Scaffolding

Procedural Scaffolds Procedural scaffolds are instructions for using an interface or embedded cues/features that help someone use an interface. They take many forms. Click on any illustration below to pull-up a larger screen image.
Guided tours use pop-up arrows and text to highlight and explain various program features (see WishList example at right). Note that tours can be driven by the user or by an instructor. The PowWow and Symposium software programs allow an instructor to guide students through a site with the students viewing exactly what the instructor chooses to show them.
Maps and overview diagrams that illustrate the relationship and linkages among items in a site are suitable for hierarchical information (see Elsevier example at right). Web-like information that permits linking from one node to any other node is more difficult to represent in map form (i.e., may look cluttered and confusing, see the NCBI sample at far right).
Tables of contents list site content by topical index, but typically do not show how items link to one another like site maps. Note, many people erroneously refer to simple tables of contents as site maps, but they are not the same as visual site representations showing linkages.
Dynamic overviews are pop-up windows that illustrate the location of a user in a hyper-structure and change as the user navigates the system (i.e., "where am I right now?") (Nielsen, 1995).
Links should allow users to exit or return to the home screen from any page in the presentation. In the unit at right, users can link back to the front of the chapter by clicking on the text "Building for the Big One," they can link to the front of this Faultline web module where other chapters are selected, or they can link to the Exploratorium web site for the creators of this module.
Search engines allow users to quickly locate specific information. The Exploratorium web site at right embeds a search engine for users to locate information specific to their site.
Landmarks, typographical cues, or icons can provide familiar cognitive markers for students to recognize as they navigate a system (e.g., different sizes or fonts for headings and sub-headings, or for chapters and underlying pages). Note the use of text cues at the top of Yahoo and About.Com's web sites (i.e., Home > Computers and Internet > Internet).
Conceptual Scaffolds When complex concepts are encountered or when students possess naive mental models and limited prerequisite understanding, conceptual scaffolding can prompt learners to consider important facets of an idea. Conceptual scaffolds may resemble:
Objectives, study questions, or other techniques help students focus on key points in data sets. The Tree of Life Web Project example, called "Snail Investigation Inquiry Cycle," at right promotes the use of advance organizers (Ausubel, 1963) or annotations of web sites before students link to actual web resources, helping to orient them toward what they will see and to recall their prerequisite knowledge about the topic. FOSS provides teaching objectives related to the Snail Investigation Inquiry Cycle.
Utilize a wide variety of links on your site to expose learners to elaborative information, related information, or contrasting perspectives. For example, the Idea Channel provides links to different expert perspectives on a number of subject-specific issues.
Illustrative information provides examples of concepts in audio, visual, or animated form. Open the Celtic Art page to view a sample of Flash animation used to illustrate overlying design elements on the Celtic phalera. See the Animation Factory for simple gif animation ideas. A Diamond is Forever explains the 4 Cs of choosing a diamond in the last example.
Metacognitive scaffolds Metacognitive scaffolds may be embedded in online course systems like Sakai (VT Scholar) and Blacksboard, or they may be printed on paper and used with students in the classroom (e.g., evaluation forms). Interfaces with planning scaffolds allow students to: set goals and objectives, chart milestones and deadlines for projects, create storyboards, etc. Interfaces with regulating scaffolds allow students to: monitor their progress, receive feedback on their performance (e.g., online quizzing, interactive practice exercises), etc. Interfaces with evaluating scaffolds allow students to: critique one another's work, exchange documents to-from the instructor for revising, etc.