Electronic Learning Environment

With the passage from oral to written, from manuscript to print, and from print to electronic communication and its global network transmitting words, numbers, ideas, and images to all corners of the earth, many learning modalities are supported. For example, a multimedia learning environment is similar to a constructivist learning environment, where learning is an active process in which learners construct new ideas or concepts based upon their experience and knowledge. Through interacting with the world one constructs knowledge of the world. In such an environment "learners are viewed as active constructors of their knowledge of the world" (Boyle 11). The task of the instructor is to translate information to be learned into a format appropriate to the learner's current state of understanding. Curricula should be organized in a spiral manner so students continually build upon what they have already learned.

In addition, the minimalist viewpoint is also addressed in the multimedia learning environment. Minimalist theory emphasizes the necessity to build on the learner's experience; all learning tasks should be in small, self-contained units; and training materials and activities should allow for error recognition and improvement. It is a truly user-centered approach to learning, with freedom to access the information and learning materials. This concept links very well with a multimedia environment. If designed with the minimalists in mind, multimedia could allow learners to "choose the units useful to support their activity, rather than being constrained to a predefined learning sequence" (Boyle 13).