Language learning tools have evolved to take into consideration new teaching models of collaboration and communication. While second language acquisition tasks have been taken online, the traditional language laboratory has remained unchanged. By continuing to follow its original configuration based on individual work, the language laboratory…

The article on which this paper reflects ["Exploring a Cross-Institutional Research Collaboration and Innovation: Deploying Social Software and Web 2.0 Technologies to Investigate Online Learning Designs and Interactions in Two Australian Universities"] presented elements of a research project investigating learning interactions in…

Engage is a new form of mobile application that connects students studying English with teachers in real-time via their smartphones. Students receive target language through preparation dialogues, and then apply it to a role-play with a teacher. The conceptualization and development of Engage follows the user-centred design approach; and the…

Game-based learning (GBL) combines pedagogy and interactive entertainment to create a virtual learning environment in an effort to motivate and regain the interest of a new generation of "digital native" learners. However, this approach is impeded by the limited availability of suitable "serious" games and high-level design…

Various writing assistance tools have been developed through efforts in the areas of natural language processing with different degrees of success of curriculum integration depending on their functional rigor and pedagogical designs. In this paper, we developed a system, WriteAhead, that provides six types of suggestions when non-native graduate…

Current literature provides many examples of rubrics that are used to evaluate the quality of web-quest designs. However, reliability of these rubrics has not yet been researched. This is the first study to fully characterize and assess the reliability of a webquest evaluation rubric. The ZUNAL rubric was created to utilize the strengths of the…

Supporting prospective teachers to enact high quality instruction requires transforming their methods preparation. This study follows three teachers through a practice-based elementary methods course. Weekly class sessions took place in an elementary school. The setting afforded opportunities for prospective teachers to engage in cycles of…

The effectiveness of a video tutorial versus a paper-based tutorial for software training has yet to be established. Mixed outcomes from the empirical studies to date suggest that for a video tutorial to outperform its paper-based counterpart, the former should be crafted so that it addresses the strengths of both designs. This was attempted in…

The purpose of this research is to identify complex cultural dynamics in the instructional design process of a cross-sector, cross-border training environment by applying Young's (2009) Culture-Based Model (CBM) as a theoretical framework and taxonomy for description of the instructional design process under the conditions of one case. This…

Low reading levels and lack of comprehension are current problems in high school classrooms confirmed by low standardized test scores and employer feedback as comprehension problems move into the workplace with students who do not have the necessary reading skills on the job. Midwestern high school science club students served as participants in…

In this dissertation, I explore the idea of designing "flexible game systems". A flexible game system allows players (not software designers) to decide on what rules to enforce, who enforces them, and when. I explore this in the context of digital card games and introduce two design strategies for promoting flexibility. The first…

This article aims at reporting on the process of tutors training for the planning of distance education at the undergraduate Administration course at the Federal University of Uberlandia-Brazil. It describes a participatory research training of tutors in the use of concept mapping (CM) and concept mapping software to encourage individual…

A variety of computer-based models of Extensive Reading have emerged in the last decade. Different Information and Communication Technologies online usually support these models. However, such innovations are not feasible in contexts where the digital breach limits the access to Internet. The purpose of this paper is to report a project in which…

This paper builds on Grossman's notion of approximations of practice as scaled-down opportunities for preservice teachers to learn to teach by doing. The authors propose the use of media rich, collaborative web-authoring tools for preservice teachers to create, complete, or edit scenarios in which they practice particular activities of teaching,…

While investment in technology for use in the classroom is increasing, studies still do not reveal significant improvements in learning. Investigations have shown that aligning the design of learning experiences with students' needs creates synergy in the teaching and learning classroom processes. This can be achieved through orchestration, the…