This study explored the effects of active learning and types of elaboration on procedure acquisition (writing database queries). Training materials emphasized elaborations of conditions for executing actions versus elaborations of the connection between conditions and actions. In the "active" conditions, participants performed structured exercises…

This activity uses video clips from a popular sitcom, "Friends," to help students grasp the relational, rule-governed, and culture-specific nature of nonverbal communication. It opens students' eyes to nonverbal behaviors that are happening on a daily basis so that they not only master the knowledge but are able to apply it. While other popular…

After becoming a podcasting convert, the author talked with other students at colleges and universities across North America about their iPod and MP3 use, their familiarity with podcasting, and how they see podcasting as part of the classroom. As more and more colleges and universities jump on board the podcasting bandwagon, it's vital that…

Although Web 2.0 technologies have been recognized as effective means of conducting group learning activities, a critical and challenging issue of Web 2.0-based learning is the lack of mechanisms for promoting information exchanges and sharing among participating students. To cope with this problem, an intelligent blog system is proposed in this…

Advances in information and communication technologies give us the ability to reach out beyond the time and place limitations of the traditional classroom. However, effective online teaching is more than just transferring traditional courses to the World Wide Web (WWW). We describe how we have used "off the shelf" software and the infrastructure…

Considers some of the implications of replacing, for the purposes of physics instruction, algebraic notation with programming language. Introduces a framework based on two theoretical constructs. Concludes that algebra-physics can be characterized as the physics of balance and equilibrium and programming-physics as the physics of processes and…

Although computer scientists understand the importance of discrete mathematics to the foundations of their field, computer science (CS) students do not always see the relevance. Thus, it is important to find a way to show students its relevance. The concept of program correctness is generally taught as an activity independent of the programming…

The Educational Object Economy (EOE) emerged from research on end-user authoring tools for multimedia software and, by 1997, developed into a library of over 2000 freely available interactive simulations for learning. The organization's original goals and its ongoing interest in alternative methods of software authoring led to continuing…

In this article, we examine the CBC/Radio-Canada series, "Canada: A People's History," for its use of empathy, specifically with regard to its portrayal of Aboriginal people. We call the empathy promoted in the series, emotive empathy, and compare it to the concept of historical empathy constructed by researchers in history education.…

Despite a growing development of virtual laboratories which use the advantages of multimedia and Internet for distance education, learning by means of such tutorial tools would be more effective if they were specifically tailored to each student needs. The virtual teaching process would be well adapted if an artificial tutor can identify the…

The test scores of spatial ability for women lag behind those of men in many spatial tests. On the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), a significant gender gap has existed for over 20 years and continues to exist. High spatial ability has been linked to efficiencies in typical computing tasks including Web and database searching, text editing, and…

This article evaluates online mathematical content used for teaching mathematics in engineering classes and in distance education for teacher training students. In the EU projects Xmath and dMath online computer algebra modules (Steplets) for undergraduate students assembled in the Xmath eBook have been designed. Two questionnaires, a compulsory…

The 10th International Conference on Educational Data Mining (EDM 2017) is held under the auspices of the International Educational Data Mining Society at the Optics Velley Kingdom Plaza Hotel, Wuhan, Hubei Province, in China. This years conference features two invited talks by: Dr. Jie Tang, Associate Professor with the Department of Computer…

"World of Warcraft" is an online computer game with over nine million players, many of them technically-minded young males. A proportion of these young males engage in spontaneous creative writing about their game adventures. They enjoy highly formulaic genres, such as the epic poem, with its complex technical requirements. This has…

This article contains a description of the organization and method of use of an active learning environment named MODeLeR, (Multimedia Object Design Learning Resource), a tool designed to facilitate the learning of concepts pertaining to object modeling with the Unified Modeling Language (UML). MODeLeR was created to provide an authentic,…