Purpose: This study explores the effectiveness of a A Balanced Reading Approach for Children Always Designed to Achieve Best Results for All (ABRACADABRA; hereinafter, ABRA)--a web-based literacy program designed by Concordia University in Canada--on third-grade students in Nanjing, China. Design/Approach/Methods: Participants comprised 999…

ABRACADABRA (ABRA) is an evidence-based suite of interactive multimedia that engages learners in the development of core reading skills. This meta-analysis presents an update of the research evidence about the effectiveness of ABRA for elementary students. It reports 91 effect sizes in six reading-related outcomes for a sample of 7,388 students.…

This study was undertaken to learn about the impact of using the web-based Inquiry Strategies for the Information Society of the Twenty-First Century (ISIS-21), software developed by the authors, to improve the information literacy (IL) skills of late elementary students (10-12 years). Using a series of multi-media and learning strategies design…

Critical thinking (CT) is purposeful, self-regulatory judgment that results in interpretation, analysis, evaluation, and inference, as well as explanations of the considerations on which that judgment is based. This article summarizes the available empirical evidence on the impact of instruction on the development and enhancement of critical…

To address students' poor literacy outcomes, an intervention using a computer-based literacy tool, ABRACADABRA, was implemented in 6 Northern Australia primary schools. A pretest, posttest parallel group, single blind multisite randomized controlled trial was conducted with 308 students between the ages of 4 and 8 years old (M age = 5.8 years, SD…

This article reports on the results of a representative sample meta-analysis that explored the effects of interactive versus didactic pedagogy using computer-assisted instruction on measures of academic achievement. A systematic literature search revealed 40 studies, from which 55 effect sizes were extracted. The random effects model of analysis…

This report describes a cluster randomized control trial (RCT) intervention study of the effectiveness of the ABRACADABRA (ABRA) Web-based literacy system using a classroom-level RCT intervention with 1,067 children in 74 kindergarten and Grade 1 or Grade 1/2 classrooms across Canada. The authors closely followed the CONSORT criteria for executing…

The Centre for the Study of Learning and Performance (CSLP) is a Montreal-based research centre of excellence that focuses on the generation of new knowledge about education through research and the mobilization of knowledge, working in partnership with educational practitioners by collaborating around the tools, techniques, and strategies for…

This paper reports the findings of a Stage I meta-analysis exploring the achievement effects of computer-based technology use in higher education classrooms (non-distance education). An extensive literature search revealed more than 6,000 potentially relevant primary empirical studies. Analysis of a representative sample of 231 studies (k = 310)…

This study investigated the change in the relationship between pedagogy, computer-use and students' perceptions about course-effectiveness over time. Students from a Canadian university completed a questionnaire in two different years (2003 = 1,834 participants and 2007 = 1,866 participants). Of greatest interest were characteristics of technology…

Can an electronic portfolio that is both a multimedia container for student work and a tool to support key learning processes have a positive impact on the literacy practices and self-regulated learning skills of students? This article presents the findings of a yearlong study conducted in three Canadian provinces during the 2007-2008 school year…

The purpose of this research is to investigate the relationship between computer technology's role and students' perceptions about course effectiveness. Students from two universities (one Canadian, n = 1465; one American, n = 831) completed a 71-item questionnaire addressing different aspects of their learning experience in a given course. Factor…

This article evaluates 2 technology applications for teaching beginning reading. One, embedded multimedia, involves brief phonics and vocabulary videos threaded through teachers' lessons. The other, computer-assisted tutoring, helps tutors with planning, instruction, and assessment. An experiment in 2 high-poverty, high-minority Success for All…

This presentation will report on a cluster randomized evaluation of a small-group computer-assisted tutoring program for struggling readers, called Team Alphie. Using computers and DVDs to supplement instruction, regular and supplementary teachers (usually special education, ESL, and Title I teachers) are able to integrate their efforts,…

This study investigated the relationship between the amount of computer technology used in post-secondary education courses, students' perceived effectiveness of technology use, and global course evaluations. Survey data were collected from 922 students in 51 courses at both the graduate and undergraduate levels. The survey consisted of 65 items…