Instruction can be defined as a purposeful interaction to increase a learner's knowledge or skills in a specific, pre-determined fashion. In this context, simply publishing a World Wide Web page with links to other pages or other digital sources does not constitute instruction. Instructional sequences usually include at least seven common elements: motivating the learner, explaining what is to be learned, helping the learner recall previous knowledge, providing instructional material, providing guidance and feedback, testing comprehension, and providing enrichment or remediation (Dick & Reiser, 1989). With forethought, each of these events can be incorporated in instruction designed to be delivered on the World Wide Web.
Because leaving a Web page is as easy as clicking the mouse button, Web page designers have focused much of their time identifying what attracts and retains the attention of the casual browser. The use of graphics, color, animation, and sound have been used as external stimuli for years to motivate learners, and all can be included in Web pages. Some organizations highlight Web pages with yearly, weekly, and even daily awards for aesthetically pleasing, technically innovative, and generally creative pages[1]. These examples provide new developers with easy access to see what attracts and holds a user's attention. It should be noted, however, that simply adding color and graphics doesn't ensure motivating pages. Like the use of multiple fonts and styles when the Macintosh was first introduced, excess is often counterproductive. Examples of unattractive Web sites are also legion. They can be found through general browsing or by accessing specific locations that compile this information[2].
Identifying what is to be learned
In most cases, it is important to let the learners know early in a lesson what they will be responsible for at the end of the instruction (unless you are working with discovery learning). This helps learners focus on those factors which the instructor deems salient. With the tendency of users to free associate while Web "surfing", and to allow their attention (and learning) to be drawn away from desired outcomes, this is a critical component for instructional developers designing for the Web. While it may be true that learning often occurs serendipitously, without a focus introduced through a listing of outcomes, users may spend too much time in mindless Web surfing.
Reminding learners of past knowledge
Cognitive psychologists generally agree that for information to be retained in long-term memory, learners must construct a memory link between the new information and some related information already stored in long-term memory (Gagné, 1985). For instance, teaching youngsters the rules of cricket can be accelerated by reminding them of their baseball knowledge first, then identifying the similarities and differences between the two sports.
Web pages have an advantage over many other methods of instruction because of the ability to link multiple pages to any site. Multiple pages allow learners with diverse backgrounds and knowledge to choose the most salient link to remind them of knowledge they previously learned before new information is offered. In the preceding example, links could be made to pages describing sports in which teams run to bases (softball or kickball), or in which balls are hit with sticks (tennis or baseball). By identifying similarities and differences between existing knowledge and the knowledge to-be-learned, students more quickly grasp relevant information.
Most educators would agree that for learning to take place, the learner must actively process and make sense of available information. Generally speaking, a more active learner will integrate new knowledge more readily than a passive learner. Unfortunately, active learning is seldom required when learners access the Web. It's true that a user makes decisions as to which link to pursue, but too often users merely browse information before jumping to another site.
How can we increase the possibility that learners actively process information? One way is to require them to develop an artifact of their learning. Dodge (1995) summarizes eight specific strategies based on work by Marzano (1992) that can be assigned to ensure that learners produce knowledge artifacts. These strategies include requiring learners to either compare, classify, induce, deduce, analyze errors, construct support, make abstractions, or analyze perspectives that they encounter in the course of their Web searches.
San Diego State University
CSU Instructional Technology Initiatives
Office of the Chancellor
The California State University
page authors:
Donn C. Ritchie
Bob Hoffman
Respond to forum: DCDPBL Faculty Develpoment Institute Forum
All contents copyright (C) 1996, SDSU. All rights reserved.
Revised: March 9,1996 by D Lewis
URL:
http://edweb.sdsu.edu/clrit/WWWInstrdesign/Instruction.html