For educational purposes it is not necessary to use expensive commercial-grade equipment to teach students about commonly used sensors. Schools frequently have limited funds for acquiring educational materials; therefore, purchasing sensors identical to those used in large-scale industry is not an option. By purchasing small-scale components that…

Doing and learning science are social activities that require certain language, activities, and values. Both constitute what Gee (2005) calls Discourses. The language of learning science varies with the learning context (Lemke, 2001,1990). "Science for All Americans" (AAAS, 1990) and "Inquiry and the National Science Education…

The purpose of the course presented here is to introduce freshmen to embedded systems using LEGO Mindstorms, under an ANSI-C programming environment. The students build their own LEGO robots, make programs for them using ANSI-C, and operate them. By creating these LEGO robots, the students become more motivated, learning the basic concepts of…

Cognition, faculty related to perception, imagination, memory, and problem solving, refers to internal mental processes through which sensorial input is acquired, elaborated, used, and stored. One of its importances relies on the fact that it affects in a direct way the learning potential. It has been shown that, even thou cognitive processes…

As digital devices play a more critical role in daily life than ever, more opportunities arise for innovative learning technologies--a trend on full display in the "Educational Media and Technology Yearbook for 2012." This latest edition, volume 37, from the Association for Education, Communication, and Technology (AECT) notes the most…

This article presents an innovative project in the context of remote experimentation applied to control engineering education. Specifically, the authors describe their experience regarding the analysis, design, development, and exploitation of web-based technologies within the scope of automatic control. This work is part of an inter-university…

As robot technologies develop, many researchers have tried to use robots to support education. Studies have shown that robots can help students develop problem-solving abilities and learn computer programming, mathematics, and science. However, few studies discuss the use of robots to facilitate the teaching of second languages. We discuss whether…

In today's teaching and learning approaches for first-semester students, practical courses more and more often complement traditional theoretical lectures. This practical element allows an early insight into the real world of engineering, augments student motivation, and enables students to acquire soft skills early. This paper describes a new…

For the thirty-ninth time, the Research and Theory Division of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes.…

These proceedings contain the papers of the 18th International Conference on Cognition and Exploratory Learning in the Digital Age (CELDA 2021), held virtually, due to an exceptional situation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, from October 13-15, 2021, and organized by the International Association for Development of the Information Society…

With the current curriculum focus on correlating classroom problem solving lessons to real-world contexts, are LEGO robotics an effective problem solving tool? This present study was designed to investigate this question and to ascertain what problem solving strategies primary students engaged with when working with LEGO robotics and whether the…

Emergent learning describes learning that occurs when participants interact and distribute knowledge, where learning is self-directed, and where the learning destination of the participants is largely unpredictable (Williams, Karousou, & Mackness, 2011). These notions of learning arise from the topologies of social networks and can be applied to…

This study examines teacher interactions with boys and girls in single-gender technology classes. We analyzed transcripts of videotapes of instruction, interviews with the teachers and students, student questionnaires, and final robot programs. Girls and boys differed in a number of ways, and teachers explained their differing interactions with…

For a kindergarten teacher trying to find a new way to help his/her students learn about shapes and patterns or a high school science teacher hoping to bring ecology alive, there is a tool that could be just right for them. This article presents five learning tools that have the potential to transform lessons: (1) Lego Education's WeDo Robotics…

In this article, the author describes the technology education program at Southern Lehigh High School, Center Valley, Pennsylvania. The school district is presently providing an educational program known for its excellence and forward-looking perspective, which is sensitive to the changing needs of its students. Within the technology education…