Thinking style,browsing primes and hypermedia navigation

There is a common assumption that hypermedia navigation is influenced by a learner’s style of thinking, so people who are inclined to apply sequential and analytical strategies (left-thinkers) are thought to browse hypermedia in a linear way, whereas those who prefer holistic and intuitive strategies (right-thinkers) tend towards non-linear paths. An experiment was conducted to study both the effects of students’ style of thinking on hypermedia navigation and the effects of primes aimed at inducing them to browse the hypermedia according to a given strategy. Two hundred undergraduates in different faculties were asked to visit a website. Navigation was preceded by some initial tasks (primes) that activated either the left- or the right-thinking style; 50 men and 50 women were randomly assigned to each of the two kinds of primes. Then participants were free to browse the hypermedia and navigational paths were tracked down. When navigation had been completed, a questionnaire measuring a preference for either the left- or the right-thinking style was filled out by participants. Analyses showed that primes influenced hypermedia navigation, leading participants to apply strategies consistent with the initial tasks. The participants’ age and faculty did not influence their behaviour in navigation. Gender and frequency of computer use determined some minor differences in hypermedia browsing, whereas there was no evidence of any relationship between thinking style and behaviour in navigation.     

The effects of visual metaphor and cognitive style for mental modeling in a hypermedia-based environment

With the exponential growth of Internet technology, the notion of users’ cognition when navigating such a vast information space has gained prominence. Studies suggest that metaphors can serve as effective tools to scaffold users’ mental modeling processes. However, how users conceive of the metaphorical aid (as opposed to simply how they perceive it) remains questionable. Cognitive style, or the user’s preferred way of information processing, has thus been posited as a possible factor affecting the success of the metaphorical approach in a hypermedia environment.

This study explores the effects of visual metaphors and cognitive styles on users’ learning performances in terms of structural knowledge and feelings of disorientation. The results indicate that a visual metaphor could improve the quality of mental formation, yet simultaneously increase users’ mental load during navigation. In addition, cognitive style is a crucial factor that can significantly affect users’ learning performance.     

Non-visual game design and training in gameplay skill acquisition – A puzzle game case study

This paper reports the results of a study on the design and evaluation of the game and techniques which allow puzzles to be played in the absence of visual feedback. We have demonstrated that a camera-mouse can be used successfully for blind navigation and target location acquisition within a game field. To gradually teach the players the sequential learning method was applied. Blind exploration of the gamespace was augmented with sticky labels and overview sound cues, verbal and non-verbal, which can significantly reduce the cognitive load and facilitate mental matching and integration. The full-sticky labels technique does not require fine motor skills and allows a user to gain control over the game with a minimum level of skills. With the vertical sticky labels technique training was focused on the development of accurate head movements only on a horizontal plane. With practice, the players can use the non-sticky labels technique. After 240 trials (3–4 h), the cumulative experience of the blindfolded players was increased 22.5–27 times compared to the initial 10 trials.     

Cognitive load in hypermedia reading comprehension: Influence of text type and linearity

In this paper the assumption of cognitive overhead in hypermedia learning is specified by cognitive load theory. This analysis is based on different types of cognitive load, the dimension of linearity/non-linearity as well as text characteristics. We propose a model stating that extraneous cognitive load in hypermedia learning is basically determined by the interaction of text presentation format (linear/non-linear) with text type (text with and without narrative structures). This assumption was tested by means of a 2 × 2 experimental design. Sixty participants completed a computer-based learning program that contained a narrative text or an encyclopaedia text in either linear or non-linear presentation format. Results confirm the suggested interaction hypothesis postulating that non-linear information presentation of narrative text structure increases cognitive load and decreases knowledge acquisition. However, for encyclopaedia text participants’ knowledge acquisition was not affected by linear or non-linear presentation format. Furthermore, results suggest a cross-validation of cognitive load measures and propositional analysis.     

Modeling Elementary Cognitive Abilities for Adaptive Hypermedia Presentation

The adaptation of hypermedia can be carried out at three levels, namely the content, navigation and presentation level. The presentation level is the least studied of the three, apparently because it refers to user properties that are not easy to model. In this paper, we present a new approach to modeling cognitive abilities that relies on basic mental functionalities. We describe the Cognitive User Modeling for Adaptive Presentation of Hyper-Documents (CUMAPH) environment, which mainly provides an authoring tool and an adaptation engine. The aim of this environment is to adapt a hyper-document presentation by selecting the elements that best fit the user cognitive profile. Its architecture is based on four main components: a cognitive user model, a hyper-document builder, an adaptation engine and a generic style sheet. To validate our approach, we designed an innovative protocol and conducted an experimental study involving 39 students. The first results show that an adaptive presentation can significantly increase the efficiency of hypermedia presentations.     

Reading skills and children’s navigation strategies in hypertext

Prior research has identified two important navigation strategies that have a clear impact on hypertext comprehension: link selection and overview processing strategies. The first relate to the order in which students select hyperlinks while trying to comprehend a hypertext, whereas the second relate to when and for how long students process navigation overviews, a text device that conveys the text structure by displaying sections, titles and their relations. Most prior research in navigation strategies has been conducted with undergraduate students. We extend prior research by exploring the navigation strategies used by sixth-graders while reading a hypermedia system. We also investigate how reading skills relate to the use of navigation strategies, and how both shape students’ comprehension in hypertext. Results from an electronic reading study replicated in sixth-graders the results on navigation strategies previously found in undergraduate samples. In addition, the results revealed that reading skills predicted the use of link selection but not of overview processing strategies. We discuss our results in light of new models of electronic reading proficiency, and propose some instructional guidelines to improve children’ electronic reading proficiency.     

Note-taking while learning hypermedia: Cognitive and motivational considerations

The non-linear format of hypermedia requires the use of self-regulated learning (SRL) processes, including making decisions about which representation to access. The design of hypermedia environments can make these decisions difficult, and may result in extraneous cognitive load. Note-taking, a SRL strategy may offload extraneous cognitive load while learning with hypermedia. This study examined factors related to undergraduate students’ note-taking while learning with hypermedia. Think-aloud, self-report, pretest, and posttest data were collected from 53 undergraduates while they learned about a challenging science topic for 30 min with hypermedia. Results indicated that participants’ prior domain knowledge, as measured by the pretest, did not significantly predict the content of their notes. However, motivation, as measured by a self-report questionnaire, had a significant relationship with the content of the participants’ notes. Specifically, intrinsic motivation had a significant negative relationship while extrinsic motivation had a significant positive relationship with the content of notes. Additionally, there was a significant interaction between the content of the participants’ notes and their use of self-regulatory processes while learning with hypermedia.     

Towards new forms of knowledge communication: the adaptive dimension of a web-based learning environment

Adaptive Educational Hypermedia Systems aim to increase the functionality of hypermedia by making it personalised to individual learners. The adaptive dimension of these systems mainly supports knowledge communication between the system and the learner by adapting the content or the appearance of hypermedia to the knowledge level, goals and other characteristics of each learner. The main objectives are to protect learners from cognitive overload and disorientation by supporting them to find the most relevant content and path in the hyperspace. In the approach presented in this paper, learners' knowledge level and individual traits are used as valuable information to represent learners' current state and personalise the educational system accordingly, in order to facilitate learners to achieve their personal learning goals and objectives. Learners' knowledge level is approached through a qualitative model of the level of performance that learners exhibit with respect to the concepts they study and is used to adapt the lesson contents and the navigation support. Learners' individual traits and especially their learning style represent the way learners perceive and process information, and are exploited to adapt the presentation of the educational material of a lesson. The proposed approach has been implemented through various adaptation technologies and incorporated into a prototype hypermedia system. Finally, a pilot study has been conducted to investigate system's educational effectiveness.     

Hypermedia—introduction and survey

Our paper begins with an introduction to hypermedia presented with the example of a hypothetical hypermedia system. This is followed by an overview of the main hypermedia components visible to the user—data structures, authoring tools, navigation tools, and user interface. In the next section, we present a brief history of hypermedia, list applications in which hypermedia systems have been used, and describe several important commercial products and research projects. The last two sections introduce the major issues facing hypermedia technology and attempt to predict what direction it might take in the near future.     

Examining Cognitive Processing in Hypermedia Usage

As a growing learning technology, hypermedia needs to be examined in terms of the cognitive processes it encourages in users. The characteristics that circumscribe hypermedia are first discussed. Two perspectives on learning from hypermedia are then presented. These are purpose of usage (culture, education, information) and usage context. Four cognitive processes involved in hypermedia usage are described. These are browsing, searching, integrating, and angling (establishing multiple perspectives). Two cognitive pitfalls are also discussed: hyperspace wandering and cohesion deficit. It is concluded that both practical and theoretical concerns emerge out of this focus on cognitive processes in hypermedia.     

Design of adaptive hypermedia learning systems: A cognitive style approach

In the past decade, a number of adaptive hypermedia learning systems have been developed. However, most of these systems tailor presentation content and navigational support solely according to students’ prior knowledge. On the other hand, previous research suggested that cognitive styles significantly affect student learning because they refer to how learners process and organize information. To this end, the study presented in this paper developed an adaptive hypermedia learning system tailored to students’ cognitive styles, with an emphasis on Pask’s Holist–Serialist dimension. How students react to this adaptive hypermedia learning system, including both learning performance and perceptions, was examined in this study. Forty-four undergraduate and postgraduate students participated in the study. The findings indicated that, in general, adapting to cognitive styles improves student learning. The results also showed that the adaptive hypermedia learning system have more effects on students’ perceptions than performance. The implications of these results for the design of adaptive hypermedia learning systems are discussed.     

The measures weighted stratum and weighted compactness on the weighted digraph-based models of the hypermedia and navigation

This study focuses on carrying out weighted digraph-based mathematical construction of hypermedia and user navigation on hypermedia and making a presentation of “weighted” forms of known stratum and compactness. In the instructional Web design researches, the structural analysis of navigation on the hypermedia is important in modeling the behaviors that the learners perform while using this kind of media. Therefore, new conceptions of the presented usage of new measures towards this goal are also discussed within the scope of our study.     

What does it mean to be good at using a mobile device? An investigation of three levels of experience and skill

An increasing number of computer users lack formal training in operating their devices. These daily users cannot be described as novices or experts within the predominant view of expertise. In order to describe and better understand this type of self-taught intermediate level of skill, 10 casual users of a high-end smartphone series were compared to 10 novices and 4 professionals (help desk personnel) in their learning histories, task performance, and cognitive outcomes. Our study suggests that this type of self-taught intermediate level of skill is device-specific. Experienced users (casual users and experts) exhibited superior performance for representative tasks. This is mainly attributable to faster navigation and better knowledge of interface terminology, not to deeper conceptual representation of the problems. Interviews suggest that this skill is the consequence of routine use and three recurring learning events: familiarization, following of media, and ad hoc problem-solving situations. We conclude by discussing why intermediate levels of skill deserve more attention in HCI research.     

Hypermedia navigation: Differences between spatial cognitive styles

Recently, many studies have investigated the role of individual and cognitive differences during Web navigation and Web searching. Despite this interest, no works have considered the role may assume individual differences in real-environment navigation during Web navigation. The aim of this work is to investigate the effect of different spatial cognitive styles: Landmark style (LS), Route style (RS) and Survey style (SS), on Web searching behaviour. In real-environment navigation, having a specific style determines the type of information individuals selected to navigate and orient themselves. We hypothesize that LS individuals are less proficient during Web exploration due to their analytical analysis of the environmental features. Vice versa SS individuals will show high performance on Web exploration for their holistic analysis of the World. We asked 30 College Students (10 LS, 10 RS, 10 SS) to solve three Web information tasks. The spatial cognitive style of participants was assessed through the Spatial Cognitive Style Test, and they were also asked to fill in a questionnaire about their internet and computer use. An ad hoc key-logger program for browsers was used to collect Web behaviour measures. In particular, the measures considered were: search engine tools used (e.g. back button), pages visited and revisited, time spent on information searching, and mouse cursor movements. The results showed significant differences between the spatial cognitive styles: LS seems to use a trial and error strategy in order to obtain the relevant information. Differences also emerged in the distribution of mouse cursor movements during Web navigation.     

Learning styles and cognitive traits – Their relationship and its benefits in web-based educational systems

Different learners have different needs; they differ, for example, in their learning goals, their prior knowledge, their learning styles, and their cognitive abilities. Adaptive web-based educational systems aim to cater individual learners by customizing courses to suit their needs. In this paper, we investigate the benefits of incorporating learning styles and cognitive traits in web-based educational systems. Adaptivity aspects based on cognitive traits and learning styles enrich each other, enabling systems to provide learners with courses which fit their needs more accurately. Furthermore, consideration of learning styles and cognitive traits can contribute to more accurate student modelling. In this paper, the relationship between learning styles, in particular the Felder–Silverman learning style model (FSLSM), and working memory capacity, a cognitive trait, is investigated. For adaptive educational systems that consider either only learning styles or only cognitive traits, the additional information can be used to provide more holistic adaptivity. For systems that already incorporate both learning styles and cognitive traits, the relationship can be used to improve the detection process of both by including the additional information of learning style into the detection process of cognitive traits and vice versa. This leads to a more reliable student model.     

Monitoring, planning, and self-efficacy during learning with hypermedia: The impact of conceptual scaffolds

Self-report data and think-aloud data from 37 undergraduates were used to examine the impact of conceptual scaffolds on self-efficacy, monitoring, and planning during learning with a commercial hypermedia environment. Participants, randomly assigned to either the No Scaffolding (NS) or Conceptual Scaffolding (CS) condition, used a hypermedia environment for 30 min to learn about the circulatory system. Think-aloud data collected during this learning task was used to measure participants’ self-regulated learning (SRL) with hypermedia. Additionally, participants completed a self-efficacy questionnaire at three points during the learning task (immediately prior to the 30-min hypermedia learning task, 10 min into the learning task, and 20 min into the learning task). Results indicated that participants from both conditions reported higher levels of self-efficacy immediately before the hypermedia learning task, and that they decreased their use of SRL processes related to monitoring as they progressed through the hypermedia learning task. In addition, results also indicated that participants in the CS condition used, on average, more SRL processes related to planning during the hypermedia learning task than participants in the NS condition.     

Using a cooperative hypermedia editing tool to enhance group communication and productivity

Cooperative hypermedia means producting and manipulating hyperorganized multimedia data by a group of (co-)users. We have been realizing a prototype that enables coauthors to cooperatively produce hypermedia documents. It allows coauthors to communicate their ideas, drafts, guidelines, and constraints within a group in order to exchange information (remotely or face-to-face) and improve the final document.When analyzing the transition from individual work to group work within different human activities, two pitfalls are often detected if computer support is considered. On the one hand are the social and technological communication problems, particularly if members of the group are geographically distant from one another. On the other hand are the productivity falls, which are usually due to communication difficulties and frequent social inadequacies of the group's computer support. We would like to propose the use of this prototype — CoMEdiA — as a way to enhance, or prevent the fall of, intra-group communication and the outcomes of group edit tasks (constrained to the kind of taks for which it has been designed). Most of the techniques used to achieve this can be used in other tools to support other specific type of group activities.     

Modeling users on the World Wide Web based on cognitive factors,navigation behavior and clustering techniques

This paper focuses on modeling users’ cognitive styles based on a set of Web usage mining techniques on user navigation patterns and clickstream data. Main aim is to investigate whether specific clustering techniques can group users of particular cognitive style using measures obtained from psychometric tests and content navigation behavior. Three navigation metrics are proposed and utilized to find identifiable groups of users that have similar navigation patterns in relation to their cognitive style. The proposed work has been evaluated with two user studies which entail a psychometric-based survey for extracting the users’ cognitive styles, combined with a real usage scenario of users navigating in a controlled Web 2.0 environment. A total of 106 participants of age between 17 and 25 participated in the study providing interesting insights with respect to cognitive styles and navigation behavior of users. Studies like the reported one can be useful for modeling users and assist adaptive Web 2.0 environments to organize and present information and functionalities in an adaptive format to diverse user groups.     

The use of computers in kindergarten, with or without adult mediation; effects on children's cognitive performance and behavior

This study was designed to examine the differential effects of three types of adult interaction with kindergarten children using computers on children's cognitive performance and style of response. The types of adult interaction considered were: (1) mediation: provision of mediation, including behaviors such as focusing, affecting, expanding, encouraging, and regulation of behavior; (2) accompaniment: responding to children's questions; and (3) no assistance: provision of minimal technical assistance. The study sample included 150 kindergarten children, age 5–6 years. Children who engaged in adult-mediated computer activity showed higher levels of performance on a series of cognitive measures and more reflective response styles as compared to the other children. Adults' mediating behaviors found most predictive of children's cognitive performance were expanding, encouraging and regulation of behavior. Findings led to the conclusion that integrating adult mediation in pre-school computer learning environments facilitates informed use of computer technologies and has positive effects on children's performance.