[quoting Fyfe, 17 Oct 94] Is there a role for tutorial CBI that is engaging and transactive?
The notion of "fingerfood" courseware has some merits, but as I said in yesterdays response, the real challenge is to rethink the very nature of courseware. So, rather than trying to make it as good as a teacher, we need to design it so that the students must do a lot of the work to obtain answers or information--and verify their conclusions with a person, not a machine (i.e., the lecturer). Again, a very clear understanding of why we want to use technology in an educational setting is also critical to its success.
If branching happens in between transactions, what does the computer do or how does it respond within a transaction?
If its only partially completed, then it will be recorded as "started" or "incomplete." On resumption, the learner would begin the transaction again. Expanding or contracting a transaction to individual needs approaches the dangerous ground of individualization. Of course, by providing feedback, advisement and adaptive strategies, the learner can be given extensive updates as to their performance in a transaction.