Lectures tend to be a largely passive experience with respect to student learning and it has been shown that engaging students in their own learning can increase their understanding. Quizzes have been shown to be a mechanism that improves the student learning experience, and other key factors such as a competitive environment, enjoyment, and a…

Developing children as successful learners is a key aim of "A Curriculum for Excellence" in Scotland. This paper presents qualitative results from an eight week exploratory field study in which a class of ten year olds made their own computer games. The analysis focuses on the development of aspects of successful learning as identified…

Educators and learning theorists suggest that play is one of the most important venues for learning, and games a useful educational tool. This study considers game activity preferences of middle school-aged children, so that educational games might be made more appealing to them. Based on children's activity modes identified in our prior research,…

The Video Game Development program is designed and developed by leaders in the Austin video game development industry, under the direction of the ACC Video Game Advisory Board. Courses are taught by industry video game developers for those who want to become video game developers. The program offers a comprehensive approach towards learning what's…

Increasing evidence indicates adolescents are likely to occupy their leisure time with online games. This study investigates the influences of leisure satisfaction on life satisfaction among adolescent online gamers. The self-completed market survey questionnaire employed is comprised of two sections: the first is Internet usage frequency, while…

As many teachers of communication come to realize, students often operate under the misconception that the effective use of language consists primarily of memorizing and applying the rules and regulations of grammar. Even worse, some students believe that they must inherit a talent for language and that without a genetic predisposition, they can…

This article explores the question, "When should you mail in your entries to a sweepstakes in order to have the best chance of winning?"

The first challenge of accomplishing the goals of any successful instructional system depends on accurately assessing learners and leveraging the information to improve learning (e.g., Conati, 2002; Park & Lee, 2003; Shute, Lajoie, & Gluck, 2000; Snow, 1994). This paper describes an approach for modeling key competencies and developing…

Education within Second Life frequently recapitulates the "sage on the stage" as students sit their avatars down in chairs in the virtual world and listen to or read an instructor's lecture while watching a slideshow. This conceptual article explores alternative active learning techniques supporting independent and collaborative learning…

Confronting alcohol abuse is a challenge for most higher education institutions. Each year, students are admitted to hospitals for issues arising from the misuse of alcohol. The deaths of some engaged in alcohol related activities is especially worrisome. Factors such as age and financial standing could impact the likelihood of abuse. So-called…

Over the course of the last several decades, K-12 educational systems have begun to adopt digital technologies to support teaching and learning. These tools have enabled the rise of online schools as well as fundamentally changing practices of school leadership. However little attention has been given to how instructional leadership is changed…

Assessment of complex task performance is crucial to evaluating personnel in critical job functions such as Navy damage control operations aboard ships. Games and simulations can be instrumental in this process, as they can present a broad range of complex scenarios without involving harm to people or property. However, "automatic"…

Preschool and kindergarten educators know that strong oral language skills must be in place before children can learn to read. In "Before They Read: Teaching Language and Literacy Development through Conversations, Interactive Read-Alouds, and Listening Games," Cathy Puett Miller helps educators teach those early literacy skills with engaging…

Faculty members from a university teacher education department partnered with a local school district to develop a summer camp program for children at-risk. This four week summer camp for elementary students provides reading and math intervention to rising first graders. This article discusses the math aspects of the camp, including camp lessons,…

The purpose of this study is to identify and categorize the perceptions of young adults before we allocate the resources to design, develop, and implement digital game-based learning in higher education institutions in Taiwan. Q-methodology was conducted for this study because it is a quantitative analysis of subjective data. Thirty young adults…