Designing CBL courseware for the interactive learning of electronics design

Unless well-informed decisions are taken at the outset of a computer-based learning project, it becomes difficult to produce effective courseware because specific learning objectives are not identified. It is important to apply a structured approach to the analysis of the skills students are to acquire through using the courseware. In this paper a technique is discussed which involves a hierarchical decomposition using a dictionary of overt verbs in order to refine the specification of the skills required. The decomposition is not always obvious and usually requires continual refinement with time and experience as the project proceeds. It also provides a method of auditing the project. Eventually individual skills or educational objectives are identified and task specifications developed to indicate how these may be achieved. From the decomposition a detailed storyboard is evolved which documents the contents of a series of frames that describe how these objectives are achieved in courseware. A number of frame types have been identified and their use is illustrated with an example from the courseware being developed by the authors