Conceptual stage in designing multimedia for telelearning : report for the Maten Project

The design of educational WWW-based hypermedia is often seen as a process of gradually progressing from content into interaction design. In the final shaping of the hyperlinks, menus and orientation pages, too many decisions are normally made at the same time. This article presents a four-stage design process that gives more attention to the conceptual and metaphoric aspects to be covered. Schematic representations are proposed as the main devices to validate design steps. A repertoire of concept mapping tools is discussed. The full sequence of conceptual, metaphoric, structural and navigational design is finally integrated as a scaffolding method for project teams in WWW-based hypermedia developing projects. The conceptual exploration method was applied and evaluated in the 1977 Summer School of Nova University at Lauderdale, Florida.