Courses at the postsecondary level continue to rely heavily on visual material that is accessible only to fully or partially sighted students. Tactile graphics work for many pedagogical purposes, but in some cases are insufficient; other information and concepts may be better conveyed through haptic exploration of 3D printed objects. However,…

In the age of big data, interactive data visualizations are becoming increasingly prevalent. The ability to focus on subsets of data is essential for exploring large temporal, geospatial, topical, and network datasets. In order to categorize all parts of data visualizations, various attempts have been made to build frameworks for how to interpret,…

Inspired by the promise of new 3D technologies and the proposition that new tools make innovation possible, this article provides a case study of how a tool called Thirty6 was designed and used in classrooms by mathematics teachers in their own varied and invented ways. Unlike established manipulatives that are designed to support the learning of…

As an emerging technology, three-dimensional (3D) printing has gained much attention as a rapid prototyping and small-scale manufacturing technology around the world. In the changing scenario of library inclusion, Makerspaces are becoming a part of most public and academic libraries, and 3D printing is one of the technologies included in…

Immersive virtual reality as a tool in the middle-school classroom is a promising avenue to aid in cognitively challenging tasks requiring access to visual processes. As these tools become ever present in society, the expectation of school districts to include them into classroom curricula has become challenging, as there is inconsistent data…

3D printing was used to prepare models of the calculated geometries of unsaturated organic structures. Incorporation of p orbital isosurfaces into the models enables students in introductory organic chemistry courses to have hands-on experience with the concept of orbital alignment in strained and unstrained p systems.

According to the National Council of Teacher of Mathematics (NCTM) (2000), K-12 students should be given an opportunity to develop their spatial reasoning abilities. One of the topics that may allow students to develop their spatial skills is forming 3-dimensional objects using spinning and extrusion methods. Also, extrusion and spinning methods…

Research on animals, infants, children, and adults provides evidence that distinct cognitive systems underlie navigation and object recognition. Here we examine whether and how these systems interact when children interpret 2D edge-based perspectival line drawings of scenes and objects. Such drawings serve as symbols early in development, and they…

This study explores the processes occurring during technology workshops which built on interests and enhanced social engagement for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The workshops used a community based research design and focused on teaching a creative three-dimensional (3D) design programme (SketchUp™) to students with ASD. Seven…

3D models derived from actual molecular structures have the potential to transform student learning in biology. We share findings related to our research questions: 1) what types of interactions with a protein folding kit promote specific learning objectives?, and 2) what features of the instructional environment (e.g., peer interactions, teacher…

Problem Statement: The SOLO model places responses provided by students on a certain level instead of placing students there themselves. SOLO taxonomy, including five sub-levels, is used for determining observed structures of learning outcomes in various disciplines and grade levels. On the other hand, the spatial orientation skill is the ability…

The teaching of 3D digital game design requires the development of students' meta-skills, from story creativity to 3D model construction, and even the visualization process in design thinking. The characteristics a good game designer should possess have been identified as including redesign things, creativity thinking and the ability to…

The traditional important role of maps used for educational purposes has gained further potential with recent advances in GIS technology. But beyond specific courses in cartography this potential seems little realized in geography teaching. This article investigates the extent to which any learning benefits may be derived from the use of such…

For the past few years, virtual environments (VEs) have gained broad attention from both scholarly and practitioner communities. However, in spite of intense and widespread efforts, most VE-related research has focused on the technical aspects of applications, and the necessary theoretical framework to assess the quality of interfaces and designs…

Perspective is a rich area for mathematical work, and one that should be accessible to many students, since it is based on the everyday experience of viewing the 3D world directly and through familiar 2D representations (drawings, photographs, images on a television or cinema screen, etc). A nice feature of perspective tasks is that they can be…