Given his role as Director of Technology, it may come as a surprise that Devon Jacobs is a staunch supporter of a no phones/limited technology approach for young students. In fact, when applying for his position at North Country School/Camp Treetops, he was drawn to the school's commitment to a reduced screen time, reduced media environment for…

Mobile learning is the newest and emerging technology embraced by universities and this seems to be fast establishing itself as the preferred mode of learning in many countries. However, ways in which mobile devices are used to meet learning goals seem under-researched and may require more effort from researchers, especially in the context of…

Machine learning (ML) models are fundamentally shaped by data, and building inclusive ML systems requires significant considerations around how to design representative datasets. Yet, few novice-oriented ML modeling tools are designed to foster hands-on learning of dataset design practices, including how to design for data diversity and inspect…

The current study seeks to support early adults in maintaining mindfulness practices to ease discomfort during their transition to college. Early adulthood is well-matched for introducing mindfulness practice, and summer bridge programs are a logical place to introduce these skills. Mindfulness programs for college students have shown promising…

Text Steps was a project piloted by Ascendium Education Group in 2015 and expanded to 13 school districts in Wisconsin between 2018 and 2020. Its goal was to combat summer melt through a texting program. Summer melt, in which college-intending high school students are unable to enroll in the fall for any number of reasons, is a well-documented…

This case study (Stake, 1995) investigated children's learning experiences in a media-inspired summer camp. The purpose of the study was to explore how educational media can be used to extend children's learning experiences "across" the screens (television, mobile, tablet) and "beyond" these screens through hands-on maker…

Research on how the use of social robots helps improve English as Foreign Language (EFL) young learners' pronunciation and willingness to communicate (WTC) is understudied. This study developed a robot and tangible objects (R&T) learning system and examined its impact on elementary EFL learner's English pronunciation and WTC. The R&T…

Purpose/Objectives: Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) participation rates often underserve the number of children in the community needing access to food. Each year, District 87 in Bloomington, Illinois offers children 18 years old and younger a free lunch at six feeding sites throughout the community as part of the SFSP. During the summer of…

This study aimed to explore the implementation of project-based learning (PBL) principles in informal STEM education, focusing on the experiences of Underrepresented Racially Minoritized (UUREM) girls during a week-long residential STEM summer camp. Utilizing a single case study design, the researchers investigated how PBL facilitates engagement…

Early adolescents often hear messages like "Don't spend too much time on your phone!" Yet little is known about how middle school youth regulate their smartphone usage. To help fill that gap, the authors held a week-long summer workshop to explore early adolescents' perspectives on positive and healthy social media usage. A…

Parental text messaging interventions are growing in popularity to encourage at-home reading, school-attendance, and other educational behaviors. These interventions, which often combine multiple components, frequently demonstrate varying amounts of effectiveness, and researchers often cannot determine how individual components work alone or in…

Introduction: The current work probes the effectiveness of multimodal touch screen tablet electronic devices in conveying science, technology, engineering, and mathematics graphics via vibrations and sounds to individuals who are visually impaired (i.e., blind or low vision) and compares it with similar graphics presented in an embossed format.…

The current feasibility study examined the adherence, reliability, and assessment potential of an evidence-based game-like mobile Monitoring Tool (Akili Interactive Labs), to monitor 100 participants' cognition for eight sessions at a summer camp for children with special needs. A validated measure of attention was administered at baseline. In the…

Traditionally, face-to-face bullying has been major problem among adolescents, especially those deemed at-risk. With the rise in the use of and advancements in mobile technologies, the Internet 2.0, and smart phones, a new form of bullying has been on the rise resulting from the increase in access to technologies and by association, social media…

Parental text messaging interventions are growing in popularity to encourage at-home reading, school-attendance, and other educational behaviors. These interventions, which often combine multiple components, frequently demonstrate varying amounts of effectiveness, and researchers often cannot determine how individual components work alone or in…