Gerald S. Edmonds

A Conceptual Framework for Comparing Instructional Design Models.

Instructional design (ID) professionals typically employ models that guide their practice. However, it is unclear how a specific model is selected for an instructional situation. Andrews and Goodson (1980) provided a valuable procedure for comparing instructional design models, but because of the proliferation of variations in instructional design applications during the past decade, the introduction of instructional design into new learning contexts and the emergence of alternative approaches to instructional design, there has emerged a need for a new framework which assesses the potential success of any instructional design model. A framework is presented here which is intended to provide a conceptual tool for determining appropriate instructional design applications.

The changing nature of instructional design for networked learning

Networked learning systems bring learning support and instructional materials directly to learners who can potentially access materials from anywhere at anytime. This may be accomplished by employing a number of tools and methods ranging from simple e-mail to computer supported collaborative work environments. It is possible to make use of networks to share web-based resources and deploy powerful electronic performance support systems (see Figure 6.1). We shall use the term ‘networked learning’ to refer to this broad range of tools and technologies. Networked learning is an established reality in many different kinds of learning settings, ranging from homes to schools to offices. The obvious conclusions are that networked learning must be meeting some learning needs and it must be reasonably effective and efficient; otherwise, the fad would have passed and interest would be waning. While developments and learning effects in networked and collaborative settings have received a great deal of attention in recent years, there is not nearly as much literature on the changing nature of instructional design due to networked learning.

SHOULD A HIGH SCHOOL ADOPT ADVANCED PLACEMENT OR A CONCURRENT ENROLLMENT PROGRAM? AN EXPECTED BENEFIT APPROACH

This article provides an explicit framework for evaluating the expected benefit to college-bound students of courses offered by Advanced Placement (AP) versus concurrent enrollment programs (CEP). District personnel can use it to assess the relative merits of these programs, given the characteristics of their students, in deciding which model to implement or maintain. Simulations reveal that CEP generally provides a higher expected benefit for districts where students who take the course attend private colleges or universities (including public institutions out of state) and perform on the AP exam around national norms. AP favors high schools where students taking the course either face inexpensive costs for study at institutions of higher education or perform exceptionally well on the AP exam. Information from a sample of 240 colleges and universities reveals that few explicitly reject AP or CEP for credit if the student meets a minimum criterion, although more information is provided for AP.

Teaching college economics in the high schools: The role of concurrent enrollment programs

The authors examine concurrent enrollment programs (CEP) as an effective means of teaching college economics in high school. They describe the establishment of the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships to set national standards for CEP. They also investigate the performance of high school students taking the Syracuse University one-semester micro/macro principles of economics course through its CEP, Project Advance, on the Test of Economic Literacy. CEP students average nearly 1 percentage point higher than do the advanced placement/honors economics group and score considerably better in fundamentals and international economics. By cognitive levels, CEP students score over 4 percentage points in the knowledge area and exhibit better performance on application questions.

Knowledge management and knowledge management systems

A sample of chapters: Intelligent Tutoring Systems for the New Learning Infrastructure Ontologies and e-Learning: how to teach a classification A case study in supporting Distributed, Loosely-controlled and evolvinG Engineering of oN Tologies (DILIGENT) Collaboration and Pervasiveness: Enhancing Collaborative Learning Based on Ubiquitous Computational Services CASE STUDY: Infosys Technologies Limited CASE STUDY: Knowledge Sharing, Communities of Practice, and Organizational Change at the World Bank Group The Human Semantic Web