Financial pressures and an increasingly diverse patient population have made it challenging for healthcare providers to administer education programs that adequately inform patients prior to any significant health-related intervention. Ineffective education results in patients making decisions without adequate knowledge which could increase anxiety and frustration and reduce patient satisfaction with the healthcare experience. Interactive, computer-based education (ICBE) programs may offer providers a solution that will enhance their education processes. ICBE programs require fewer resources; can be scripted in multiple languages; and have the power to actively engage the patient in the learning experience by integrating auditory, visual, and interactive learning strategies.The objective of this research was to determine if ICBE program use influenced hospital patients' perception of satisfaction. The research was conducted at a small hospital located in a Midwest urban setting. The 84 patients scheduled for knee and hip surgery who volunteered to enroll were randomly assigned to either a treatment group that used the ICBE program or a control group. All patients completed a satisfaction survey instrument after their surgery.A t test indicated that there was not a significant mean difference between the treatment and control groups t(71) = 1.001, p = .16. In addition, the individual predictor variables used in a regression analysis, Age (R2 = .005), College Degree (R2 = .003), and Use of the Emmi program (R2 = .011) and the combined model (R2 = .019) did not provide any meaningful predictive value related to patient satisfaction and the results for each variable and the combined model were not significant (F3, 80 = .526, p = .666).The patient satisfaction survey scores were very high indicating a considerable ceiling effect and the ICBE program had little chance of demonstrating a statistically significant or practically important effect. Although the study results did not support a relationship between ICBE program use and patient satisfaction, an analysis of the research and information obtained from the literature reviews provided valuable additions to the literature including a best practices model that may be beneficial to future researchers and users of ICBE programs.

No description available.

Global maritime education and training (MET) is currently subject to great change brought about by new international legislation, a dynamic shipping environment, the growing impact of technology, and the challenges maritime institutions face to survive in an uncertain market place.The aim of the research is to determine to what extent global MET institutions can enhance and enrich traditional practices through access to new technology and the use of innovative teaching and assessment methods' within a sustainable and achievable framework.The first Chapters of the study investigate the impact of change on the global MET scene by examining how international maritime legislation influences activities of maritime institutions. Ninety institutions from fifty-three countries responded to a survey that examines their intentions regarding the use of satellite communications, Information Technology, computing, multimedia, simulation and distance learning delivery methods. Shipboard operations that impact upon future training needs are also put under the spotlight.The study analyses the potential use of the Internet, e-mail, simulation and distance education services to determine how these elements can be used to advantage for the education and training of seafarers. An evaluation is made of the use of computers and marine simulators as assessment tools, in the light of international concerns about standards of competence.The study concludes that maritime institutions can benefit from the use of new technology, but only through rational planning and sustainable staged growth. A series of continua of technical development are provided to assist institutions, from to the largest, to plan for technical development and growth in a rational way.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the use of the reading component of Ticket to Read®, a computer-based educational program, developed to improve hearing students’ fluency could improve deaf students’ fluency in order to improve comprehension. Fluency, the ability to read text accurately and automatically, forms a bridge from decoding to comprehension. This research is significant because the median reading level of deaf students who graduate high school has remained around a fourth grade level equivalent for the past thirty years, and there is a paucity of research that examines evidence-based practices to improve the reading performance of deaf students. There were 27 subjects in this study from an urban day school for the deaf. A dependent t-test was conducted using the subjects’ scores on a pretreatment and posttreatment reading assessment after nine weeks of treatment. No significant difference from pretreatment to posttreatment assessment was found, t(26) = 1.813, p > .05. In addition, an exploratory analysis using treatment and control groups was conducted using a quasi-experimental design based on mean gain scores from a pretreatment and posttreatment reading assessment. Twenty-seven pairs of subjects were matched on ethnicity, gender, and grade level to determine the main effect of treatment, the interaction effect of treatment and gender, and the interaction effect of treatment and grade level. No significant difference was found for the main effect of treatment, F(1,42) = 1.989, p >.05. Statistical significance was not found for the interaction between treatment and gender, F(1,50) = 1.209, p >.05. Statistical significance was not found for the interaction between treatment and grade level, F(2,48) = .208, p >.05. The results of this study have implications in the field of deaf education and are congruent with the findings of similar studies involving Repeated Readings to influence comprehension. Although significant tests were non-significant regarding students’ improvement on the reading assessment after the intervention, the direction and magnitude of the mean differences effect sizes for students in the treatment group support the need for further research regarding the evaluation of computer-based educational programs that can be used as effective educational strategies to improve deaf students’ reading performance.

No description available.

No description available.

The starting point for this research was the belief that interactive multimedia learning environments represent a significant evolution in computer based learning and therefore their design requires a re-examination of the underlying principles of learning and knowledge representation. Current multimedia learning environments (MLEs) can be seen as descendants of the earlier technologies of computer-aided learning (CAL), intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) and videodisc-based learning systems. As such they can benefit from much of the wisdom which emerged from those technologies. However, multimedia can be distinguished from earlier technologies by its much greater facility in bringing to the learner high levels of interaction with and control over still and moving image, animation, sound and graphics. Our intuition tells us that this facility has the potential to create learning environments which are not merely substitutes for "live" teaching, but which are capable of elucidating complex conceptual knowledge in ways which have not previously been possible. If the potential of interactive multimedia for learning is to be properly exploited then it needs to be better understood. MLEs should not just be regarded as a slicker version of CAL, ITS or videodisc but a new technology requiring a reinterpretation of the existing theories of learning and knowledge representation. The work described in this thesis aims to contribute to a better understanding of the ways in which MLEs can aid learning. A knowledge engineering approach was taken to the design of a MLE for civil engineers. This involved analysing in detail the knowledge content of the learning domain in terms of different paradigms of human learning and knowledge representation. From this basis, a design strategy was developed which matched the nature of the domain knowledge to the most appropriate delivery techniques. The Cognitive Apprenticeship Model (CAM) was shown to be able to support the integration and presentation of the different categories of knowledge in a coherent instructional framework. It is concluded that this approach is helpful in enabling designers of multimedia systems both to capture and to present a rich picture of the domain. The focus of the thesis is concentrated on the domain of Civil Engineering and the learning of concepts and design skills within that domain. However, much of it could be extended to other highly visual domains such as mechanical engineering. Many of the points can also be seen to be much more widely relevant to the design of any MLE.

Interactive multimedia offers a degree of richness that lies outside the scope of conventional design methods for computer based learning. This research seeks to develop an interdisciplinary approach to design, that recognises the ways in which the combination and integration of different media forms can be exploited to stimulate experiential, intuitive, perceptual, and social/communicative aspects of learning. The goal of the project has been to develop a conceptual design model for the development of multimedia learning environments (MLEs), for humanistic learning applications, by using interactive drama. The models and methods developed though a practical design project have been founded upon theory from the realms of psychology, social sciences, learning and education, the arts and media, and software design. They address the cognitive and social aspects of learning, the use and interpretation of interactive media, the creation of learning environments, and the activities involved in design. As a vehicle to test the theoretical perspective, a design project has been undertaken, that has involved: 0 learning needs analysis and subject matter development; 9 development of a structural model for the MLE; 9 information structure, navigation and interface design; scripting, design and development of media materials for the development of interactive drama; formative evaluation. The subject area chosen for the design project is that of pregnancy and childbirth. The primary reasons for this choice was a desire to address the issues of design for informal learning experiences (that do not fit in the remit of institutional curricula) and an interest in finding ways to represent the social and interpersonal dimension to learning. Such learning processes have been described as 'humanistic learning' for the purposes of this research project. To help fulfil these goals, it was decided to work with playwright Simon Turley to develop a number of interactive drama scenes. Not only did this enable some of the more sensitive and personal issues of pregnancy to be addressed, but it also gave an opportunity to explore the world of drama, film and theatre as a means to create interactive learning experiences. The research has shown the benefits of interdisciplinary design practice, produced a framework of the theoretical issues that inform designers, and developed an approach to the design of MLEs for humanistic learning applications. These elements have been brought together to form the conceptual design model.

No description available.

No description available.