Employment of idioms is essential to reach higher English expressive levels, especially for English as Foreign Language (EFL) learners. However, English idioms are challenging for both instructors and learners because the complex content of idioms depends on understanding their cultural context. Most mobile language applications are for vocabulary…

The purpose of this study was to give effective assessments of three major physics animations to upgrade college students' learning achievements and attitudes. All college participants were taken from mechanical and civil engineering departments who joined this physics course during the 2011 academic year. Three prime objectives of physics…

Animated agents are virtual characters who demonstrate facial expressions, gestures, movements, and speech to facilitate students' engagement in the learning environment. Our research developed a courseware that supports a XML-based markup language and an authoring tool for teachers to script animated pedagogical agents in teaching materials. The…

This study applied storytelling in the English as a foreign language (EFL) classroom in order to promote speaking skills. Students were asked to practice speaking EFL through producing individual and interactive stories with a Web-based multimedia system. We aimed to investigate an effectiveness of applying individual and interactive storytelling…

The present study investigated the effects of providing subtitles and taking enotes on cognitive load and performance. A total of 73 English-as-a-Foreign-Language (EFL) undergraduates learned brain anatomy and cognitive functions through multimedia programs. We used a 2 (subtitle/no) x 2 (taking enotes/no) factorial design to test the following:…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative effectiveness of two different learning modes; namely, a computer animation self-directed learning approach and a paper version of the self-directed learning approach, to 5th-graders' number sense development. Two 5th-grade classes, 30 students each, were selected from a public elementary…

Studies on using still images and dynamic videos in multimedia annotations produced inconclusive results. A further examination, however, showed that the principle of using videos to explain complex concepts was not observed in the previous studies. This study was intended to investigate whether videos, compared with pictures, better assist…

This study examined the impact of e-book text-tracking design on 4th graders' (10-year-old children's) learning of Chinese characters. The e-books used in this study were created with Adobe Flash CS 5.5 and Action Script 3.0. This study was guided by two main questions: (1) Is there any difference in learning achievement (Chinese character…

The purpose of this study is to examine the effects of reflective thinking effects in the process of designing software on students' learning performances. The study contends that reflective thinking is a useful teaching strategy to improve learning performance among lower achieving students. Participants were students from two groups: Higher…