[quoting Dalgarno, 25 Jul 96.a] I am aiming to come up with a set of guidelines for people wanting to produce Computer Assisted Learning (CAL) materials to meet specific learning outcomes. I want to look at which categories of learning outcomes are likely to be achieved by which types of CAL resources.
Although it was prepared in the context of K-12 education by the Australian Computer Society and the Australian Council for Computers in Education, I wondered if anyone thought the classification of learner-computer interactions in http://owl.qut.edu.au/acce/frame/frame.html was useful:
Support Mode: Helping students make better marks on paper (typically: Word Processing, CAD, etc.)
Exploration and Control Mode: Building and using computer models and simulations (typically: Adventure Games, Robotics, etc.)
Tutorial Mode: The computer asks me questions (typically: Drill and Practice, diagnostic software, Interactive Multimedia, etc.)
Resource Mode: Finding out Facts (typically: CD-ROM Encyclopedia, WWW, etc.)
Link Mode: Computer mediated conversation (typically: E-mail, DTVC, etc.)
The point being that all five modes are applicable in all areas of the curriculum. Some computer activities include multiple modes.