Experiential learning allows students to connect previous experiences with new ideas. Second Life (SL) is a virtual world that allows students to simulate real-world experiences. SL was utilized as an educational tool in an agricultural risk and crisis communications course. Weekly journal entries pertaining to the SL simulation were analyzed to…

This dissertation has two primary concerns: (i) evaluating the uncertainty and prediction capabilities of a nanodiamond drug delivery model using Bayesian calibration and bias correction, and (ii) determining conceptual difficulties of multi-scale analysis from an engineering education perspective. A Bayesian uncertainty quantification scheme…

Competency standards require baccalaureate nursing graduates to demonstrate knowledge, understanding, and the ability to solve complex problems. In an effort to achieve these program outcomes, educators seek empirical evidence related to the learning process and the effect of innovative teaching strategies, such as simulation, on the learner.…

This paper reports on three primary school students' explorations of 3D rotation in a virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) named VRMath. When asked to investigate if you would face the same direction when you turn right 45 degrees first then roll up 45 degrees, or when you roll up 45 degrees first then turn right 45 degrees, the students…

Through an examination of the underserved urban population, this paper takes a look at how the use of games and simulations may provide a means of closing a gap in education which has lingered for several decades. Discussion on how this engagement might look as both a class learning algebra through game programming and gameplay is reviewed. As…

The internationally recognized series of "Horizon Reports" is part of the New Media Consortium's Horizon Project, a comprehensive research venture established in 2002 that identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact over the coming five years on a variety of sectors around the globe. This volume, the…

An accurately calibrated item bank is essential for a valid computerized adaptive test. However, in some settings, such as occupational testing, there is limited access to test takers for calibration. As a result of the limited access to possible test takers, collecting data to accurately calibrate an item bank in an occupational setting is…

According to a 2002 study by the U.S. Department of Education, the percentage of "traditional students" on college campuses is declining. Students increasingly are delaying enrollment, attending college part time, working full time, financially independent, and single parents. In this paper, we explore the extent to which sociologists are adapting…

Experienced teachers, tasked with mentoring, often find themselves inundated with large amounts of didactic information as they prepare for guiding new interns. In an effort to develop training that would both prepare new mentors and revitalize experienced mentors, a state Educational Professional Standards Board enlisted the help of instructional…

The school quasi-market in French-speaking Belgium is characterised by segregation. Efforts to apply measures that encourage greater social mixing have met with stiff resistance. In 2008 and 2009, turbulence was caused by the application of the "social mixing" law influencing the registration procedures. The purpose of this article is to…

This paper addresses the potential for increased deployment of immersive virtual worlds in higher geographic education. An account of current practice regarding popular culture in the geography classroom is offered, focusing on the objectification of popular culture rather than its constitutive role vis-a-vis place. Current e-learning practice is…

The current study proposes a new procedure for separately estimating slope change and level change between two adjacent phases in single-case designs. The procedure eliminates baseline trend from the whole data series before assessing treatment effectiveness. The steps necessary to obtain the estimates are presented in detail, explained, and…

Questionnaires were completed by 5th-, 8th-, and 11th-grade public schools students in rural and suburban school districts and by undergraduates at two universities in the United States (n = 1,242). They were asked about their orientation to video games--the amount of time they played, their motives for doing so, and the game types they…

This paper reviews existing methods used to address questions about interactivity, cognition and learning in multimedia learning environments. Existing behavioural and self-report methods identified include observations, audit trails, questionnaires, interviews, video-stimulated recall, and think-aloud protocols. The limitations of these methods…

The role of critical and creative thinking has been debated within the field of instructional design. Through an instructional design and development project we have identified how critical and creative thinking are essential to the instructional design process. This paper highlights a recent project focused on a virtual Native American village…