics and text placement. * Remove unnecessary information from the screen. * Use color whenever appropriate. * Don't describe it; picture it. Readability is improved by using different colors or highlighting to emphasize key points and to communicate the overall structure. But using too many colors will detract from the effectiveness of the screen. The way information is placed on the computer display can have either a negative or positive impact on learning. High-quality graphics should be used for computer-based learning material, regardless of the application, and professional help should be employed to aid in its development. …