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Around the world, the number of English speakers and the significance of the English language are constantly increasing. Among various technology-supported instructional styles, Mobile Learning (M-Learning) has been recognized as a promising approach to enhance students' competencies and skills in the English language. By examining previous literature, a number of reviews have been performed to investigate the role of M-learning in the English language. However, none of these studies has highlighted the trends, opportunities, and challenges identified in the most cited articles that focused solely on the English language. Therefore, to address these limitations, this study performed a review of the top 100 most cited articles, published between 2007 and 2020, indexed by the Web of Science, and addressing the English language only. The results revealed that most research in Mobile English Language Learning (M-ELL) followed an experimental design and employed a single mobile learning implementation. Additionally, the current study identified a number of research areas that require additional research attention. For example, further research is needed among students learning from home, more qualitative research is needed, and additional research is required to improve students' higher-order thinking skills. The outcomes of this study provide a reference to researchers and educators who intend to use mobile technologies in the area of language education, especially in the context of the English language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Writing an English research article for novice English as an additional language (EAL) writers is a challenging task that requires experience and training at both the sentence and meaning levels. One strategy that EAL writers employ when writing a research article is the use of formulaic sequences (FSs). However, available FS corpora are general purpose and are very limited in size. Previous studies have reported the effectiveness of FS usage in writing using a small set of FSs. The present work proposes an assistive environment for academic writing improvement through the use of domain-specific FSs. FSs are extracted from published articles and are classified under rhetoric categories using a machine learning technique. The user can then search for and add new FSs of his/her choice from any research article using proposed prototypes. The effectiveness of the proposed approach was evaluated in a real environment. The results show a positive impact of the proposal in terms of academic writing improvement. Novice writers who worked with the proposed prototype reported a significantly higher degree of perceived usefulness than those who worked with the traditional phrasebank approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a large variety of methodologies, contexts and perspectives have been used to examine educational application of technology, there is a paucity of instruments that are designed to comprehensively evaluate the use of technology in education. This paper presents a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) of an instrument that incorporates eight key dimensions: learning, affective, behavioral, technology, design, pedagogy, presence/community, and institutional environment. These dimensions were derived from rigorous systematic literature review and field specialist validation processes. The model was then refined and empirically confirmed in this study by 1,352 participants undertaking a Coursera open online course. The results of applying the instrument, as well as qualitative feedback from participants, are shared to illustrate its breadth and utility. The final 28 item "Comprehensive Evaluation of Use of Technology in Education" instrument is provided in full to support consistent, holistic and robust evaluation and comparison of technology use across educational contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented reality (AR) has evolved hand in hand with advances in technology, and today is considered as an emerging technique in its own right. The aim of our study was to analyze students' perceptions of how useful AR is in the school environment. A non-experimental quantitative design was used in the form of a questionnaire in which 106 primary sixth-grade students from six schools in the Region of Murcia (Spain) participated. During the study, a teaching proposal using AR related to the content of some curricular areas was put forward in the framework of the 3P learning model. The participants' perceptions of this technique were analyzed according to each variable, both overall and by gender, via a questionnaire of our own making, which had previously been validated by AR experts, analyzing its psychometric qualities. The initial results indicate that this technique is, according to the students, useful for teaching the curriculum. The conclusion is that AR can increase students' motivation and enthusiasm while enhancing teaching and learning at the same time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract An experimental study was conducted with 8th grade students (N = 41), ranging from 13 to 14 years old, whereby they solved first-degree equations using a step-based intelligent tutoring system. The aim of the study is to assess the training of the metacognitive knowledge monitoring ability carried out by an animated pedagogical agent integrated into the tutoring system. Students from the experimental group received metacognitive instructions from the agent, as well as some hints and feedback, whereas those from the control group received only hint-messages and feedback. Pretest and posttest sessions were carried out in order to collect the metacognitive knowledge monitoring ability indexes, as well as the students' performance grades for first degree equations solving. The results indicated that students who received metacognitive instruction presented greater improvement on metacognitive knowledge monitoring ability indexes. The study also monitored students' performance in solving equations during experimental sessions and found that those who received metacognitive instructions completed more equations correctly. This paper also discusses the implications of the results for the theory of metacognitive knowledge monitoring ability. Highlights • An agent that trains the knowledge monitoring ability is evaluated. • The agent's training can improve students' knowledge monitoring ability. • The agent's training can improve students' learning performance. • A correlation between students' performance and metacognitive ability is found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The continuing attention to the educational value of digital games highlights the need for more focused literature reviews in order to identify critical gaps and opportunities in domain-specific areas. The current study thus set out to provide a scoping overview of empirical evidence on the use and impacts of digital games in language education from 2007 to 2016, as a means to advance the emerging research on digital game-based language learning (DGBLL). A total of 50 selected studies were systematically analyzed, revealing the following findings: (1) Most of the selected DGBLL studies adopted mixed methods to examine the educational use of digital games; (2) Immersive games, notably massively multiplayer online role-playing games, were the most common genre in the current DGBLL literature; (3) Most of the games for language learning were custom-built by DGBLL researchers; (4) Personal computers were the most common platforms for playing games to support language learning; (5) Most of the DGBLL studies adopted games to facilitate the learning of English as a second or foreign language; (6) Most of the research on DGBLL investigated learners with mixed levels of language proficiency; (7) University students were the most frequently selected samples in the existing DGBLL literature; and (8) The majority of DGBLL studies featured positive outcomes in regard to student learning, with the most frequently reported ones being related to affective or psychological states, closely followed by language acquisition. Taken as a whole, these findings reflect the diverse nature of this field and suggest the overall feasibility of using digital games for promoting the language and literacy learning of both native and non-native speakers in various aspects. Several promising but under-researched areas were also identified in this review, along with discussions on their implications for future investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, flipped learning has received increasing emphasis; it engages students in deriving basic knowledge through instructional videos before the class, and hence more time is available for practicing, applying knowledge, or student-teacher interaction in class. Many scholars have pointed out that, with such a learning approach, teachers can design more effective in-class activities by guiding students to have higher order thinking as well as interactions with peers and teachers. In the meantime, researchers have also indicated that employing proper educational technologies or learning strategies could further improve students’ performance. Therefore, in this study, an Augmented Reality (AR)-based learning guiding mode is proposed for developing a flipped learning system. To examine the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment was conducted in a natural science learning activity of an elementary school using the developed system. The participants were four classes of 111 fifth graders. Two classes were assigned to the experimental group, while the others were the control group. Those learning in the experimental group used the AR-based flipped learning mode, while those in the control group learned with the conventional flipped learning mode. From the experimental results, it was found that the AR-based flipped learning guiding approach not only benefited the students in terms of promoting their project performance, but also improved their learning motivation, critical thinking tendency, and group self-efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Educators are increasingly turning to multimedia presentations as a means to convey complex information. Pharmacological mechanisms of action are dynamic processes that may be effectively represented as animations. Drug mechanisms of action were described in four different presentation formats: text only; text and static images; animation and text; or animation with narration. A comparison of these presentation modes found no significant difference on performance on a best answer multiple choice quiz. In addition, there was no significant effect of individual learning style. When learning about material related to their discipline of study, students may possess the ability to construct mental models that obviate the need for multimedia. Resources currently invested in the development of multimedia materials may be better diverted elsewhere. Furthermore, the results from this study do not support the routine assessment of individual learning styles in education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Second language (L2) vocabulary learning has been deemed a daunting task for many students. This meta-analysis study aimed to explore the effectiveness of applying digital games for L2 vocabulary learning. A total of 26 published studies (2001–2017) conformed with the inclusion/exclusion criteria. Due to diverse findings of previous meta-analysis research in the field, we propose a framework of four-condition research designs to differentiate the empirical studies in an attempt to disclose possible expositions for the diversity and to connect the specific learning mechanisms with the research evidence. The overall effect sizes of the studies in the four conditions are reported as follows: A large overall effect size for Condition 1 (10 studies) (experimental groups playing digital games versus control groups receiving alternative activities), medium for Condition 2 (experimental groups playing digital games with a feature added or changed versus control groups playing base-version games) (10 studies), medium to large for Condition 3 (experimental groups playing digital games and control/comparison groups receiving identical content via conventional means) (two studies), and non-significant for Condition 4 (all participants playing the same digital games but being grouped by a non-game related variable) (four studies). Next, a structure diagram is developed in which the four conditions of the research design are connected with their respective game-related factors based on their locality. Further, we conducted moderator analyses to examine how the eight potential moderator variables (game design, educational level, L2 proficiency level, linguistic distance, intervention setting, assessment type, game source and intervention length) influenced the effect sizes in Conditions 1 and 2 to illustrate various digital game-based L2 vocabulary learning scenarios. Finally, suggestions and implications are provided for game designers, educational practitioners, and researchers in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In English language teaching settings, the type of lecture is important since students should be exposed to instantly recognisable linguistic features in the target language through interaction. This quasi-experimental study was designed to compare the effectiveness of PowerPoint presentations (PPP) and conventional lecture/discussion sessions on the pedagogical content knowledge of the student-teachers of English. PPP were used in the experimental group and conventional lecture/discussion sessions were employed in the control group (CG). The findings revealed that the treatment process was effective on both groups, but the CG achieved better in the post-test. Following the treatment process, the efficiency of the applications was also tested by means of a questionnaire. The CG reflected more positive attitudes towards the conventional lecture/discussion in terms of the quality of instructional strategies, academic language use, professional development, professional perception and problem-solving. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Situating learners in a context relevant to scientific phenomena enables them to acquire knowledge through experience, reflection, conceptualization, and practice, which is an important learning mode in science education. However, learners generally do not have opportunities to experience many scientific phenomena in the real world. Therefore, virtual learning environments (VLE) are becoming a frequently adopted technology to provide authentic learning contexts. In particular, spherical video-based learning environments (SVLE), which are a low-tech form of VLE, have attracted the attention of school teachers and educational technology researchers. Additionally, effective assessment methods, such as the two-tier-test, have been adopted to examine learners' performance during the virtual learning process. On the other hand, researchers have pointed out that lack of effective learning strategies may decrease the learning effects in a virtual learning context. Hence, this study integrated a graphic organizer into a two-tier test-based learning mode, in which the first-tier questions were declarative items with a short answer (e.g., the questions of where, what, and when), whereas the second-tier questions were more in-depth, deeper causal-type questions (e.g., the questions of why and how), in the contexts of SVLE. To verify the effectiveness of this learning approach, a graphic organizer-based two-tier test SVLE was developed; moreover, a quasi-experimental design was conducted in the "Mysteries of the Earth" unit of the sixth graders' natural science course. A total of 41 sixth graders from two classes, with an average age of 12, were recruited in this experiment. One class was assigned to be the experimental group adopting the graphic organizer-based two-tier test SVLE (GT-SVLE), while the other was the control group adopting the conventional two-tier test-based SVLE (CT-SVLE). All of the students learned with the SVLE using tablet computers. Based on the results, the GT-SVLE could better improve students' learning achievement than the CT-SVLE. Besides, according to behavioral analysis and interviews, the control group had significantly more learning behaviors of repeated reading of supplementary materials and repeated wrong answers, indicating that the proposed approach facilitated students' positive behaviors through observation and knowledge construction in SVLE, which helped them achieve the learning objectives. • A spherical video-based learning environments (SVLE) learning approach is proposed. • The approach advanced students' positive behaviors through observation and knowledge. • The approach was conducted with two-tier test strategy. • The study was conducted in the unit of the sixth graders' natural science course. • The study used concept map as a tool for researching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This systematic review study synthesizes research findings pertaining to the use of eye-tracking technology in immersive virtual reality (IVR) learning environments created by using head mounted displays. Research published between January 2012 and May 2022 has been explored and specific inclusion and exclusion criteria have been applied to select articles. Fifty articles were selected and then reviewed with respect to (1) devices employed in research; (2) learning domains; (3) the number and academic level of participants, data collection methods, and duration of IVR activities; and (4) indicators and themes of visual attention. The main findings from this review demonstrate Tobii and HTC Vive are the most popular tools in research on eye-tracking technology usage in IVR learning environments. What's more, cognitive science and educational technology were found to be the most frequent domains in research on eye-tracking technology usage in IVR. The number of participants varied across reviewed articles but tertiary education was the most common academic level of participating students. Scholars used questionnaires and tests frequently to collect their research data. Fixation duration was the most frequently used indicator. The most frequent themes in reviewed research were task performance, teaching and learning strategies, and learning tools. The study concludes with suggestions for future research. • We reviewed thirty-six articles on eye-tracking technology in IVR. • Our focus was on devices, domains, methods, indicators and themes in research. • Future research directions were also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Elo rating system was originally developed for rating chess players, nowadays it is widely used for ranking players of many other games. The system can be used in educational systems when we interpret student's answer to an item as a match between the student and the item. In this way we can easily dynamically estimate the skill of students and difficulty of items. We provide a systematic overview of different variants of the Elo rating system and their application in education. We compare the Elo rating system to alternative methods and describe a specific case study (an adaptive practice of geography facts) to illustrate the application of the Elo rating system in education. We argue that the Elo rating system is simple, robust, and effective and thus suitable for use in the development of adaptive educational systems. We provide specific guidelines for such applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was attempting to investigate the outcome of critical thinking achievement of learners when its development is infused into subject teaching with pedagogical and technological support. A total of 124 junior secondary students participated in the three-year trial teaching in Integrated Humanities subject. Flipped classroom strategy was implemented to engage learners in online pre-lesson learning preparation, in-class group discussion inside digital classroom and after-class extended learning using social learning platform. The critical thinking tests found that the students had good performance in the tasks on hypothesis identification, induction and deduction; and some achievements in the tasks on explanation and evaluation. It was found that students needed more time to develop capacities of deduction, explanation and evaluation. The semi-structured interviews found that the teachers and students valued the pedagogical way of providing guidance for students' group sharing for fostering critical thinking skills development. Three implications are discussed to shed light on the infusion of critical thinking skills development into the process of domain knowledge learning, the deployment of appropriate pedagogy to mobilize learners to engage in learning process, and the use of appropriate technology to facilitate learning process inside and outside of classroom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

ABSTRACT Computer network and system management education is often structured based on theoretical information and it is not considered effective and efficient due to various reasons such as inadequacy of available materials and hardware. In addition, investors are reluctant to make investments on the provision of educational materials due to relatively high cost specific to this field. However, recent developments in virtualization technologies have led to the emergence of new trends in computer network and system management education. This paper provides information about the use of virtualization technology in computer network education, the utilization of real network devices, and defines a new generation network training platform. The aim of the study is to offer a new model using virtualization technology for network-based computer education. The topology additionally proposed here involves the use of real hardware instead of virtual ones, which distinguishes it from the similar topologies. This model is expected to guide future network and system managers to develop and use a real network and system management training platform that is far more effective than simulation programs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Comput Appl Eng Educ 23:621-629, 2015; View this article online at ; DOI [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Personalized feedback tools in learning is a powerful method that expert applies when helping students to optimize their learning. We propose a new educational framework to optimize the continuous evaluation process for large groups. In our system, a computer provides tests to the mobile devices of the students; they then return the answers to be corrected. The framework provides real-time knowledge about the progress of the class to the teacher and real-time feedback to the students, increasing the rate of student success. Our low-cost implementation makes it unnecessary to incorporate additional resources or to modify the infrastructure. We have tested it in several courses and conferences. We conclude with an evaluation and a discussion from different stakeholders perspectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The research presented here explores the impact of two web-based applications (an interactive, multimedia literacy software and a digital process portfolio) on early elementary students' reading comprehension. Two studies were conducted during the 2010–2011 and the 2011–2012 school years, targeting 26 teachers from elementary schools (grades 1–2), and their students (N = 517) from six English school boards in Quebec, Canada. Analyses of covariance showed that students using both tools performed significantly better (p < .001) compared to controls in reading and written expression as measured by standardized tests. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Reducing energy consumption is becoming an increasingly high government priority. Teenagers are an important category of future energy consumers, but little is known of their conceptions about energy and, particularly, how formal learning about energy translates into understanding of personal energy consumption. We have worked with teenagers to investigate the design of learning technologies that support understanding about energy consumption in a way that is relevant to teenagers' personal contexts, including their motivations, concerns and conceptions, their personal energy consumption, and the sources of information about energy already available to them. In this paper we report on our findings and participatory design methodology. The findings contribute to our understanding of the support learning technologies must provide to scaffold teenagers' learning about personal energy consumption, in terms of how teenagers conceptualise energy consumption, what skills they have in searching for information, and what they consider motivating and relevant. Our methodology, more generally, contributes to our understanding of the initial phases of developing learning technologies that are grounded in an understanding of learners' personal contexts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Physical objects and virtual information are used as teaching aids in classrooms everywhere, and until recently, merging these two worlds has been difficult at best. Augmented reality offers the combination of physical and virtual, drawing on the strengths of each. We consider this technology in the realm of the mathematics classroom, and offer theoretical underpinnings for understanding the benefits and limitations of AR learning experiences. The paper presents a framework for understanding AR learning from three perspectives: physical, cognitive, and contextual. On the physical dimension, we argue that physical manipulation affords natural interactions, thus encouraging the creation of embodied representations for educational concepts. On the cognitive dimension, we discuss how spatiotemporal alignment of information through AR experiences can aid student's symbolic understanding by scaffolding the progression of learning, resulting in improved understanding of abstract concepts. Finally, on the contextual dimension, we argue that AR creates possibilities for collaborative learning around virtual content and in non-traditional environments, ultimately facilitating personally meaningful experiences. In the process of discussing these dimensions, we discuss examples from existing AR applications and provide guidelines for future AR learning experiences, while considering the pragmatic and technological concerns facing the widespread implementation of augmented reality inside and outside the classroom. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In this paper, a personalized recommendation-based mobile language learning approach is proposed. A mobile learning system has been developed based on the approach by providing a reading material recommendation mechanism for guiding EFL (English as Foreign Language) students to read articles that match their preferences and knowledge levels, and a reading annotation module that enables students to take notes of English vocabulary translations for the reading content in individual or shared annotation mode. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment was conducted on a senior high school English course by assigning three classes of students to two experimental groups and a control group. One experimental group learned with the recommendation system with the individual annotation function, the other experimental group learned with the recommendation system with the shared annotation function, while the students in the control group learned with the individual annotation function, but without the recommendation system. The experimental results show that both experimental groups outperformed the control group, but there was no difference in learning outcome between the two experimental groups in terms of learning achievements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

As part of the Visual Learning Lab’s initiative of promoting visual learning supported through technologies in Higher Education, this VLL funded study explored part-time mature doctoral students’ use and perceptions of a mobile device in support of their research activities. The study was conducted by the Graduate School in collaboration with the School of Nursing at the University of Nottingham. Six students participated in the study for a period of six months. The methodology was qualitative and included semi-structured exit interviews. By re-analysing the original study (), this paper raises a vital question about what constitutes a meaningful mobile learning experience which takes into account the different biographical and life stage factors. It challenges the ongoing debate on generational issues on uses of mobile or other digital technologies and leads to discussion of the concept of digital fluency with all learners. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Observation of young children is commonplace in educational settings. For trainee practitioners however, gaining access at convenient times can be difficult. Even then, small snapshots of observable activity can only ever be captured. We describe the design and development of a cross-platform software application which can be used to support observations made by pedagogical practitioners. Our application Observation combines game-oriented technology: 3D graphics, animation, physics and classical game artificial intelligence. Simple, data-driven scripting capabilities, requiring no programming experience are also included, enabling the user to customise scenes of characters engaging in learning activities. The well-documented stages of blockplay have been used to represent the physical activity of characters, which is the focus of this paper. Positive feedback was received at a collaborating university in a pilot evaluation of early childhood lecturers and students, paving the way for further development and studies. Our prototype system is available for download and evaluation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper reports on a study, MUSE, which involved Secondary (Grade 7) students in designing and constructing a virtual museum. It presents a description and evaluation of the design and implementation of the technologically-mediated intervention within a language curriculum that emphasizes multimodal meaning-making and expression. Participants’ gallery artifacts, interviews, reflections and classroom observations indicated signs of an emergent multimodal awareness with a growing sensitivity to semiotic affordances and constraints. Collaborative learning skills acquired and language learning motivational gains were evident. The investigation identified responsive, adaptive measures in overcoming unanticipated challenges arising from on-the-ground realities and contextual constraints. The study showed the viability, to a certain extent, of innovative technologically-enhanced interventions in reinforcing instructional pedagogy in classroom contexts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Technology education in Irish post-primary schools is undergoing significant change. In recent years the syllabi of all technology-related subjects have been revised. A new subject, Design and Communication Graphics, has replaced the traditional Technical Drawing subject. This new subject aims to develop students' spatial awareness and graphical communication skills in the context of design. Parametric CAD forms a significant element of the subject. This research paper reports on a study into the use of parametric CAD by teachers in Irish post-primary schools. The research found that teachers were enthusiastic and welcomed the inclusion of the software as part of their teaching. However, the novel teaching environment was challenging which had a significant affect on their pedagogical approaches. The findings highlight the need for affective teacher professional development that explores the declarative as well as the procedural knowledge required for mastery of the CAD software. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An Interactive Dichotomous Key (IDK) for 390 taxa of vascular plants from the Ria de Aveiro, available on a website, was developed to help teach botany to school and universitary students. This multimedia tool includes several links to Descriptive and Illustrated Glossaries. Questionnaires answered by high-school and undergraduate students about the IDK showed that students considered it a “fully efficient” way to identify plants. Undergraduate assessment tests on plant identification, also improved after the use of IDK. The IDK is an effective multimedia tool in the teaching of botany, compared to conventional dichotomous keys (CDK). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Due to innovation and globalization in education, educators of English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) are encouraged to use such instructional technologies as podcasting and blogging, but studies on integrating these technologies into assignments are rare. This project revealed how ESOL teacher candidates implement instructional technology skills to help English learners and the teacher candidates’ attitudes and processes toward implementing podcasting and blogging as a core assignment. Using qualitative research, five themes emerged: (a) ESOL teacher candidates’ attitudes and self-assessments, (b) their implementation of podcasting and blogging, (c) their challenges and rewards, (d) the impact on their professional development, and (e) their own impact on new generations of students, particularly English learners. This discussion highlights ESOL teacher candidates’ experiences while learning podcasting and blogging. ESOL teacher candidates, recognizing their future students as a new generation, are highly proactive learners and want very much to be competent and confident in their own teaching. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This paper describes the flexibility of Personal Response Systems (PRSs), (also known as ‘clickers’ or electronic voting systems (EVS)), as part of strategies to support students’ learning in science. Whilst variants of this technology began to appear 12 years ago, there is now a steadily increasing adoption of these systems within higher education, including science programmes, and this use has grown significantly in the last six years. They have previously been shown to offer a measurable learning benefit. Typically, someone at an institution buys these systems for learning support and they never make it out of their cases. Far less work has been done with these systems at school level. In this practitioner based paper, the broad range of practical uses for these systems is described in a variety of formal and informal learning situations – from testing the understanding of science concepts (from primary aged school children up to physics undergraduates), to undertaking evaluation of events as well as public participation in data collection for research on attitudes to careers. In addition, the data collected on such handsets can be mapped to demographic factors such as gender and age yielding further layers of analysis. Overall this is a highly flexible and transferable approach to the use of interactive technology for engaging learners of all ages as well as carrying out research. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: e-status is a web-based tool able to generate different statistical exercises and to provide immediate feedback to students’ answers. Although the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) is becoming widespread in undergraduate education, there are few experimental studies evaluating its effects on learning. Method: All of the students (121) from an introductory course for statistics in dentistry were randomly assigned to use the tool with one of two 6-problem sets, known as types A and B. The primary endpoint was the grade difference obtained in the final exam, composed of two blocks of questions related to types A and B. The exam evaluator was masked to the intervention group. Results: We found that the effect of e-status on the student grade was an improvement of 0.48 points (95% CI: 0.10–0.86) on a ten-point scale. Among the 94 students who actually employed e-status, the effect size was 0.63 (95% CI: 0.17–1.10). Conclusions: It is feasible to formally assess the learning effect of an innovative tool. Providing e-status exercises to students has a direct effect on learning numerical operations related to statistics. Further effects on higher cognitive levels still have to be explored. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This mixed-methods study investigates the effects of student attitudes and behaviours on the outcomes of learning mathematics with computer tools. A computer tool was used to help students develop the mathematical concept of function. In the whole sample (N =521), student attitudes could account for a 3.4 point difference in test scores between individuals on a 10-point scale. General attitude towards mathematics positively predicted test scores. However, more able students who were well-disposed towards mathematical computer tools achieved lower scores. Self-reported behaviours were unrelated to test scores. Detailed observation of a small number of students (N =8) revealed that positive attitudes towards mathematics and mathematical computer tools augmented exhibited learning behaviours, and that both a positive attitude to mathematical computer tools and exhibited learning behaviours benefited tool mastery. Although tool mastery and test scores are intimately related, reflective processes appear to mediate this relationship. Promoting learning with mathematical computer tools needs to take several factors into account, including improving student attitudes, raising levels of learning behaviours, and giving sufficient opportunity for constructing new mathematical knowledge within meaningful mathematical discourse. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This mixed-methods investigation compared the effectiveness of three instructional approaches in achieving desired conceptual change among early childhood preservice teachers (n =157). Each of the three treatments employed inquiry-based instruction on moon phases using data collected from: (1) the planetarium software program, Starry Night™, (2) nature observations and Starry Night™, or (3) nature observations alone. Data sources included drawings, intensive interviews, and a lunar shapes card sort. The data sets were analyzed via a constant comparative method in order to produce profiles of each participant’s pre- and post-instruction conceptual understandings of moon phases. Non-parametric tests of significance revealed that pre- to post-instruction gains were significant for all three treatments across all targeted concepts. The Starry Night™-Only treatment demonstrated statistically greater gains for sequencing moon phases than the other two treatments. However, there were no significant differences among the three treatments in regard to participants’ abilities to draw scientific moon shapes or in their conceptions of the causes of moon phases. Thus, the three treatments were equally effective in facilitating desired conceptual change. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This work describes a new Moodle module developed to give support to the practical content of a basic computer organization course. This module goes beyond the mere hosting of resources and assignments. It makes use of an automatic checking and verification engine that works on the VHDL designs submitted by the students. The module automatically keeps up to date information about their state, and significantly reduces the overload that a continuous assessment demands to the teacher. Additionally, this new module is oriented to promote a collaborative teamwork allowing to define student teams in a more operative way than built-in Moodle groups. The module has been designed according to the Moodle philosophy and its application can be extended to other similar subjects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A treatment/control study (N =773) was conducted to determine the extent to which use of interactive whiteboard technology (IWB) was associated with upper elementary students’ self-reported level of motivation in mathematics. Students in the treatment group reported higher levels of motivation relative to control students, but the effect was extremely weak. Students with teachers who were more supportive of IWB technology reported higher motivation levels (compared to students of teachers who were less supportive), but this effect also was very small. Claims about the motivation-enhancing effects of the IWB are not baseless, but they appear to be somewhat overstated. Research is needed to determine how IWB-use is associated with academic performance, and also to examine how teachers use the IWB and how this usage could be strengthened. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study describes the results of a survey and a description of instructional technologies in place in the social sciences in South African Universities. Lecturers in the social sciences reported a well-established practice of information and communication technologies (ICTs) use for general purposes (although frequent use tended to be for email and searching the Internet). They had a high self-efficacy in terms of using ICTs both generally and for teaching and learning, and a high enthusiasm for the use of ICTs for teaching and learning. Half the lecturers had started using ICTs recently with the introduction of learning management systems (LMSs) whereas the other half had established practices that preceded the mainstreaming of LMSs across universities. Only about a quarter of the respondents felt able to develop and update ICTs themselves which indicates that support is a necessary part of teaching with technology. In terms of different types of use the focus was on putting content on the web and course administration. Use of ICTs for teaching of skills (whether information literacy, problem solving or critical thinking) was infrequent. There were different types of ICT use across the different sub-disciplines. Lecturers reported factors which constrained their use of ICTs for teaching and learning, such as inadequate technology, pedagogical issues (e.g. plagiarism), and students opting out of lectures when materials were available online. It is argued that user studies in are relevant to the future delivery of educational material, in terms of removing barriers to use and targeting training and supportive activities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The widespread use of the Internet and the convenient mechanism it provides, such as easy access, easy downloads, and easy copy and paste functions have made many types of unethical behaviors easier, particularly those involving students in academic settings. Among the issues in ethics within the academic environment that can be triggered by the Internet are fraudulence, plagiarism, falsification, delinquency, unauthorized help, and facility misuse. Given these issues, the study seeks to investigate the extent to which students at a public university in Malaysia engage in such unethical behavior and their relationship with the big five personality model. This study was conducted using a survey method of 252 students in three different academic faculties. The results of factor analyses confirm and refine the reliability of the scales for both big five personality variables and unethical Internet behaviors as conceptualized through Internet triggered academic dishonesty (ITADS). The findings indicate that personality traits such as (1) agreeableness, (2) conscientiousness and (3) emotional stability are significantly and negatively correlated with unethical Internet behavior in university students. Significant differences in facility misuse are also observed between the three academic faculties investigated. This research should provide significant contributions to educators in designing the computer ethics curriculum and in allowing for educational institutions as well as other organizations in developing relevant policies and guidelines on matters pertaining to academic conduct, utilization of computers and Internet, and recruitment exercises. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The popularity of video games has transcended entertainment crossing into the world of education. While the literature base on educational gaming is growing, there is still a lack of systematic study of this emerging technology’s efficacy. This quasi-experimental study evaluated a teacher created video game on genetics in terms of its affective and cognitive impact on student users. While statistical results indicated no differences (p >.05) in student learning as measured by our instrument, there were significant differences (p <.05) found in the participants’ level of engagement while interfacing with the video game. Implications on this emerging line of inquiry are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study investigates the effectiveness of computer-delivered hints in relation to problem-solving abilities in two alternative indirect instruction schemes. In one instruction scheme, hints are available to students immediately after they are given a new problem to solve as well as after they have completed the problem. In the other scheme, hints are only available as worked out problems after students have finished their solution. The instruction schemes are supplied by means of a web-based program, Physhint, which supports the development of strategic knowledge [Pol, H. J., Harskamp, E. G., & Suhre, C. J. M. (2008). The effect of the timing of instructional support in a computer-supported problem-solving program for students in secondary physics education. Computers in Human Behavior, 24, 1156–1178]. This program supports novice problem solvers while undertaking physics problems concerned with forces by providing hints structured in accordance with Schoenfeld’s episodes [Schoenfeld, A. H. (1992). Learning to think mathematically: Problem solving, metacognition, and sense making in mathematics. In D. A. Grouws (Ed.), Handbook of research on mathematics teaching (pp. 224–270). New York: McMillan Publishing]. An experiment was carried out in four schools in order to study students’ use of the hints in both of the computerized instruction schemes, as well as the effect of different uses of the available hints on students’ ability to solve physics problems. The experiment consisted of three groups. Two groups of students were assigned to one of the two instruction schemes and a control group was selected for the purpose of comparison. The results of the experiment show that both computerized instruction schemes are effective. Students working with the most elaborate instruction scheme show an increased use of their pallet of heuristics and algorithms in the post-test. Furthermore, the instruction scheme in which hints are available to students during problem-solving proves to be most effective when students show an increase in the systematic use of hints during problem-solving. This paper therefore provides an insight into how a computer program implemented in school practice can improve students’ strategic knowledge. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The research presented in this paper reaches towards a better theoretical understanding of how students in higher education currently take notes, how this process is evolving in the digital age to include information assimilation, and the kinds of support students need to be successful with their changing academic tasks. To gain insight into these questions, we triangulated three major and distinct user studies. First we interviewed 70 university students from various disciplines across campus, and we administered questionnaires to these same students, receiving back a total of 68. Our second study was based on participant observation whereby we “shadowed” 32 university students for 2–3h each as they went about their normal academic business around campus. Lastly, we conducted a broader-based questionnaire with 280 students from a wider campus demographic than our first survey. We sought a diverse population for our research, and were able to include students from the disciplines of Business, English, Computer Science, Chemistry, Psychology, Pharmacy and Biology in one or more of the studies. We discovered how closely students are connected to technology and how they are adapting to changing expectations, current issues they have completing their academic tasks, how they view traditional notetaking versus electronic notetaking, and evidence that they are engaging more and more in the process of information assimilation. From these results, we conclude that students in higher education might accomplish certain tasks more effectively and efficiently with a well-designed software system that provides access to a centralized set of notes from different locations on campus and beyond. After identifying functional requirements for the system we envision, we preview our initial low-fidelity prototypes, and discuss feedback we gathered on these designs from a set of user focus groups. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Giving feedback on second language (L2) writing is a challenging task. This research proposed an interactive environment for error correction and corrective feedback. First, we developed an online corrective feedback and error analysis system called Online Annotator for EFL Writing. The system consisted of five facilities: Document Maker, Annotation Editor, Composer, Error Analyzer, and Viewer. With this system, teachers can mark error corrections on online documents and students can receive corrective feedback accordingly. The system also classifies and displays error types based on user query. Second, an experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this system. Fifty EFL (English as a Foreign Language) college freshmen were randomly assigned to two groups. The experimental group received corrective feedback with the developed system whereas the control group used the paper-based error correction method. After the treatment, students in both groups conducted corrective feedback activities by correcting the same document written by an EFL student. The experimental results were encouraging in that the analysis of students’ corrective feedback revealed significantly better performance in the experimental group on recognizing writing errors. Implications for further research are discussed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In order to facilitate senior primary school students in Hong Kong to engage in learning by observation of the phenomena related to electrical circuits, a design of a specific courseware system, of which the interactive human–machine interface was created with the use of an open-source software called the LabVNC, for conducting online remote-controlled experiments was developed in this study. The statistically significant results of a pre-test–post-test evaluation study showed that the LabVNC-based system has potential to promote students to learn the target topic under the approach of learning by observation. The assertion of the teacher on the pedagogical value of the remote-controlled experimentation and the enthusiasm of students in using the LabVNC-based system reveal the potential to integrate the use of the LabVNC-based system with the practice of scientific experiments. Based on the feedback from the teacher and students, the existing LabVNC-based system will be refined under the design-based research approach. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This study investigated how female elementary education pre-service teachers in the United States, Turkey and Taiwan learned spatial skills from structured activities involving discrete, as opposed to continuous, transformations in interactive computer programs, and how these activities transferred to non-related standardized tests of spatial visualization and mental rotation. The study used a pretest, intervention, posttest research design with experimental and comparison groups. The experimental group participated in transformational geometry visualization exercises, once a week for six weeks, for approximately 20minutes each session. Instruments were standardized measures of spatial visualization and mental rotation; intervention activity worksheets directed the participants through 2D and 3D transformational geometry tasks in computer environments. For Turkish and Taiwanese participants, the experimental group improved significantly more than the control group in spatial visualization, while the American participants showed no such significant improvement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The implementation of a computer game for learning about geography by primary school students is the focus of this article. Researchers designed and developed a three-dimensional educational computer game. Twenty four students in fourth and fifth grades in a private school in Ankara, Turkey learnt about world continents and countries through this game for three weeks. The effects of the game environment on students’ achievement and motivation and related implementation issues were examined through both quantitative and qualitative methods. An analysis of pre and post achievement tests showed that students made significant learning gains by participating in the game-based learning environment. When comparing their motivations while learning in the game-based learning environment and in their traditional school environment, it was found that students demonstrated statistically significant higher intrinsic motivations and statistically significant lower extrinsic motivations learning in the game-based environment. In addition, they had decreased focus on getting grades and they were more independent while participating in the game-based activities. These positive effects on learning and motivation, and the positive attitudes of students and teachers suggest that computer games can be used as an ICT tool in formal learning environments to support students in effective geography learning. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The aim of this study was to assess the learning effectiveness and motivational appeal of a computer game for learning computer memory concepts, which was designed according to the curricular objectives and the subject matter of the Greek high school Computer Science (CS) curriculum, as compared to a similar application, encompassing identical learning objectives and content but lacking the gaming aspect. The study also investigated potential gender differences in the game’s learning effectiveness and motivational appeal. The sample was 88 students, who were randomly assigned to two groups, one of which used the gaming application (Group A, N =47) and the other one the non-gaming one (Group B, N =41). A Computer Memory Knowledge Test (CMKT) was used as the pretest and posttest. Students were also observed during the interventions. Furthermore, after the interventions, students’ views on the application they had used were elicited through a feedback questionnaire. Data analyses showed that the gaming approach was both more effective in promoting students’ knowledge of computer memory concepts and more motivational than the non-gaming approach. Despite boys’ greater involvement with, liking of and experience in computer gaming, and their greater initial computer memory knowledge, the learning gains that boys and girls achieved through the use of the game did not differ significantly, and the game was found to be equally motivational for boys and girls. The results suggest that within high school CS, educational computer games can be exploited as effective and motivational learning environments, regardless of students’ gender. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Employing mixed-method approach, this case study examined the in situ use of educational computer games in a summer math program to facilitate 4th and 5th graders’ cognitive math achievement, metacognitive awareness, and positive attitudes toward math learning. The results indicated that students developed more positive attitudes toward math learning through five-week computer math gaming, but there was no significant effect of computer gaming on students’ cognitive test performance or metacognitive awareness development. The in-field observation and students’ think-aloud protocol informed that not every computer math drill game would engage children in committed learning. The study findings have highlighted the value of situating learning activities within the game story, making games pleasantly challenging, scaffolding reflections, and designing suitable off-computer activities. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The idea of ‘interpretative flexibility’ underpins new approaches to studying technological artefacts and curricular resources in use. This paper opens by reviewing – in this light – the evolving design of dynamic geometry, its pioneering use within classroom projects, and early sketches of its mainstream use in ordinary classrooms. After examining curricular context and its instrumental dimension, the paper then reports a study of teacher constructions of dynamic geometry in classroom practice, conducted in professionally well-regarded mathematics departments in English secondary schools. From departmental focus-group interviews, four teacher-nominated examples of successful practice were selected for study in depth through lesson observation and post-lesson interview. Iterative thematic analysis was employed, first to establish a narrative outline of each case, and then the ideas and issues salient across cases. The study illustrates the interpretative flexibility surrounding the emergent use of dynamic geometry. It found important differences in practical elaboration of the widespread idea of employing dynamic geometry to support guided discovery. The process of evaluating the costs and benefits of student software use was influenced by the extent to which such use was seen as providing experience of a mathematical reference model, and more fundamentally as promoting mathematically disciplined interaction. Approaches to handling apparent mathematical anomalies of software operation depended on whether these were seen as providing opportunities to develop students’ mathematical understanding, in line with a more fundamental pedagogical orientation towards supporting learning through analysis of mathematical discrepancies. Such variation was associated with differences in positioning dynamic geometry in relation to curricular norms and in privileging a mathematical register for framing figural properties. Across all cases, however, incorporating dynamic manipulation into mathematical discourse moved implicitly beyond established norms when dragging was used to focus attention on continuous dynamic variation, rather than being treated as an efficient means of generating multiple static figures. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The widespread availability of digital learning resources in a variety of media formats offers the possibility to make a profound difference in education. This potential has not been fully realised for range of interrelated reasons. In this paper we study the key characteristics of learning resources that have proved effective in changing learning and teaching, and relate them to existing frameworks for understanding resources. We outline the relationships between resources, their users, and the way they are used, and explore issues that influence practitioners in choosing a particular resource. Our study is based on a review of resources for e-learning and chemistry in post-compulsory education, undertaken for the UK Joint Information Systems Committees (JISC), as part of a wider study examining ‘The Effectiveness of Resources, Tools and Support Services used by Tutors in Designing and Delivering E-Learning Activities’. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper describes an online image analysis tool developed as part of an iterative, user-centered development of an online Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) called the Education through Virtual Experience (EVE) Portal. The VLE provides a Web portal through which schoolchildren and their teachers create scientific proposals, retrieve images and other resources, and produce collaborative scientific papers summarizing their learning experiences. The VLE underwent substantive formative testing involving over 200 schoolchildren producing over 50 collaboratively written research papers. Detailed analysis of these research papers identified some shortfalls toward the goal of producing authentic scientific engagement. The absence of data collection and data analysis within these research papers was disappointing despite having scheduled time for this activity and having several professional imaging tools available. The post-evaluation analyses have enabled the development team to identify specific design flaws in the previous VLE and have shaped the design of the new custom-built tool. The success of the tool will be born out through content analysis of future collaboratively written student papers. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: We present PKIP, an adaptable learning assistant tool for managing question items in item banks. PKIP is not only able to automatically assist educational users to categorize the question items into predefined categories by their contents but also to correctly retrieve the items by specifying the category and/or the difficulty level. PKIP adapts the “categorization learning model” to improve the system’s categorization performance using the incoming question items. PKIP tool has an advantage over the traditional document categorization methods in that it can correctly categorize the question item which lacks keywords since it adopts the feature selection technique and support vector machine approach to item bank text categorization. In our initial experimentation, PKIP was designed and implemented to manage the Thai high primary mathematics question items. PKIP was tested and evaluated in terms of both system accuracy and user satisfaction. The evaluation result shows that the system accuracy is acceptable and PKIP satisfies the need of the users. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The paper reports on the outcomes of a British Educational Communications and Technology Agency (BECTa) funded study which explored the views of teacher trainees and their mentors in two different school subjects on what strategies, interventions and resources had a positive impact on their ability to use ICT effectively in their subject teaching. The research aimed to explore both commonalities in trainees’ views of which strategies and interventions had a positive influence on their ability to use ICT effectively in subject teaching, and subject discipline dimensions of ICT use, i.e. the ways in which training needs might vary between trainees in different school subjects. The study focused on the views of two successive cohorts of science and history trainees (133 trainees in all), and 21 of their supervising mentors. The outcomes showed that some important determinants of progression in the ability to deploy ICT confidently and effectively in subject teaching were common to both subject groups, but that there were differing views on which ICT applications offered most potential for enhancing teaching and learning in their subject and differences in their preferred priorities for investment in ICT. The study also revealed that trainees felt that many of the experiences and resources which they had encountered in the course of their training had not been helpful. A follow up survey was undertaken of 114 trainees across six subject areas to further explore some of the findings from the initial survey. The concluding section of the paper suggests ways in which trainee teachers might be prepared more effectively for using ICT in their subject teaching. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]