In a digital era in which technology plays a role in most aspects of a child's life, having the competence and confidence to use computers might be a necessary step, but not a goal in itself. Developing character traits that will serve children to use technology in a safe way to communicate and connect with others, and providing opportunities for…

Customer needs for high-quality goods and the risk of product-liability litigation against businesses have made companies look for a way to sustain quality assurance in their products and services. Lean manufacturing is the latest and most successful system being used by companies to turn their business around. Visual inspection plays an important…

Higher education institutions are under significant pressure to provide affordable, sustainable approaches that will prepare their students with the skills they will need after graduation to achieve success in the 21st Century workplace. Digital Media Simulations are among the new technologies that have emerged with the promise to help…

This article seeks to assess the impact of V-Pal (Virtual Partnerships for All Languages) on the student language learning experience within a conventional UK higher education (HE) curriculum. V-Pal is an innovative computer-mediated language scheme, based on a reciprocal, distance-learning language project, run by the University of Manchester in…

This paper describes how a new "Moodle" module, called "CTPracticals", is applied to the teaching of the practical content of a basic computer organization course. In the core of the module, an automatic verification engine enables it to process the VHDL designs automatically as they are submitted. Moreover, a straightforward…

As the use of the Internet and time spent on the Internet by individuals grows, and the use of virtual worlds like Active Worlds and Second Life increases, the library needs to have an interactive place and role in these worlds as well as a bricks and mortar space. This article provides an overview of what some libraries are doing in these worlds,…

Students often have difficulty understanding the relationship of O[subscript 2] consumption, CO[subscript 2] production, cardiac output, and distribution of ventilation-perfusion ratios in the lung to the final arterial blood gas composition. To overcome this difficulty, I have developed an interactive computer simulation of pulmonary gas exchange…

This is the first work exploring the application of new technologies, concretely virtual reality, to facilitate emotional processing in the treatment of Complicated Grief. Our research team has designed a virtual reality environment (EMMA's World) to foster the expression and processing of emotions. In this study the authors present a description…

Second Life[TM], or simply SL, was developed at Linden Lab, a San Francisco-based corporation defined by its creators as "an online society within a 3-D virtual world entirely built and owned by its residents, where they can explore, build, socialize and participate in their own economy." With over 14 million residents in the SL virtual community,…

In this paper, we develop a conceptual framework for an anthropomorphic change agent to motivate pre-service teachers to integrate technology into teaching and learning. This agent is designed with a hybrid persona that simulates a mentor and plays both motivation and companion roles. Based on the theoretical grounding in motivation and change…

The CACTUS project was concerned with command and control training of large incidents where public order may be at risk, such as large demonstrations and marches. The training requirements and objectives of the project are first summarized justifying the use of knowledge-based computer methods to support and extend conventional training…

This article discusses the functions and effectiveness of games and simulations in the learning processes, in particular as an experiential learning methodology. The application of the game Lemonade Tycoon in the development of lean manufacturing concepts is described. This article addresses the use of the game to teach the principles of lean…

When looking at virtual environments and language learning we can take our pick where to begin. Should it be technology or pedagogy? I will use the pedagogical concept of learner autonomy to approach virtual environments in different ways. First, there is a need to look at interaction and online interaction; second, reflection as an essential…

The course "Management of Fluid and Electrolyte Disorders" is an applied physiology course taught using lectures and paper-based cases. The course approaches fluid therapy from both basic science and clinical perspectives. While paper cases provide a basis for application of basic science concepts, they lack key components of genuine clinical…

This edited volume provides an overview of the latest advancements in adaptive training technology. Intelligent tutoring has been deployed for well-defined and relatively static educational domains such as algebra and geometry. However, this adaptive approach to computer-based training has yet to come into wider usage for domains that are less…