Current Trends in Educational Technology Research: The Study of Learning Environments

Abstract

cusing, in turn, on the content to be learned, the format of instructional mes sages, and the interaction between computers and students. The field is now concerned with the study of learning in complete, complex, and interactive learning environments. These environments allow both the simulation of ex periences that students might have in the real world and also the creation of compelling experiences that cannot normally be experienced directly. Learn ing environments also often allow students to communicate their own ideas with the use of a variety of symbol systems. These environments are also fre quently inhabited by more than one person, making learning within them a social activity where learning is distributed among both people and artifacts. Finally, these learning environments are complex. Studying how they con tribute to learning therefore requires research methods other than controlled experiments. This paper reviews research on learning environments to give both an historical perspective on educational technology research and a se lective view of the current state of the discipline. It concludes by identifying implications for both practice and future research.