Individual Differences and Web-Based Learning

This chapter considers a range of individual difference variables that have potential relevance to specifically designed Web-based learning packages. These include: cognitive style, working memory efficiency, anxiety, gender, and current knowledge. It discusses, in general terms, the conditions under which the variables are important, and the potential interaction between them in affecting learning performance. The roles of the variables within the context of Web-based learning are then examined. It is argued that technical developments in computer technology that allow materials that can accommodate learning preferences by responding to the student’s choices and learning performance combined with a better psychological understanding of individual differences in learning should result in improved educational effectiveness.

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