Recent studies on language acquisition and motivation have targeted Japanese language learners in a formal educational context, with less attention paid to learners who study Japanese informally. The current study aims to investigate the impact of Japanese animations in the context of informal third language acquisition. It targets the native…

Visual program simulation (VPS) is a new, interactive form of educational program visualisation, in which learners use graphical controls to direct a program's execution rather than simply watching an animation of it. In this article, we report on a qualitative empirical study of novice programmers learning through VPS. From an analysis of…

The discipline of statistics seems well suited to the integration of technology in a lecture as a means to enhance student learning and engagement. Technology can be used to simulate statistical concepts, create interactive learning exercises, and illustrate real world applications of statistics. The present study aimed to better understand the…

This article reports on the development and evaluation of a Web-based application that provides instruction and hands-on practice in managing electrolyte and acid-base disorders. Our teaching approach, which focuses on concepts rather than details, encourages quantitative analysis and a logical problem-solving approach. Identifying any dangers to…

The aim of this study was to develop an animation-based curriculum and to evaluate the effectiveness of animation-based instruction; the report involved the assessment of prior knowledge and the appropriate feedback approach, for the purpose of reducing perceived cognitive load and improving learning. The curriculum was comprised of five subunits…

This study examines one of the design principles of multimedia learning in a context dissimilar to the one in which it was originally tested. Personalization principle states that the amount of learning increases when the style of language is informal and conversational. In an attempt to uncover the relationship between learning and language…

In this paper, we examine the potential use of animation for supporting the teaching of some of the mathematical concepts that underlie computer games development activities, such as vector and matrix algebra. An experiment was conducted with a group of UK undergraduate computing students to compare the perceived usefulness of animated and static…

The European eLearning Forum for Education 2 (ELFE2) is a project initiated by the ETUCE (European Trade Union Committee on Education) and builds on the conclusion of its predecessor ELFE1. ELFE2 aims, as ELFE1, to contribute to a better understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of using ICT in education. It identifies ways used to optimize…

The HMIE publication, "External quality arrangements for Scotland's colleges," specifies that HMIE will produce a number of subject aspect reports over the four years 2008-12. These aspect reports complement in a subject-specific context the generic evaluations of learning and teaching in HMIE's reports of external review of colleges.…

For the twenty-ninth year, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the National AECT Convention in Orlando, Florida. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…