6.2.2 Focus of Educational Goals of Advanced Courseware
[Refer to Educational Goals column in Table 6.1.]
In traditional educational computing literature, beyond a concern for the
goals of endeavors, there has been a pervasive distinction made between what
is sometimes called "instructionist" and "constructionist" perspectives.
In this study, the distinction was not between two mutually exclusive choices,
but rather of two alternative ways of describing the same activities.
There were consistent co-existent concerns for using computers for added
benefits for both discipline and learner, and a non-exclusionary approach
to learner and discipline oriented issues. Participants attempted to provide
increasingly better representations of their discipline through unique functions
supported by software.
There were also corresponding learner oriented concerns related to the
particular types of software function emphasized. Key learner oriented
issues were supported by the degree of interaction, or learner involvement
afforded by the implementation of courseware. Levels of involvement varied
from more interaction than provided through a traditional textbook, as in
interactive microworlds (TODOR, Mechanics 2.01
and The Physical Geology Tutor),
or exploratory hypertext (ESCAPE),
to learner construction within the context of a course
(Context32). Incidental decisions also
changed the level of student involvement and their relationship to the content.
For example, in many Athena courseware projects (TODOR
and Geology Tutor), student construction was a major
source of the creation of the materials outside of the context of the regular classes,
and in the context of the UROP program instead.