Volume Two - Academic Conferences

Informative tools
Social communicative tools
Social constructive tools
Li Zhong Zhang
Table 2 presents an overview of various categories of learning technological tools for instruction and
learning.
Table 2: Overview of learning technological tools (adapted from Hung, 2001)
Learning
technological
tools
Individual
instructive tools
Individual
constructive
tools
Informative
tools
Social
communicative
tools
Social
constructive
tools
Descriptions and examples of existing tools Emerging technologies as integrated
systems
Computer –assisted instruction (CAI) for drilland-practice,
tutorials, simulation software.
Range from presentation software to
interactive multimedia tools such as
Macromedia Director and Authorware,
ToolBook, Macromedia MX series, Office
Suite.
Learning resources in the form of Internet
/Web, search engines, online encyclopedia,
dictionaries, and various information and
knowledge databases such as OPAC.
For group communication such as chat,
video/audio conferencing tools and systems,
groupware such as Exchange, Lotus,
FirstClass.
For group / collaborative work such as BBS,
file and application sharing, electornic
whiteboard.
“Push” technology based on user
profiling and audience targeting
Allow the creation of personalized sites
for constructing personalized knowledge
base and collating resources, allow
sharing capability
“Pull” technology based on user profiling
and subscribed services
Support the creation of surveys, polls,
discussions of both inline and threaded
Allow creation of team sites and shared
workspace for collaboration and online
community building
Tools listed in (Table 2), under the five instructional or learning environments consist of some of the
existing tools and those emerging technological tools. The latter are delivered via an integrated
system such as IBM WebSphere Portal solution and Microsoft SharePoint Portal Technologies and
Products.
However, there are other categories of learning technologies which are not included in the Table.
Among these are :
Learning management systems (LMS) e.g. WebCT, BlackBoard, Docent, Moodle and many
others. These systems are used to administer, deliver and manage courses and track student
learning
Learning content management systems (LCMS) such as Aspen LCMS, Evolution, Techniq,
LogicBuilder. These systems simplify the tasks of creating, managing, and reusing of learning
content. Ideally, a system of this nature works best when it is integrated with the LMS chosen
Learning Object Technology – the underlying fundamental concept of this emerging trend and
development is the creation of content in the form of database-driven objects, which can be
centrally stored, searched, retrieved and re-assembled according to learners’ needs and
requirements. The development is well-suited for supporting learner-centered instruction
(Morrison, Ross and Kemp, 2007).
Rich-media content creation tools such as Cyberlink StreamAuthor 3.0. These tools basically
integrate PowerPoint slides with video and any other documents such as Web pages, Word, PDF
files and deliver the package, instead having to open different ‘windows’ for each of the files.
5. An integrated framework for designing technology-based blended learning
environments
The previous sections of the paper present separate accounts of perspectives and considerations on
instructional design, pedagogy and learning technologies respectively. This part of the paper attempts
to describe the dynamic inter-relationships of the three key components to form an integrated design
framework for creating technology-based blended learning environments (Figure 1).
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