Vol. 13, No. 2, June 1997

Cognitive loads and the empowering effect of music composition software

R.J. Phillips & A.J. Pierson

School of Education, University of Nottingham

Email: Richard.Phillips@nottingham.ac.uk

An investigation of music composition software in classrooms was used to study some ways in which open software can support problem solving and thinking. Students of different abilities and ages were observed doing music composition with the software in a variety of teaching contexts. The observations, and the resulting compositions, often showed a level of sophistication in musical structure which could not have been achieved unaided. A number of explanations are considered for this: it is argued that an explanation based on cognitive loads is most convincing in this case. The removal of cognitive loads does nothing positive to help students, but simply gives them more space to think by transferring low level cognitive burdens to the software.

Keywords: Cognitive load; Composition; Information technology; Music

Accepted: 14 January 1997

Communication media for distributed communities

E. Heeren & R. Lewis

University of Twente and Lancaster University

Email: E.Heeren@trc.nl

Within the 'Virtual Mobility and Distributed Laboratories' project three naturalistic case studies of distributed research communities were conducted with a focus on the communication media used. The findings provide insight into relationships between the different media that the communities selected, and the different activities to which these media contributed. These findings are also relevant for distributed groups in which collaborative learning is the primary aim. A framework is presented for understanding and recommending selections of media for particular kinds of tasks, which is derived by integrating Media-Richness Theory in Activity Theory. This framework indicates how task/media fit may be achieved while taking into account the evolving character of activities in a distributed community. Implications of the framework for collaborative distance learning are discussed.

Keywords: Activity Theory; Collaborative distance learning; Communication media; Distributed research groups; Media-richness Theory

Accepted: 10 February 1997

Automatic assessment of elementary Standard ML programs using Ceilidh

S.P. Foubister*, G.J. Michaelson** & N. Tomes*

*Learning Technology Centre and
**Department of Computing & Electrical Engineering, Heriot-Watt University

Email: G.Michaelson@hw.ac.uk

Ceilidh is an interactive environment which supports computer programming course organisation, practical work and assessment. This paper describes its use to support a first level programming course for the functional language Standard ML. Automated program assessment systems are surveyed and the general Ceilidh approach to automatic assessment is discussed. Extensions to Ceilidh to assess Standard ML programs are considered and an evaluation is made of the effects of its use on student learning. The main conclusion is that Ceilidh use significantly reduces the burden of marking on the lecturer, while not affecting the overall level of achievement of the students.

Keywords: Automatic assessment; Functional programming; Standard ML; Ceilidh

Accepted: 29 November 1996

Entitlement through IT in mathematics classrooms

H. Povey

Centre for Mathematics Education, Sheffield Hallam University

Email: h.povey@shu.ac.uk

This paper is motivated by the need to find oppositional opportunities within the status quo of mathematics classrooms and the secondary school mathematics curriculum. The document from the National Council for Educational Technology (Mathematics and IT) suggests six ways in which information technology can provide opportunities to which students learning mathematics are 'entitled'. The article is an attempt to draw out ways in which these opportunities might be interpreted which point to more liberatory practices in mathematics classrooms. Each of the information technology opportunities is paralleled with opportunities to begin to develop a social justice curriculum in and through the teaching and learning of mathematics, a curriculum designed to enable students to participate in a democracy more effectively.

Keywords: Information technology; Mathematics; School students; Social justice curriculum

Accepted: 22 December 1996

Applying CD-ROM interactive storybooks to learning to read

N. Adam & M. Wild

Edith Cowan University, Western Australia

Email: m.wild@cowan.edu.au

This paper describes an investigation into the effect of CD-ROM storybooks on primary students' attitudes towards reading. The degree of change in students' attitudes towards reading on exposure to CD-ROM storybooks was assessed using questionnaires in an experimental pretest-posttest design, together with interviews of reluctant readers and unstructured observations of the treatment group. Results showed that while no significant difference in children's attitudes existed between treatment and control groups after the treatment period, both groups demonstrated a similar development in their attitudes towards traditional reading materials. Further results indicated a significant difference between reluctant and willing readers in the treatment group.

Keywords: Attitudes; CD-ROM storybooks; Interactive books; Learning; Literacy; Reading intervention

Accepted: 27 February 1997

Evaluation of a hypermedia document as a learning tool

T. Cockerton & R. Shimell

School of Psychology, Middlesex University

Email: t.cockerton@mdx.ac.uk

This paper describes a classroom-based experimental evaluation of an electronic history 'book' presented in a hypermedia environment. It was compared with a paper-based version of the same material. Observations of children's activities and interactions revealed that they had few problems using the hypermedia document as an information source and also rated it more positively, in terms of ease of use, than those children using the paper-based version. However, no significant differences were found between the two groups in the number of questions children completed and answered correctly, their interest in the material, and task difficulty. The implications of these findings and the role of evaluation in determining the educational value of computer-based activities are discussed.

Key Words: Evaluation; Hypermedia; Hypertext; Learning.

Accepted: 27 March 1997