The youngest workforce generation seems to crave games and simulations, and even older workers are coming to enjoy them. But what do new trends in these areas mean for the company, the learners, and the organization's strategic goals? In this article, two experts in the field, Clarissa Graffeo and David Metcalf of the Mixed Emerging Technology…

Students struggle with the mastery of critical thinking skills which are essential to their academic success. University faculty are challenged to create teaching strategies to help students build critical thinking skills. Nursing faculty at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee looked to research and technology for ways to…

Case study methodology was used to describe the challenges experienced in the development of a virtual component for a freshman-level undergraduate course. The purpose of the project was to use a virtual environment component to provide an interactive and engaging learning environment. While some student and faculty feedback was positive, this…

Recently, chemical engineering education moves towards utilizing simulation soft wares to enhance the learning process especially in the field of process control. These training simulators provide interactive learning through visualization and practicing which will bridge the gap between the theoretical abstraction of textbooks and the…

Although many teachers are using new technologies to differentiate instruction and administer tests, educators are also employing a range of technology-based resources and strategies to implement a variety of classroom assessments as alternatives to standardized and teacher-made testing. Technology-based classroom assessments focus on the use of…

General equilibrium models now play important roles in many fields of economics including tax policy, environmental regulation, international trade, and economic development. The intermediate microeconomics classroom has not kept pace with these trends, however. Microeconomics textbooks primarily focus on the insights that can be drawn from the…

All too often, one reads about high-speed police chases in pursuit of stolen cars that result in death and injury to people and innocent bystanders. Isn't there another way to accomplish the apprehension of the thieves that does not put people at such great risk? This article presents a classroom challenge to use technology to remotely shutdown…

In this paper we present Geodromo, a prototype of an educational multimedia system, part of the Portuguese "Ciencia Viva" (Live Science) educational program, which is aimed at young people and designed with innovative characteristics. The project is based on a robotic multimedia simulator and an online puzzle game aimed at the…

In a virtual environment, blocking of spatial learning to locate an invisible target was found reciprocally between a distinctively shaped enclosure and a local landmark within its walls. The blocking effect was significantly stronger when the shape of the enclosure rather than the landmark served as the blocking cue. However, the extent to which…

This article describes an online experience that has not only created a fantasy world for the general public but has enabled some tech-savvy educators to create virtual educational opportunities. Second Life, or SL, is a 3-D Internet-based virtual world created by Linden Lab and populated by nearly 1,000,000 active users worldwide since 2003.…

The first challenge of accomplishing the goals of any successful instructional system depends on accurately assessing learners and leveraging the information to improve learning (e.g., Conati, 2002; Park & Lee, 2003; Shute, Lajoie, & Gluck, 2000; Snow, 1994). This paper describes an approach for modeling key competencies and developing…

This paper discusses the pedagogical and technological aspects of assessing wiki-based collaborative learning activities. The first part of the paper presents a general framework of collaborative learning assessment. The framework is based on four aspects of assessment, characterized by four questions: who, what, how and by whom. The second part…

This article discusses activities carried out in the virtual world of Second Life (SL) as part of a compulsory class in the first year of an undergraduate programme. The paper identifies the contribution of SL to the students' learning environment and an Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) approach to programme design. The reasons for taking an IBL…

Lean manufacturing, an outgrowth of the Toyota Production System, has spread far beyond the automobile industry and is seen by many leaders as a key management philosophy in the battle to compete on an international scale. Successful implementation of lean requires that managers and employees be educated in the proper application of lean tools and…

Although the use of digital information technologies in education has become commonplace, there are few, if any, central guiding frameworks or theories that explicate the relationship between technology and learning practices. In this paper, I argue that such a theoretical framework can assist scholars and practitioners alike by working as a…