The positive impact of computer-based technology in education varies in part as a function of the individual abilities of users. A model is proposed for how individual differences are expected to affect performance when technology is introduced. The primary cognitive factor driving differences in performance using computer-based technology is spatial visualization ability. Four techniques for mitigating the negative impact of low spatial visualization are discussed. The use of spatial metaphors and graphical user interfaces are promising, but interface apparency, revealing hidden relationships and showing contingencies, and interface manipulatability, allowing users to directly manipulate objects and see intermediate steps, are the most likely to benefit individuals with low spatial visualization ability.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.