eLearning, Interactive Hypermedia, Neuroscience and Digital
Learning Module Creation
Javed Alam
Civil/Environmental and Chemical Engineering Department
Youngstown State University
Youngstown, Ohio, USA 44555
jalam@cc.ysu.edu
Abstract
This paper explores the possibilities of using the recent
findings within the area of Neuroscience for developing
effective instructional material in the digital form using
the interactive hypermedia components that can be used
for effective delivery of eLearning. The different
components of eLearning, eLearning infrastructure,
Interactive Hypermedia are described. A review of
findings from Neuroscience for the brain functions that
are deemed relevant for learning process is also
provided.
1. Introduction
The Information and Communication technology
(ICT) provides an infrastructure that allows creation and
dissemination of the information in digital form. It
facilitates the creation of digital content that could be
used for communication and collaboration purposes. The
eLearning is an emerging application that is built upon
the infrastructure supported by ICT.
The eLearning methodology [1] differs significantly
from the traditional teaching and learning approach. Its
effectiveness depends on the implementation of the
pedagogical approaches that are based upon the “Learner
Centered” design that encourages “Active Cooperative
Learning” style of the learners. The introduction of the
hypermedia based digital content helps in drawing the
attention of the younger generations who are more tuned
into the current “Visual Culture”.
The existing learning theories that are used to
design the instruction material are based upon the use of
traditional media such as text books that are linear in the
presentation and highly text oriented. These theories use
Cognitive Psychology as their theoretical foundation.
They have been successfully used in the past in
developing effective pedagogical approaches and the
supporting material for learning.
With the introduction of digital content based upon
the interactive hypermedia there is a need to expand the
scope of the existing learning theories to accommodate
the different characteristics of the new media. The
additional variables that are prominent in the newer
media are, a visual nonlinear narrative, and the
introduction of interaction with the content that changes
its behavior upon the response from the user. It is
anticipated that a properly designed multimedia content
should lead to better retention of attention and learning
experience for the learner. This could also be helpful in
providing immediate feedback to the learner leading to a
rapid learning experience.
2. eLearning Basics
The convergence of print, radio, TV and interactive
media in the form of interactive hypermedia opens up
many new possibilities and also challenges in designing
effective instructional material for eLearning on the
sound learning design principles. However, at the present
time these principles are constantly evolving due the
rapid changes in the capabilities of the media itself.
eLearning follows the traditional
instructional design model as described in
the reference[2]
• Analyze - analyze learner characteristics, task
to be learned, etc.
• Design - develop learning objectives, choose an
instructional approach
• Develop - create instructional or training
materials
• Implement - deliver or distribute the
instructional materials
• Evaluate - make sure the materials achieved the
desired goals.
The eLearning is modeled as mapping of the
traditional teaching and learning practices to the Virtual
Learning Environment (VLE). It consists of the
following:
1. The wired or wirelessly connected desktop,
laptop computers and small form factor
 computing devices such as Personal Digital
Assistants (PDA) to the Internet.
2. The computers running the web server and
application server software including the
Learning Management Software (LMS) and
Learning Content Management Software
(LCMS). The implementation of Learning
Design (LD) is accomplished through the LD
software tools that are add on to the application
server software.
3. The eLearning content that can further be
subdivided into the following categories:
• eContent, that deals with the subject
matter, similar to a traditional text book.
• eLecture, that simulates the traditional
lectures
• eAssessment, that simulates the traditional
tests and surveys
• eSimulation, that simulates the traditional
laboratory and learning experiments
• Standalone and web based Symbolic and
Numeric Mathematical Compute engines.
The four hypermedia components that are
used in creating eLearning content are:
• Hypertext (includes hyperlinks)
• Graphics (Images, Photographs and
Vector-based Drawings)
• Digital Sound
• Animation/Digital Video
The interactivity can be added through the
use of scripting languages.
The existing ICT infrastructure allows
creating and disseminating the digital
content at a lower cost. The multiple copies
of the digital content can be made with an
ease without any additional cost. This
provides a competitive edge for the use ICT
in eLearning when compared with the
traditional approach of teaching and learning.
Traditional print media provides a higher
resolution when compared with the screen
resolution of the computer monitor, 1400dpi
vs. 75-125 dpi. There is a need for better
design principles to overcome this drawback
to make eLearning model more effective. The
animation and video content can seamlessly
be integrated within the same interactive
digital document. The design and creation
process of an effective interactive
hypermedia document at the present time is
similar to creating an artwork. There is a
strong need to develop sound design
principles for creating this type of documents
that can be used for eLearning for enhanced
learner experience.
There has been a debate within eLearning
community about “No Significant Difference”
phenomenon [3, 4]. This relates to the
comparison between classroom teaching and
online learning. It shows that there is no
significant difference in the outcomes of
learning between two modes of learning.
However, it is difficult to evaluate the
subjective experience, emotional and
motivational drive of the learners during the
learning process. The traditional approach of
teaching and learning appeals to the cerebral
part of the brain that produces a cold feeling,
requiring learner to be self motivated to
achieve desired learning outcomes. It is
possible to design learning modules using
interactive hypermedia that also have
emotional and motivational appeal providing
an engaging experience for the learners.
However, this area is still in its infancy and
needs further research and development.
The ideas within the newly emerging
areas of “User Interface Design” and “User
Interaction Design” [5, 6, and 7] emphasizing
user experience and the new findings within
Neuroscience about the working of the brain,
together form a body of knowledge that can
be used as a basis for developing effective
eLearning content. That enhances the
learning experience also making accelerated
learning possible.
3. Neuroscience and Learning
The field of Cognitive Psychology itself is moving in
the direction of more empirically grounded Cognitive
Neuroscience. The researchers in the area of
Neuroscience are studying the functions of different parts
of the brain [8, 9, 10, and 11] of humans and animals as
it relates to the sensations, perceptions and the motor
responses including the basic emotions. The behavioral
and cognitive processes are also studied within
Behavioral and Cognitive Neuroscience. The mappings
of different neural correlates to the actual stimuli and
responses are accomplished through the use of non-
invasive techniques such as PET and FMRI scans of the
brain. These findings hold a strong potential for
developing sound learning design principles that can be
utilized for creating hypermedia based digital content for
learning.
The researchers in the area of Cognitive
Neuroscience have been successful in identifying the
neural correlates responsible for many well known
cognitive tasks performed by the human brain. In some
cases the findings revalidate the existing theories of
Cognitive psychology and provide a more empirical
grounding to the theories of behavior modification. They
are also discovering new information about the
functioning of the human brain and how it responds to
novel stimulus and changes. There is a need to further
explore the use these recent findings in brain based
research for developing effective learning schemas.
The Organization of Economic-Development and
Development (OECD) published a report entitled
“Understanding the Brain: Towards a New Learning
Science”. This report [12] explores the potential use of
findings within Cognitive Neuroscience on learning
design. The book by Zull [13] also explores these
parameters based upon the theories and findings of Brain
Science.
4. Neural processing in Learning
The learning in its simplest form can be
characterized as behavior modification caused by the
learning process. Therefore, the theories from
Neuroscience in this area become relevant for learning
design. The role of the following brain processes is
essential in learning process:
• Visual/Aural stimulus processing
• Memory sub systems
• Emotion/Motivation processing
• Neural-plasticity
• Attention processing
The brain contains special cells known as Neurons
that communicate with each other through the synaptic
connections by the use of neurotransmitters. Different
parts of the brain are specialized in performing different
tasks and it utilizes these units in parallel to carry out
several different tasks to complete a project.
A typical learning session will involve many
activities; therefore, it will utilize many distinct parts of
the brain dynamically and the mental processes described
above.
In the first step, the learner is presented with the
multimedia learning module requiring the use of Visual
and aural processing units [14] of the brain to create an
internal mental representation of the learning material.
The visual and aural stimulus is processed by the visual
and aural cortex of the brain. This step may also require
the mental faculties of inductive and deductive reasoning
located in the left and right hemisphere of the cerebral
cortex.
The relevant information is at first stored in the
small working memory [15, 16, and 17] and the long
term memories of the learning material are created in the
hippocampus region [18] of the brain. The process of
long term memory formation is dependent upon the
emotional arousal of the learner’s brain through the
release of neurotransmitter in the part of the brain that
processes the emotions such as Amygdala, Hypothlamus,
and brainstem [19, 20, 21, 22]. Ulate [23] discusses the
importance of emotional arousal on learning in virtual
environments.
The high motivational factor to direct the actions
towards a desired task is dependent upon the Brain’s
reward circuits. These are well defined circuits within
the brain and require the release of neurotransmitter
Dopamine in the Nucleus Accumbens and Ventral
Tegmental area of the midbrain. The effect of Dopamine
on arousal and goal seeking are well documented in the
area of drug addiction, gambling etc [24]. It is
anticipated that the same rewards circuits can be used for
developing high motivation for learning if the learning
material is designed appropriately to excite this part of
learner’s brain. The use of video games for entertainment
purposes most likely utilize these brain circuits leading
to a highly rewarding activity. It is possible to use
concepts that are used to design video games for creating
engaging and entertaining digital content for eLearning.
A memory reconstruction process is used to recall
the learned material during the evaluation phase of the
eLearning.
Neural-plasticity [25] is defined as the
reconfiguration of synaptic connections and formation of
new synaptic connections between neurons during
learning activity. This is the core process that makes
learning a possibility. Recently, it was found that this
process remains active in the elderly [26] providing a
basis for life long learning for the adult population.
All of these brain processes are mediated by the
learner’s attention and the neural circuitry that is
involved in the process of attention [27].
A simplified model of the brain can be built by
dividing it into three parts namely, reptilian, mammalian
and cerebral cortex respectively. The symbolic, linear,
text based older media is more likely to create a neural
excitation in the cerebral cortex part of the brain.
However, attention, long term memory formation,
emotional, and motivation related to drives of goal
seeking are found to be highly dependent on the
excitation of the reptilian and mammalian part of the
brain. These findings partly explain the persuasive
nature of the TV as a visual medium because it produces
activation within the reptilian and mammalian part of
the brain that is considered older part of brain from
evolutionary perspective.
 The Interactive Hypermedia content is viewed
through a video screen that is the same as a TV screen
with a higher resolution, therefore, it is quite possible to
design Interactive Hypermedia content to activate these
brain centers to accomplish the desired purpose of
enhanced learning. The interactive Hypermedia is a
combination of print and video with interactivity and it
provides several additional options that are not available
for traditional media such as print. This observation
makes it possible to tailor the digital content based upon
the interactive hypermedia to enhance these responses of
the brain leading to a productive learning experience.
Studies [28, 29, and 30] are based upon this idea and
they test some promising concepts. However, this
conjecture needs more future work to establish the
framework that connects the findings of Neuroscience,
User interface and Interaction design and digital content
creation based upon the interactive hypermedia to create
effective learning modules that can be used for
eLearning.
5. Conclusions and Recommendations
The study of the functioning of the Brain within the
discipline of Neuroscience as described will help in
developing a new form of learning science. The digital
learning content in the form of hypermedia presents new
challenges and it is suggested that the design of effective
learning content will require a whole new set of learning
design strategies. Future activities will pursue the
integration of these two disciplines to establish
eLearning strategies for Engineering Learning
Information Systems.
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