Whereas in the past, analogue technologies could be relatively easily mastered by observation and "feel", newer digital technologies are somehow less "human" and may produce confusion and even fear in learners. This result is ironic in an age that purports to make life easier rather than more difficult. This thesis has two threads - the first opens a dialogue about the way in which we relate to technologies via "interfaces" - are these interfaces adequate? The second asks questions about whether interface quality can significantly affect the degrees and kinds of learning that take place through these technologies.

These questions are not merely academic. Most workplaces require basic technological skills, but our education system still has little data to guide practice.

This thesis makes the claim that many interfaces between appliance and user constitute significant obstacles to learning. A purpose of this thesis is to describe some interface deficiencies and develop strategies that might enable students to learn better and more enjoyably. Through literature, personal experience, and very preliminary field testing, the suggestion is made that good teaching is as necessary and sophisticated as the machines we now use. Such teaching must continually review our conceptions of intelligence and learning. Just as Gardener reconstructed our conceptions of intelligence, recent technologies promise that such remodelling will be a necessary and constant task for educators, artists, and perhaps even technocrats.