Abstract

The explosive development of the World Wide Web (WWW) in the late 1980s occurred concurrently with the development of the Integrated Advanced Information Management System (IAIMS) 1 initiative at the University of Washington in Seattle. Having determined that the Internet could deliver many of our computer-based instructional modules, our goal was to create an authoring tool that would serve as a template for our materials. A computer shell was developed. This shell, made up of interlocking Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) files and common gateway interface (CGI) scripts, is used as a template for the development of our modules. This gives us a standardized user interface that facilitates the use of the packages we create. Three factors guided the development of the template shell: (a) the requirement for layout flexibility within the computer screen, (b) navigational concerns, and (c) the need for effective and efficient use of graphics. These factors are discussed in depth, and in this paper, we demonstrate the educational advantages of the frames feature. The development of our frames-based, image-oriented instructional template is described, and several examples are presented of the template applied to dermatology, radiology, pharmacology, skin biology, and musculoskeletal disorders. Feedback from 54 students who have used the modules is presented. The paper concludes with our assertion that using a frames environment can give the computer educator a flexibility which has many pedagogical advantages, and by using a three-tiered approach to graphic display, bandwidth limitations can be balanced with students' pedagogical needs. An abridged version of one of the modules is available for demonstration purposes at: http://www.hslib.washington.edu/courses/demo/. For a complete overview of the University of Washington's IAIMS program, go to http://www.hslib.washington.edu/iaims/. In addition, http://healthlinks.washington.edu/courses/demo/ goes to the home page of HealthLinks, a WWW site developed jointly by the IAIMS staff and the University of Washington's Health Sciences Library and Information Center.

Citation

Robertson, J.E. & Solomon, C. (1997). Frames-Based, Image-Oriented Instruction. International Journal of Educational Telecommunications, 3(2), 237-259. Charlottesville, VA: Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE). Retrieved August 12, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/primary/p/15143/.

© 1997 Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE)

Keywords

• Health
• Information Sciences
• Instructional Materials
• Library
• sciences