This study investigates whether a visual programming environment called Etoys could enable teachers to create software applications meeting their own instructional needs. Twenty-four teachers who participated in the study successfully developed their own educational computer programs in the educational technology course employing cognitive…

Much research in recent years has focused on the introduction of virtual learning environments (VLEs) to universities, documenting practice, and sharing experience ([2], [9], [45] and [58]). Attention has been directed towards the importance of online dialogue for learning as a defining feature of the VLE. Communicative tools are an important…

Constructionism places an emphasis on the process of constructing shareable artefacts. Many virtual worlds, such as "Second Life", provide learners with tools for the construction of objects and hence may facilitate in-world constructionist learning experiences. However, the construction tools available present learners with a significant barrier…

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a hybrid learning approach to deliver a computer science course concerning the Microsoft office PowerPoint 2003 program in comparison to delivering the same course content in the form of traditional lectures. A hundred and seventy-two first year university students were randomly…

This study evaluated the performance of university students who learned science texts by using, information communication technologies (ICT) including animation, static figures, power point, and e-plus software. The characteristics of students and their achievements and attitudes toward 11 multimedia science courses were analyzed. The 11 samples…

The unprecedented growth in numbers of children playing computer games has stimulated discussion and research regarding what, if any, educational value these games have for teaching and learning. The research on this topic has primarily focused on children as players of computer games rather than builders/constructors of computer games. Recently,…

University courses about computer programming usually seek to provide students not only with technical knowledge, but also with the skills required to work in real-life software projects. Nowadays, the development of software applications requires the coordinated efforts of the members of one or more teams. Therefore, it is important for software…

Self-testing is a means to check learning effect. Besides time-space restriction, there are many deficiencies in traditional offline self-testing. With the development of information technology, learners can have self-testing on the Internet. Self-testing on Internet, namely, web-based self-testing, overcomes time-space limitation of traditional…

To understand the student experience on social software, the research aims to explore the disruptive nature and opportunity of social networking for higher education. Taking four universities, the research: (1) identifies the distinction between the students' current usage of social software; (2) reports on the students' experience on…

This paper presents the design, features and pilot evaluation study of a web-based environment--the SORTING environment--for the learning of sorting algorithms by secondary level education students. The design of this environment is based on modeling methodology, taking into account modern constructivist and social theories of learning while at…

In this paper, a methodological educational proposal based on constructivism and collaborative learning theories is described. The suggested approach has been successfully applied to a subject entitled "Computer Architecture and Engineering" in a Computer Science degree in the University of La Laguna in Spain. This methodology is…