Intercultural simulations are instructional activities that engage and challenge participants with experiences integral to encounters between people of more than one cultural group. Simulations designed specifically to support intercultural encounters have been in use since the 1970s. This article examines the conceptual bases for intercultural…

Nursing education programs are proliferating rapidly in the United States in an effort to meet demand for nurse professionals. Multiple challenges arise from this rapid expansion. One challenge is finding sufficient clinical sites to accommodate students. Increased competition for scarce resources requires creativity in clinical contracting. This…

Background: Integrating 3D virtual world technologies into educational subjects continues to draw the attention of educators and researchers alike. The focus of this study is the use of a virtual world, Second Life, in higher education teaching. In particular, it explores the potential of using a virtual world experience as a learning component…

Introduction: This study describes (a) process goals, (b) success factors, and (c) barriers for optimizing simulation-based learning environments within the simulation setting model developed by Dieckmann. Methods: Seven simulation educators of different experience levels were interviewed using the Critical Incident Technique. Results: (a) The…

Purpose: In the authors' experience, the biggest issue with pose-based exergames is the difficulty in effectively communicating a three-dimensional pose to a user to facilitate a thorough understanding for accurate pose replication. The purpose of this paper is to examine options for pose presentation. Design/methodology/approach: The authors…

Purpose: This study aims to explore students' perceptions of a virtual reality simulation that enable nursing students to learn how to use a medical emergency crash cart. Design/methodology/approach: The study was designed to explore how students' perceptions of ease of use and perceived usefulness from the technology acceptance model and the…

Effectively presenting complex material is a crucial component of instructional design within simulation-based training (SBT) environments. One approach to facilitate the acquisition of higher-order knowledge is to embed instructional strategies within the systems themselves. Currently, however, there are few established guidelines to inform…

The present article is primarily targeted for the advanced college/university undergraduate students of chemistry/physics education, computational physics/chemistry, and computer science. The most recent software system such as MS Visual Studio .NET version 2010 is employed to perform computer simulations for modeling Bohr's quantum theory of…

This paper reports on the task-based interaction of English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners in the 3D multiuser virtual environment (MUVE) Second Life. The discussion first explores research on the precursors of MUVEs, text-based 2D virtual worlds known as MOOs. This is followed by an examination of studies on the use of MUVEs in Computer…

Since the establishment of the first volunteer fire brigades in the United States, firefighters have lost their lives in fire fighting operations at emergency incidents and live-fire training activities. While there are various reasons for these firefighter deaths and injuries, the United States Fire Administration (2002) reported that many of…

This paper presents the findings of a study on the current knowledge and attitudes of pre-service teachers on the use of scenario-based multi-user virtual environments in science education. The 28 participants involved in the study were introduced to "Virtual Singapura," a multi-user virtual environment, and completed an open-ended questionnaire.…

This study proposes a teaching and research initiative, named SAMAL (Smart AMbience for Affective Learning) that will provide a unique ambient mediated environment for integrating cognitive and affective approaches to enhance learning. Also, this study illustrates a design of SAMAL classroom with affectively evocative scenarios for learning de…

Expectations for simulations in healthcare education are high; however, little is known about healthcare students' expectations of the learning process in virtual reality (VR) and simulation-based learning environments (SBLEs). This research aims to describe first-year healthcare students' (N=97) expectations regarding teaching, studying, and…

The authors investigate the potential of semantic web technologies to enhance "Virtual Fieldwork" resources and learning activities in the Geosciences. They consider the difficulties inherent in the concept of Virtual Fieldwork and how these might be reconciled with the desire to provide students with "authentic" tools for…

It was found in the two-year study reported in this article that a single collaborative language lesson using "Second Life" can result in a statistically significant increase in student self-efficacy beliefs across a range of specific and general language skills. However, students with different "real life" prior experience…