According to the most recent data from the federal Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, between 2001 and 2011, more than 120 university laboratory accidents have caused injuries (including one death) and millions of dollars in damages. Laboratory-safety lessons normally comprise lecture slides alongside occasional movies and tours of…

This design case describes the work involved in developing a digital game-based learning environment, work that was part of a PhD research project. The designer was involved in all aspects of the project: conducting research into content that was included in the game, exploring the gaming platform (Second Life), adapting scientific literature for…

Mobile technology is one of the fastest developing communications tools in the history of humankind. Perhaps now more than ever, one of the biggest questions educators and instructors face is how to engage learners in the digital age as mobile technology rapidly evolves. Current research indicates that Augmented Reality (AR) mobile learning…

The current study sought to explore the experiences of pre-service student teachers in a teaching unit in VR within a special course framework which was intended to enhance student-teacher's 21st century skills and growth processes. In particular, how their experiences working with VR affected their self-efficacy. The research population comprised…

The unstructured conversations of students who chatted with Freudbot in his Second Life virtual office over a 32-month period were examined in order to better understand the nature of the virtual relationship between students and conversational agents (CA) as historical figures. This research builds on past work that examined these conversations…

This article aims to determine the effect of a virtual chemistry laboratory on university student achievement. The article describes a model of a laboratory course that includes a virtual component. This virtual component is viewed as a tool of student pre-lab autonomous learning. It presents electronic resources designed for a virtual laboratory…

This paper presents a three-year participatory action research project focusing on the graduate level course entitled Visual Learning in 3D Animated Virtual Worlds. The purpose of this research was to understand "How the virtual world processes of observing and creating can best help students learn visual theories". The first cycle of…

Augmented Reality (AR) is recognized as one of the most important developments in educational technology for both higher and K-12 education as emphasized in Horizon report (Johnson et al., 2016, 2015). Furthermore, AR is expected to achieve widespread adoption that will take two to three years in higher education and four to five years in K-12…

"Virtual reality" adds a new dimension to problem-based learning (PBL) environments in the architecture and building construction educations, where a realistic and lifelike presence in a building enables students to assess and discuss how the various solutions interact with each other. Combined with "Building Information…

Although cadavers constitute the gold standard for teaching anatomy to medical and health science students, there are substantial financial, ethical, and supervisory constraints on their use. In addition, although anatomy remains one of the fundamental areas of medical education, universities have decreased the hours allocated to teaching gross…

Researchers have indicated that the collaborative problem-solving space afforded by the collaborative systems significantly impact the problem-solving process. However, recent investigations into collaborative simulations, which allow a group of students to jointly manipulate a problem in a shared problem space, have yielded divergent results…

Computational thinking is a component of the Science and Engineering Practices in the Next Generation Science Standards, which were adopted by some states. We describe the activities in a high school chemistry course that may develop students' computational thinking skills by primarily using Excel, a widely available spreadsheet software. These…

This paper gives an account of an experiment in which thirty-three high school students of ages 17-19 developed spreadsheet numerical models of satellite and space probe motion. The models are free to download. A survey was carried out to find out the students' opinion of the lessons.

We place collaborative student engagement in a nontraditional perspective by considering a novel, more interactive educational environment and explaining how to employ it to enhance student learning. To this end, we explore modern technological classroom enhancements as well as novel pedagogical techniques which facilitate collaborative learning.…

The present study investigates the impact of utilizing virtual laboratory environments combining dynamically linked concrete and abstract representations in investigative activities on the ability of students to comprehend simple and complex phenomena in the field of electric circuits. Forty-two 16- to 17-year-old high school students participated…