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The way medical students learn anatomy is constantly evolving. Nowadays, technologies such as tablets support established learning methods like drawing. In this study, the effect of drawing on a tablet on medical students' anatomy learning was investigated compared to drawing or summarizing on paper. The quality of drawings or summaries was assessed as a measure of the quality of strategy implementation. Learning outcome was measured with an anatomy test, both immediately afterward and after 4-6 weeks to assess its sustainability. There were no significant group differences in learning outcome at both measurement points. For all groups, there was a significant medium strength correlation between the quality of the drawings or summaries and the learning outcome (p < 0.05). Further analysis revealed that the quality of strategy implementation moderated outcomes in the delayed test: When poorly implemented, drawing on a tablet (M = 48.81) was associated with lower learning outcome than drawing on paper (M = 58.95); The latter (M = 58.89) was related to higher learning outcome than writing summaries (M = 45.59). In case of high-quality strategy implementation, drawing on a tablet (M = 60.98) outperformed drawing on paper (M = 52.67), which in turn was outperformed by writing summaries (M = 62.62). To conclude, drawing on a tablet serves as a viable alternative to paper-based methods for learning anatomy if students can make adequate use of this strategy. Future research needs to identify how to support student drawing, for instance, by offering scaffolds with adaptive feedback to enhance learning.

Design students must develop competence in a wide range of areas in order to be successful in their future practice. Increasingly, knowledge of design methods is used to frame both a designer's repertoire and their overall facility as a designer. However, there is little research on how students build cognitive schema in relation to design methods or how these schema relate to specific patterns of engagement as developing designers. In this paper, we report a multiple case study, capturing the experiences of four advanced undergraduate students enrolled in a User Experience (UX) design program at a large research-intensive institution. Through reflexive thematic analysis on our interview study outcomes, we describe the wide variety of metaphors that these students used to organize and frame their understanding of design methods, including both principles they used to consider methods as knowledge, and the ways in which they felt these organizing principles impacted their practice of design. We conclude with recommendations for further research on the uptake of methods-focused competence in design education and practice.

The purpose of this paper is to examine how infographics are used in the dynamics of designing or creating in the teaching and learning process. Utilising a bibliometric approach and content analysis, we examined a sample of 760 documents from the Web of Science and Scopus databases with no lower time limit until November 2023. The analyses aimed to identify trends, including main topics, authors, sources, most cited articles, institutional affiliations, and countries in the literature. This bibliometric approach allows for the observation of trends in the educational application of promoting visual literacy through students' design or creation of infographics in formal and informal learning settings. Initial publications emerged in 2007, gaining momentum from 2014 to the present. The most prolific fields were medical science, chemistry, and computer science. This investigation shows that educational institutions could employ infographics beyond present boundaries to prepare students--particularly Generation Alpha, digital natives--for a data-driven society. Institutions should expand their use of infographics to improve visual literacy and address the changing educational requirements of students in a dynamic learning environment. Overall, this paper provides insights into the readiness of educators and institutions to engage Generation Alpha, the digital natives, through visual literacy and infographics.

Ray tracing is a computer graphics technique used to produce realistic visuals by physically simulating the behavior of light. Although this technique can be described straightforwardly, fully comprehending it might be challenging. It is typically taught in the classroom using the 2-D formats, such as paper or a blackboard. We propose using immersive environments for incrementing the understanding of ray tracing. We focus on improving the knowledge of the technique in experienced users, particularly Master of Computer Science students minoring in a computer-graphics-related area. We argue that exploring the ray tracing process in an immersive visualization environment can further improve the understanding of ray tracing acquired using conventional means. With that objective, this study starts by presenting RayTracerVR, a virtual reality prototype tool for learning the mechanisms of ray tracing. This tool can be used to visually explore and interact with the different aspects of the technique. It allows users to observe the progression of the rays throughout the sequential stages of the ray tracing process and analyze its corresponding computer pseudocode. The study includes user evaluation where RayTracerVR is employed to assess improvements in ray tracing understanding. The prototype's usability is also assessed. The findings indicate that using the ray tracing immersive learning environment results in a supplemental increase in understanding in users who have previously learned ray tracing using conventional means.

This paper aims to analyse to what extent the engineering curricula contribute to the development of visual literacy among engineering students. Communicating and thinking visually is a basic skill for all engineers, being a fundamental part of their educational stage. For this purpose, Engineering Graphics subjects from 30 engineering schools from Spain have been selected to review their content. The sample consists of 80 subjects of Engineering Graphics, mechanical design and computer-aided design. The curricula were analyzed using a quantitative and qualitative method. A database has been developed where keywords that identify the objectives of the analysis have been tabulated. Learning technical visual language and visualization skills as a means of developing visual literacy in engineering has been taken as the basis of the analysis. The results show that the curricula of the subjects contemplate the development of graphic skills around communication and technical representation and, to a lesser extent, visualization. On the other hand, the teaching activities contemplated do not dive into the cognitive aspects of graphics. We can also observe the pre-eminence of computer graphics as the main basis for teaching activities and marginal use of freehand drawing, which is basic for the development of Visual Literacy.

Analogical thinking is one of the thinking processes that is associated with creativity. This paper explores how it is experienced in Graphic Design elaborations using Computer Graphic Technology (CGT). Data are collected through concurrent and retrospective probing from three undergraduates and analysed through phenomenological reduction to identify the constituents and elements of the creative analogy's general psychological structure. The findings show that the general structure of the creative analogical experience is a relationship between three constituents namely: (1) the experience of recalling knowledge or information; (2) the use of knowledge for ideation; and (3) the use of knowledge to conclude ideas. The findings also show that the underlying elements of these constituents are conceptual (declarative) and technical (procedural) knowledge and its combinations that are consistent with the theories of analogical thinking. This article concludes with recommendations for future research and insights on its implementation in Design Education.

With restrictions on face-to-face clinical consultations within the COVID-19 pandemic and the challenges faced by healthcare systems in delivering patient care, alternative information technologies like telemedicine and smartphones play a crucial role. A wide variety of smartphone applications employs high-tech mathematical and programming approaches to enhance computer-assisted communication and learning processes' pedagogical efficiency. Accordingly, this study's main objective is to develop a model system that can function as smartphone computer graphics. This paper used the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) as an m-learning model, and Bresenham's line algorithm is a calculation system implemented by applications. The study method applies technology to validate the accuracy of the contents' acceptance method of use. The results reveal significant positive effects of the proposed model on generating reasonable, fast, and accurate solutions for the presented problems and developing a more interactive platform of m-learning.

This paper aims to study English jokes on Facebook. Since the current generation of our students is often described as Net Geners, learning the English language via jokes posted on social media can be one of the supportive ways for EFL learners to improve their L2 linguistic competence as well as L2 humor competence. The data, or jokes, in this study were collected from one of the most popular public pages, entitled "English is Fun". Seventy four jokes (out of 200 posts) from 1 to 16 April 2019 were collected and analyzed. The study result revealed that there were two major types of jokes: one was in a textual form while the other was a mixed-code message, or a combination of verbal and non-verbal elements. The latter was further classified into two subtypes: one had a verbal element as the primary factor to provoke humor while the other required interaction between the verbal element and nonverbal element. In addition, the findings showed that there were four types of logical mechanisms: pun, false analogy, faulty reasoning, and satire. As jokes can be a good source of teaching materials, three possible ways for using jokes in teaching the English language were suggested.

Game-Based Learning (GBL) is increasingly widespread as a learning technique in the engineering studies. However, this innovative methodology may be difficult to incorporate in some subjects due to their complex contents. This paper aims at combining traditional learning methodologies with game mechanics by using an ad-hoc gaming web environment and mobile devices to analyse the academic performance and motivation in engineering studies. A comparative study was carried out with 96 first-year engineering students. In this experience, the students were randomly divided into two groups: Control Group (CG) and Experimental Group (EG). The first group made use of the traditional learning methodology used, whilst the second group combined the traditional methodology with GBL and Information and Communication Technologies (ICT). The obtained results show that EG students significantly improve their academic performance and motivation, expressing a succinctly greater interest in the studied subject. Therefore, the integration of GBL in the teaching methodology could have a very positive impact as well as it could greatly ease the teaching-learning process in engineering studies.

The purpose of this study is to investigate student designers' attitude and choices towards the use of computers and paper sketches when involved in a graphic design process. 65 computer graphic technology undergraduates participated in this research. A mixed method study with survey and in-depth interviews was applied to answer the research questions. This result shows that sketches and computers as design tools help students generate ideas in the early stage of design. Students' preferences to use sketches or computers differ, since each tool has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Health promotional campaign as the practice of encouraging people to improve health has increased over the last decades in response to various health problems. This paper highlights strategies used by students to develop persuasive promotional campaign posters regarding the dengue health problem. Communication and media studies students were involved to show the combined results between the knowledge of health communication and the effective use of media in constructing an effective and persuasive health messages. A total of 56 students from two cohorts, i.e. twenty-five master's students and thirty-one undergraduates were selected. Kurt Lewin's model of action research was used to set the tasks: campaign objectives, information on dengue, themes/slogans to write the posters either by drawing or designing using a computer. The students were divided into groups where each group was monitored to record, check and evaluate their message writing performances. This study uses the Health Message Review Tool for data analysis which is grounded in the theories of Extended Parallel Process Model and Persuasion Hierarchy Effect. The findings revealed that the participants were able to construct, identify and evaluate major multi modal features in the dengue posters and persuasive elements which included: verbal texts, images, colours, graphic designs, metaphors, 1-sided and 2-sided message, firm conclusion and frames with more effective appeals. It was concluded that similar strategies may well be used in producing other campaign materials such as brochures, pamphlets, and billboards. The linguistic and pedagogic implications are also discussed at the end.

Post-digital architectural education aims to empower future architects by developing open-mindedness and technical skills for the design of non-standard spatial configurations. Students can learn through exploration and experimentation, using three-dimensional graphic design software to generate initial designs and quality feedback, with a mixed model of peers and panel judges assessing final projects. Ratings of individual contributions and performance are commonly found in literature on peer assessment, but qualitative comments from peers can also provide good information on strengths and weaknesses. This study shows that peer critique in the form of debate can be an effective pedagogical tool for educators to provide quality feedback to the presenting group. This paper explores how architecture students responded to this method in a design studio for a master's degree in architecture in a university in Hong Kong. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed and subsequently analysed using the coding system of qualitative software NVivo 11. The responses of the students were positive, although they experienced differences in feedback from different stakeholders.

Problem solving techniques are one of the primary topics introduced to the computing and information technology students in tertiary education. In general, those techniques are presented using a collection of traditional tools, such as texts, graphs, illustrations, procedural steps, pseudocodes, algorithms, and flowcharts. In many cases, there is no direct link between problem-solving from one side and the techniques and the programming structures used from the other side. This paper presents an approach that exploits computer interactive animations and graphics to implement learning objects for teaching and learning problem-solving based on computer programming. The main feature of this approach is its smoothness in associating the programming concepts and structures provided to the solution of a designated problem. Moreover, the developed learning objects are featured by the characteristic of reusability and possibility of inclusion in e-learning systems. The designed learning object can function as a workable hands-on model for the learners to get experience in programming. The technique we developed for the design and implementation of the learning objects for programming-based problem-solving can be utilized in other problem-solving disciplines.

This paper aims to measure the effectiveness of the 3DL on Omani students' acquisition of practical abilities and skills. It examines the effectiveness of the 3D-lab in science education and scientific thinking acquisition as part of a national project funded by The Research Council. Four research tools in a Pre-Post Test Control Group Design, findings show statistically significant differences in student achievement in favor of the experimental group. The results show students' attitudes are positive towards using 3D-lab in teaching. Improvements in logical and visual thinking are also observed. The paper then draws conclusions and recommendations.

Formal learning environments have struggled to introduce STEM content and STEM careers to students from underrepresented populations. This problem is exacerbated when dealing with students who live in rural areas where access to quality materials and instruction is limited. The eMentorship project is an innovative approach to mentoring that utilizes the latest in communication technology to help support a formal mentoring program. This study investigates the impact of a virtual mentorship program on underrepresented students living in rural North Carolina. The project was an eight-week mentoring program that matched underrepresented student teams with graduate student mentors from a local university. In addition to the mentoring experience student participants were also taught three-dimensional (3-D) modeling skills using a "flipped" classroom approach to instruction. The paper presents the curriculum developed to guide the program, student examples of 3-D models, self-efficacy scores and qualitative interviews conducted with the student participants. Results of the study provide evidence that students found great value in the mentoring experience and were able to learn 3-D modeling skills in a virtual learning environment.

Prototype work can support the creation of data visualizations throughout the research and development process through paper prototypes with sketching, designed prototypes with graphic design tools, and functional prototypes to explore how the implementation will work. One challenging aspect of data visualization work is coordinating the expertise of people from a variety of roles to produce data visualizations guided by an educational theory informed goal (ETIG) in order to better support research. When collaborating, concessions must be made: typically, everyone seeks to follow the best practices established within their own disciplines. This paper attempts to illustrate how to rethink this interdisciplinary approach to adhere more strictly to educational research goals and consider how we may need to, at times, break away from best practices with the intent to evaluate the novel decisions resulting from this approach. A case study of the creation of a self-reported emotional measure is used to illustrate this type of collaboration. By taking this approach, a clear departure from best practices occurs in the scale selection for the visualization in order to support the ETIG.

During the last decade, coding has come to the foreground of educational trends as a strong mean for developing students' Computational Thinking (or CT). However, there is still limited research that looks at coding and Computational Thinking activities through the lens of constructionism. In this paper, we discuss how the knowledge we already have from other thinking paradigms and pedagogical theories, such as constructionism and mathematical thinking, can inform new integrated designs for the cultivation of Computational Thinking. In this context, we explore students' engagement with MaLT (Machine Lab Turtle-sphere) , an online environment of our design that integrates Logo textual programming with the affordances of dynamic manipulation, 3D graphics and camera navigation. We also present a study on how the integration of the above affordances can promote constructionist learning and lead to the development of CT skills along with the generation of meanings about programming concepts.

This research paper reports on the development of oral presentation skills in a 3D virtual world called "Moviestorm" machinima, in contrast with real-life videos. In this way, the implementation of both types of videos sought to promote the improvement of oral communication skills, specifically oral presentations in a foreign language, as well as promoting collaborative work. The study involved 60 students from different semesters of a private Colombian university from the schools of electronic engineering, computer science, and law, focusing on English for specific purposes. The results showed how students from different faculties worked collaboratively to achieve one goal: improve their oral presentation skills.

Young children's growing access to touchscreen technology represents one of many contextual factors that may influence development. The focus of the current study was the impact of traditional versus electronic drawing materials on the quality of children's drawings during the preschool years. Young children (2-5 years, N = 73) and a comparison group of adults (N = 24) copied shapes using three mediums: marker on paper, stylus on touchscreen tablet, finger on touchscreen tablet. Drawings were later deemed codable or uncodable (e.g., scribbles), and codable drawings were then scored for subjective quality on a 4-point scale. Girls and older children (vs. boys and younger children) produced more codable drawings; however, this gap closed when children drew with their finger on a tablet. Medium also affected the quality of adults' drawings, favoring marker on paper. Thus, drawing on a tablet helped younger children produce drawings but resulted in lower quality drawings among adults. These findings underscore the importance of considering environmental constraints on drawing production. Moreover, since clinical assessments often include measures of drawing quality, and sometimes use tablet computers for drawing, these findings have practical implications for education and clinical practice.

A multidisciplinary entrepreneurial senior capstone has been created for engineering technology students at a research I land-grant university statewide extension. The two semester course sequence welcomes students from Mechanical Engineering Technology, Electrical Engineering Technology, Computer Graphics Technology, and Organizational Leadership. The goal was to provide an avenue for technology students to learn about, actively participate in, and form small scale startups in a multidisciplinary approach. Students are introduced to fundamental techniques and methodologies for effective product development, such as design thinking, technical data package, rapid prototyping, testing, and validation. As well as entrepreneurship concepts, such as product ideation, market research, capital exploration, customer acquisition, customer discovery, intellectual protection, marketing and branding, and leadership. The capstone has provided real-world, hands-on learning of the components and processes necessary to take a product idea from initial concept to successful business. Currently entering into its third year, the capstone continues to evolve. This paper presents a brief description of the capstone, including formation, execution, and outcomes. The curriculums used are outlined and future changes are discussed. Lastly, the presentation of challenges, lessons learned, and course accomplishments will be discussed.

Financial analysts generally create static formulas for the computation of NPV. When they do so, however, it is not readily apparent how sensitive the value of NPV is to changes in multiple interdependent and interrelated variables. It is the aim of this paper to analyze this variability by employing a dynamic, visually graphic presentation using Excel. Our approach illustrates how these variables, when increased or decreased to reflect the potential range of values in a business case, change the value of NPV, and hence affect the decision about whether to proceed with the project or to reject it. Furthermore, since sales revenue is one of the least certain elements in the business case, the presentation includes a probability estimate of whether NPV will be positive or negative, assuming that sales revenue is normally distributed with a known mean and standard deviation. The business case we have chosen for illustrative purposes is a global energy project. Nevertheless, financial analysts in any industry should be able to apply our dynamic spreadsheet approach to their projects as well.

The US Bureau of Labor Statistics predicts over 8 million job openings in IT and computing, including 1 million cybersecurity postings, over the current five-year period. This paper presents lessons learned in preparing middle-school students in rural Georgia for future careers in computer science/ IT by teaching computer programming in the free, open-source programming language Python using Turtle graphics, and discusses exercises and activities with low-cost drones, bots, and 3D printers to get students interested and keep them engaged in coding. Described herein is one pair of instructors' (one middle-school, one university) multi-year, multi-stage approach to providing engineering and technology courses, including: how to code Turtle graphics in Python; how to engage children by using short, interactive, visual programs for every age level; building cross-curricular bridges toward technology careers using 3D printing, robotics, and low-cost drones; and, how to build more advanced programming skills in Python.