October 2007 Volume 10 Number 4 - Educational Technology ...

Technologically, the learning computer is distinguishable from either a LMS or a LCMS by its distributed
functionality, asynchronous communications and integrated interface. But its most significant difference is that the
distance students themselves, rather than the education providers, are the primary target users. An integrated, holistic
approach is taken to e-learning in which the usability of the student’s overall computing environment is considered
as important to successful learning outcomes as the learning content itself.
The IMMEDIATE prototype is first and foremost a specialised learning environment in which network and
education provider features are designed as support services rather than as authoring, teaching or course
administration productivity tools. It demonstrates the potential for specialised computing environments to address
usability concerns resulting from the increasing complexity of general purpose systems as they encompass more and
more functions and features.
IMMEDIATE models the forms in which learning will be delivered, while leaving most content to be authored
separately or picked up from reusable learning repositories. The learning interface is assembled from reusable
learning components, an extension of the drag and drop components of visual programming tools like Delphi or
Visual Studio. Learning components differ from reusable software components (controls) in that they encapsulate a
specific learning domain task rather than a more generally-applicable software feature. They differ from reusable
learning objects in that they implement the form in which the content will be displayed rather than the content of a
learning module. The learning components are the centrepiece of a modular construction which supports reuse on
three levels – the student (multiple courses), the teacher (reusable learning materials), and the software engineer
(reusable code).
By combining an emphasis on interface design − especially user-centred adaptable and collaborative strategies −
with an emphasis on e-learning as an extension of the human teacher and the university, the framework for an
integrated, individualised, multi-dimensional, easy-to-use learning environment has been laid. This supports the
findings of Murray et al. (2000) that “good interface design and passive but powerful user features can sometimes
provide the benefits that are ascribed to more sophisticated or intelligent features” (para. 41).
The learning computer concept is also distinct in that it draws upon the ubiquitous (embedded) computing approach
to e-learning (Bork, 2001; Hoppe et al, 2000). The object is to so seamlessly embed the computer functionality into
the learning domain – by taking into account the total context including hardware, software and human factors – that
the computer will vanish for the learner. We are trying to enhance and extend the university learning environment
rather than create an alternative virtual one.
The Learning Shell uses specialised software to embed the computer in the learning environment in the form of a
graphical user shell over the most widely-used family of operating systems, Microsoft Windows. In this way we
implement a “what” interface centred upon the task in the user’s domain rather than a “how” interface focussed
upon the computing mechanisms for achieving that task. This addresses a long-recognised challenge for simplifying
and improving the usability of computer systems, as discussed in Gentner and Grudin (1990). The next challenge is
to extend this approach to support special-purpose hardware, cross-platform functionality and mobile computing.
Ongoing Work
Research is proceeding along two axes: evaluating IMMEDIATE in an actual distance learning course, and reengineering
the prototype to support mobile learning and low-cost hardware.
Preparations are underway to trial a further-refined learning computer in the distance teaching at the university level
of Maori and English as second languages. The trials provide opportunities to evaluate its pedagogical effectiveness
with a particular emphasis on assessing the learning support and search facilities. They also provide opportunities for
refining and testing IMMEDIATE's course authoring and management tool.
IMMEDIATE implements the learning computer as an application that is installed on top of the Windows operating
system on a specific computer. However, its anybody, anywhere, anytime goal would be better met if students were
not confined to using their own computer but could use any available one. As a first step in this direction we are re-
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