Table of Contents

	Introduction
	Distributed Cognition
	The Role of Mental Representations
	The Role of Interaction
	Cognitive Ethnography
	Distributed Cognition in Educational Settings
	Virtual Reality
	Virtual Reality, Learning, and Teaching
	Conclusion
	References

INTRODUCTION

The field of Human Computer Interaction (HCI) has recently viewed some changes in the way it has approached the design of interactive systems. In recent years, HCI has begun to incorporate new beliefs and practices related to human cognition and its role in the design and evaluation of computer-mediated environments. This is reflected in how the field has focused its attention on notions such as distributed cognition and situated knowledge construction. Besides, these new approaches are clearly based on different assumptions than classical approaches to HCI design.

Hence, it is the purpose of this project to examine and evaluate such notions in light of current research and theoretical thinking. A secondary purpose is to apply these new constructs to the design of interactive systems for educational purposes.