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By applying two-mode social networks and Chinese word segmentation technologies, a novel visualization tool, the instant semantic analysis and feedback system (ISAFS), is designed in this study to present the semantic networks of co-words and non-co-words used in learners' discussion processes and assist learners in grasping the discussion direction to enhance online learning effectiveness. By conducting a quasi-experimental research, the ISAFS-assisted discussion board was assigned to the 32 learners of one class as the experimental group, whereas the general online discussion board was assigned to the 32 learners of the other class as the control group to support the online discussion learning activities of socio-scientific issues (SSIs). Analytical results show that the mean scores of overall, complexity, and perspective of socio-scientific reasoning performance have no statistically significant differences between the two groups. However, the in-depth interview results suggest that the learners in the experimental group gave positive feedback on the design concepts of the ISAFS and could explore the complexity and various perspectives of the issue through co-words and non-co-words presented on the ISAFS graph. Several suggestions regarding the functions and user interface of the ISAFS were also collected from the interviews to provide the directions for future studies.

This study is aimed to design a novel vocabulary learning mechanism (VLM) in the previously developed video-annotated learning and reviewing system (VALRS) that allows learners to identify unfamiliar or unknown words when listening to the video and generate personalized input enhancement from English subtitles for vocabulary learning. It is expected that the VALRS with VLM (VALRS-VLM) can help learners improve their English listening comprehension in the recognition of speech sounds of individual vocabulary words and meaning understanding of vocabulary words and oral sentences. To investigate the learning effectiveness and learners' experiences of the newly developed VLM, this study compared the outcomes of English listening comprehension performance and technology acceptance between the experimental group using the VALRS-VLM and the control group using the VALRS without the VLM (VALRS-NVLM). Analytical results show that the learners using the VALRS-VLM achieved remarkably better in both English listening learning outcomes and learning retention for vocabulary learning and overall English listening comprehension performance than those who used the VALRS-NVLM. Besides, according to the results of the questionnaire surveyed after the experiment, both the VALRS-VLM and VALRS-NVLM groups showed good technology acceptance. This study confirms that the proposed VALRS-VLM could effectively facilitate learners' English listening learning as well as provide them with a positive learning experience.

This paper used a novel literature review approach--co-citation network analysis--to illuminate the latent structure of 87 empirical papers in the field of young children's learning with technology (YCLT). Based on the document co-citation analysis, a total of 206 co-citation relationships among the 87 papers were identified and then graphically visualized as a network diagram. Accordingly, the five most highly co-cited pairs in the co-citation network were identified. Moreover, seven research streams in the network (three located in the main component, four scattered in the peripheral area) were characterized based on a general assessment of the document research domains. Of these, "technology-assisted language learning" was denoted as the main stream, and "digital literacy" (active from 2008 to 2013) was identified as the emerging stream of the YCLT research network. Looking inside, the six most central papers within the above two research streams were recognized in terms of centrality measures. Furthermore, on the basis of the analysis of follow-up research, the current and future extension research topics are discussed.

This study aimed to conduct a systematic literature review on empirical studies of how technologies influence young children's learning. Eighty-seven articles published between 2003 and 2013 were identified through the Web of Science database. We employed content analysis to identify the research trends of this topic. "Technology evaluation," "adults' roles," and "teaching approaches" are three emerging research themes during 2008-2013. About one-third of the studies involved children who were from immigrant or low socioeconomic status families, or had special needs. The majority of the reviewed studies revealed that the technologies had positive effects on children's performance across developmental domains. Particularly, in social domain, most studies showed that technologies enhanced children's collaboration and interaction with others and their development of multiculturalism. We also propose a typology for conceptualizing the complexity of the relationships between technology use and children's learning. We argue that children's learning with technology is conditioned by several factors categorized into children, adults, and technology aspects. Moreover, a trend of examining children's development of digital literacy emerged, involving investigation of the skills needed for and perceptions of technology use. Lastly, while most studies viewed children as consumers of technology, their role as creators has been understudied and deserves more research attention.

The purpose of this study is to review empirical research articles regarding game-based science learning (GBSL) published from 2000 to 2011. Thirty-one articles were identified through the Web of Science and SCOPUS databases. A qualitative content analysis technique was adopted to analyze the research purposes and designs, game design and implementation, theoretical backgrounds and learning foci of these reviewed studies. The theories and models employed by these studies were classified into four theoretical foundations including cognitivism, constructivism, the socio-cultural perspective, and enactivism. The results indicate that cognitivism and constructivism were the major theoretical foundations employed by the GBSL researchers and that the socio-cultural perspective and enactivism are two emerging theoretical paradigms that have started to draw attention from GBSL researchers in recent years. The analysis of the learning foci showed that most of the digital games were utilized to promote scientific knowledge/concept learning, while less than one-third were implemented to facilitate the students' problem-solving skills. Only a few studies explored the GBSL outcomes from the aspects of scientific processes, affect, engagement, and socio-contextual learning. Suggestions are made to extend the current GBSL research to address the affective and socio-contextual aspects of science learning. The roles of digital games as tutor, tool, and tutee for science education are discussed, while the potentials of digital games to bridge science learning between real and virtual worlds, to promote collaborative problem-solving, to provide affective learning environments, and to facilitate science learning for younger students are also addressed.