Instructional Design Principles for an eLearning Environment
This article contends that with the advent of the Internet, web design has supplanted instructional design, to the detriment of the learner. Cassarino (2003) contends that the ability to explore vast amounts of content does not constitute learning; rather organization must be applied in order to facilitate knowledge transfer to the student (455). The author cites evidence that the use of hyperlinked documents leads to learner disorientation, and while hyper-linking may be a useful means of referencing vast amounts of content, it is not an effective teaching tool. Prior to the widespread use of the Internet, instructional design utilizing computers had sound navigation and structure for the learner. This stands in sharp contrast to many contemporary web based instructional modules that leave the user adrift in sea of content overload. Cassarino (2003) cites 3 guiding questions from Jones, et al. (1995) that instructional designers must address: What is it? How do I use it? What do I know? By answering these questions, course designers can anticipate the needs of the learner, and avoid the content overload that the Web can foster.
The primary issue that must be addressed in regards to hypertext usage is the audience who will be viewing the document. If the intended audience is the public at large, then hypertext links are an ideal way for instructional designers to provide copious amounts of content. Wikipedia is the best example of this scenario because virtually every sentence contains a link to another article featuring even more extensively linked content. This type of hypertext content is perfect for subject novices, or someone just beginning to research a topic in order to garner a broader perspective. However, if the intended viewer of a hypertext-enhanced document is a student, the problem of content overload arises. Prior to the advent of the Web, instructional designers were keen to “chunk” vast amounts of content into streamlined, coherent content that followed a logical progression. The author’s primary lament is the excessive reliance upon hypertext in place of well-sequenced content. It becomes quite easy for students to get lost in following link after link of peripheral content, thereby drawing them further away from the primary content to be learned.
However, if the instructor is able to temper their usage of hypertext, and strictly control the path their students will traverse, hypertext can be a valuable technology for instructional designers. For instance, a reader could be reading about weather satellites, then click on link about meteorologist Edward Lorenz and be taken to a treatise about Chaos Theory as it applies to weather predictions. Thus a reader is able to see how seemingly disparate phenomena can be explained by a common foundational theory. The hazard lies in not keeping the primary content at the forefront of instruction design, thus a re-centering should follow each digression from the main subject. Hypertext and other Web technology must be viewed as tools, powerful and promising, but ultimately secondary in importance to sound design and focused content.
Cassarino, C. (2003, Winter 2003). Instructional Design Principles for an eLearning Environment. Quarterly Review of Distance Education, 4(4), 455-461. Retrieved September 24, 2008, from Academic Search Premier database.
Jones, M. Farquhar, J. & Surry, D. (1995, July). Using metacognitive theories to design user interfaces for computer-based learning. Educational Technology, 35(4), 12-23.