Exploring the state of the art: surveying the Research landscape

Abstract

This paper presents a high level review of the fields and techniques that researchers and practitioners can draw upon to extend learning technology state of the art. The paper begins by describing some of the disciplines that researchers can use to inform the design of their systems. This is followed by an overview of one of the key research approaches: development through engineering. A key aspect to engineering is considered to be evaluation. The importance of the engineering and practitioner case study is also outlined. The final section addresses the issue of technology standards and how they can influence the design and implementation of systems. It is concluded that there is no single ‘grand theory’ of CBT system design. Instead there are number of different disciplines and methodologies that can be used together to create usable and successful educational systems.