Human Factors/ergonomics Issues with Online and Distance Education Table of Contents Section

This paper deals with human factors/ergonomics (HF/E) issues related to the design and use of online and distance learning environments. The field of HF/E deals with the interaction of performance and design. There is ample evidence from differential learning research that the preponderance of variability in learning is attributable to how the learning environment is designed. Thus, the HF/E concern with online and distance learning (ODL) environments is how the design of ODL interfaces, environments, and technologies can be improved to benefit student learning and educational system performance. Answers to this question remain controversial and poorly defined. The advent of ODL communities---virtual or remote classrooms that support teaching at a distance with no direct contact between teacher and student---has introduced a new domain of system and interface design features, problems, and issues whose influence on student learning and educational system performance is largely not understood from a practical perspective, and largely unexplored from a research perspective. This report will address this topic from a number of different perspectives, related to: (1) characterization of the field of educational ergonomics, concerned with how educational design influences learning performance; and (2) application of educational ergonomic findings and principles for designing online and distance educational interfaces, environments, technologies, and systems. The report will provide a better understanding of how the design of online and distance learning systems influences educational performance, and of how to design online and distance learning environments to benefit learning and educational systems performance.