Interactive computer simulations with complex representations and sophisticated graphics are a relatively new addition to the classroom, and research in this area is limited. We have conducted over 275 individual student interviews during which the students described what they were thinking as they interacted with simulations. These interviews…

This paper presents a research study carried out to support and structure virtual interaction among university students that may trigger collaborative knowledge construction in the Web, supported by a CSCL system called KnowCat. Three characteristics of the KnowCat system are relevant to our educational purpose: firstly, students can share and…

The following article discusses an educational simulation created within Second Life (SL) in order to assist pre-service teachers (PSTs) in gaining more experience managing student behavior. The article discusses the development, implementation, and assessment of the simulation as well as student data on the feasibility of the approach in…

Some game users have contended that students can be successful in games even if they "know little" about the rules and the underlying business theories driving them. Thus, if teams are uninvolved, it is possible that successful game play may not impart the learning typically found in experiential exercises nor that designed into games by their…

By having subjects drive a virtual taxicab through a computer-rendered town, we examined how landmark and layout information interact during spatial navigation. Subject-drivers searched for passengers, and then attempted to take the most efficient route to the requested destinations (one of several target stores). Experiment 1 demonstrated that…

Higher education institutions deliver web-based learning with varied success. The success rate of distributed online courses remains low. Factors such as ineffective course facilitation and insufficient communication contribute to the unfulfilled promises of web-based learning. Students consequently feel unmotivated. Instructor control and in the…

Many students perform extraction experiments without connecting relevant molecular features to corresponding macroscopic features. Two versions of an Organic Extraction Simulation, one with text "captions" and the other with "narration" accompanying the animation, were developed based on a cognitive view of multimedia learning.…

Especially in vocational education, attention should be paid not only to the use of new technological solutions but also to collaborative learning and cooperative working methods in order to develop students' skills for their future jobs. This study involves a design experiment including the design process of a new game environment, description of…

Technology-based instruction represents a new recent pedagogical paradigm that is rooted in the realization that new generations are much more comfortable with, and excited about, new technologies. The rapid technological advancement over the past decade has fueled an enormous demand for the integration of modern networking, informational and…

This article illustrates the utility of using virtual environments to transform social interaction via behavior and context, with the goal of improving learning in digital environments. We first describe the technology and theories behind virtual environments and then report data from 4 empirical studies. In Experiment 1, we demonstrated that…

Purpose: The purposes of this study were (a) to identify cognitive abilities and other factors related to successful completion of training for computer-based tasks that simulated real jobs and (b) to create a brief assessment battery useful in assessing older adults for these kinds of jobs. Design and Methods: Participants from three age groups…

Computer-based virtual patients (VPs) are an emerging medium for medical education that addresses barriers faced by geriatrics educators. Research has shown VPs to be as effective in changing knowledge and behavior as more traditional forms of teaching. This paper presents a descriptive study of the development of the University of Iowa's…

An extensive body of research claims that labels facilitate categorisation, highlight the commonalities between objects and act as invitations to form categories for young infants before their first birthday. While this may indeed be a reasonable claim, we argue that it is not justified by the experiments described in the research. We report on a…

This research began with the premise that video game play, especially as it relates to participation in persistent virtual worlds, provides fictional spaces where players engage in cognitive and communicative practices that can be personally transformative in prosocial ways. Players' experiences with these worlds are as much defined by the…

This research focuses on some of the affordances provided by SimCalc software, suggesting that its use can have important consequences for students' mathematical affect and motivation. We describe an episode in an inner-city SimCalc environment illustrating our approach to the study of affect in the mathematics classroom. We infer students'…