Learning strategies in an ‘ideal’ computer‐based learning environment

Abstract An experiment was conducted with 30 postgraduate students to discover how they might go about learning from an ‘ideal’ computer‐based environment. A system was created which preserved the appearance of a computer‐based interaction, yet which freed itself from the constraints of current technology. The students, although not aware of this at the time, were in fact interacting with two human experts, backed up with appropriate documentation and computer files, via a computer screen. The results suggest a number of different learning strategies linked to relatively successful and less successful learning. Implications for the design of computer‐based learning materials are discussed.