This brief will examine and explore some tools and techniques that can
be used to develop interfaces for learning environments. Interface
design has been a topic in software engineering for many years. The
advent of graphical user interfaces has created many remedies and
challenges for the software engineer. In recent years with an increased
emphasis in educational technology, instructional designers are also
included in this arena. The interface can be a driver in terms of a
learning environment's ability to engage a student. It can also provide
a point of information exchange and therefore learning between the
student and the environment's software. Thus, the issue of an interface
is vital to the success of a learning environment. This brief will
produce a variety of interfaces for various environments to allow the
designer to contrast and compare them based upon the required purpose.
The designer will have a toolkit filled with tools and techniques which
will allow for interfaces that will engage the student and facilitate
their learning. The primary audiences are K-12 and post-secondary
educators who desire to create digital media based educational
materials.