Learning by Hypermedia Design: issues of Assessment and Implementation

Abstract

Educational research emphasizing constructivist perspectives and the role of integrated technologies is converging on the value of students actively designing knowledge, particularly in the context of designing media presentations for real audiences. To date, little documented progress has been made in this area because of the significant assessment problems involved in evaluating complex high-level skills across large groups of students engaged in a wide range of activities over a long period of time. We have used cognitive techniques to develop a model of design skills that has been embedded into the curriculum in two qualitatively different hypermedia learning environments. The model is also used as the basis for a wide range of assessments aimed at documenting the amount of exposure to design skills students actually get, the conceptual understanding of design skills they develop, and the extent to which they can actually use their design skills in novel contexts. Common results from both sites support the virtues of design experiences for improving student motivation and effort, as well as the ways in which hypermedia tools can facilitate student learning. Contrasting results from our two sites reveal the importance of master teachers who have a thorough understanding of design skills and can embed explicit discussion and practice of the whole process of design into daily classroom activity. From an assessment standpoint, experiences from both sites converge on the importance of targeting assessments at the design process itself and the need for better theories of assessment design and improved administration practices.