ED-MEDIA 1999 Proceedings Book - Association for the ...

we are able, as educationalists, to harness the new technology we may be missing out on the ability to provide
significant opportunities for our learners (Dearing,1997; Higginson,1996). A team was set-up comprising a project
manager and a number of consultants who evaluate content, design and production and assist with On-Line Campus
IT support. We considered a number of principles and values to influence the design and production process:
(a) Content is informed by primary and secondary research.
(b) A contemporary approach to learning is taken
(c) Metaphor is used to develop interface design
(d) An iterative design process (development - testing with end users - development) is used to ensure accessibility
and user-friendliness.
(a) Research.
Mentoring is an evolving field of research. It was critical to combine an understanding of current good practice and
link this with our own local research carried out in our particular context. For example, interactive learning contracts
were constructed in response to the local view, held by student teachers, which confirmed their beneficial use.
Student teachers also reported, for example, on the value of well-managed first meetings. Interactive approaches
were devised to assist mentors to manage time and environment issues for first meetings. Sound bites and video
clips of some of our student teacher's experiences are used to provide authenticity and context.
(b) Constructivist principles of learning
We chose to reject traditional instructional design favoured by much training material, which tends to rely on the
circulation of existing knowledge (Boyle 1998). Instead we favoured the use of Constructivist principles of learning;
design strategies are considered which engage the user in their own construction of knowledge - the production of
knowledgeability rather than the reproduction of knowledge (Guile & Young 1997). For example, users are
encouraged to prioritise emotional events, create lists and agendas for meetings, identify and analyse needs, select
and structure the content and derive their own understanding through problem solving. These activities are
supported by a system of scaffolding that uses resources like prompts and hints as tools to help mentors reflect on
their understanding and progress. The use of the resources and the results of interactions permit the user to construct
their own understanding. This is further developed by links to the On-Line Campus, (using Lotus Notes as the
medium) which provide the mentors with the opportunities to `problemitize' their role and share their ideas,
confidentially, through conferencing with other mentors and tutors. The aim is to create distributed networks of
knowledge and a `virtual' mentor community
(c) The physical nature of the environment.
A major dilemma that faced us was how to physically combine an effective interface with an appropriate structure.
This represents the major factor governing the continued use of the environment. Metaphor is a powerful tool for
developing content, structure and navigation and our first task was to evaluate the use of metaphors in other
interactive multimedia learning environments. Many used a formal hierarchical structure based upon domain
knowledge. We felt that a functional, minimalist approach (Carroll 1990) would be more effective in appealing to
mentor / teachers who are busy people and need to engage with information quickly on a need to know basis. The
main navigational device that has been developed is a time-line which links content with hints of when to best learn
processes and perform activities. An overview permits the mentor to catch up on missed information and to better
manage their mentor tasks. Although the roots of mentoring lie in the notion of apprenticeship, its origin is located
in Greek mythology. This provided a useful visual metaphor that is used in the interface.
(d) Evaluation.
Mentors, tutors and trainee teachers evaluate the software as it is developed. We use criteria such as clarity,
interactivity, richness and accessibility. We consider iterative prototyping to be highly effective as a means to
development. We have found that the semi-structured interview, questionnaire and videoing users in action are very
useful tools that provide instructive feedback - critical to the development process. The development of IMLEs is
similar to a construction site - a slow process of initial design, implementing plans, building structures, weathering
storms & putting right mistakes. We have made necessary alterations to the navigational devices used, the number
and range of elements, the structuring of content and use of metaphor towards the refinement of the product.