Reading Plus[R] is a web-based reading intervention that uses technology to provide individualized scaffolded silent reading practice for students in grade 3 and higher. Reading Plus[R] aims to develop and improve students' silent reading fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. Reading Plus[R] is designed to adjust the difficulty of the content…

Online education is increasing in popularity at the college and high school levels with several studies showing the comparability of e-learning and more traditional methods. Middle school students' ability to function well with this mode of instruction has not been established in the literature, although the circumstances of Generation Z growing…

Video podcasts allow students to control when, where, and what they learn, as well as the pace of learning. Considerable research has been conducted in higher education on video podcast use, but not in middle schools (grades six to eight). This study investigated the use of worked example video podcasts in mathematics classrooms with students 11…

Education in an online setting is an increasingly popular method of instruction. Previous studies comparing college or high school student performance in online and face-to-face courses found, in most cases, similar achievement between conditions. However, research is lacking regarding middle school students' academic performance and attitudes…

Given the strong relationship between number line estimation accuracy and math achievement, might a computer-based number line game help improve math achievement? In one study by Rittle-Johnson, Siegler and Alibali (2001), a simple digital game called "Catch the Monster" provided practice in estimating the location of decimals on a…

The purpose of this paper is to develop different guided writing strategies based on media richness theory and further evaluate the effects of these writing strategies on younger students' writing attitudes in terms of motivation, enjoyment and anxiety. A total of 66 sixth-grade elementary students with an average age of twelve were invited to…

This article discusses the theoretical framework, instructional design, formative assessment results, capacity for national distribution, and generalization of the Blending Assessment with Instruction Program (BAIP) model to other content areas such as science. The BAIP, developed and validated at the University of Kansas, employs technology to…

Geospatial and Robotics Technologies for the 21st Century (GEAR-Tech-21), teaches science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) through robotics, global positioning systems (GPS), and geographic information systems (GIS) activities for youth in grades 5-8. Participants use a robotics kit, handheld GPS devices, and GIS technology to…

This study developed an educational online game, Super Delivery, targeting knowledge about saving electricity, and conducted case studies of eight sixth-grade students using this game to explore the factors influencing the effectiveness of students' knowledge acquisition in digital game-based learning (DGBL). This study followed Miles and…

This study investigates differences between collaboration methods in two summer enrichment classes for students entering the sixth grade. In one treatment, students used pair programming. In the other treatment, students engaged in frequent collaboration, but worked on their own computer. Students in the two treatments did not differ significantly…

This study is aimed at investigating students' annotation behaviors and their effects on learning achievement with pre-reading (reading before class) exercises and Web-based sharing mechanisms. An 8-week quasi-experiment was conducted with 125 sixth-grade elementary school students. The study shows the following results. First, a significant…

Using an explanatory mixed methods design, this study uses the National Standards of Quality for Online Courses to measure the extent to which teachers in a blended middle school and a fully online supplemental high school are designing quality online learning environments for students. As a part of fully online graduate coursework, graduate…

This study reports an adaptive digital learning project, scientific concept construction and reconstruction (SCCR), that was developed based on the theories of Dual Situated Learning Model (DSLM) and scientific reasoning. In addition, the authors investigated the effects of an SCCR related to a "combustion" topic for sixth grade students…

Relying on a series of four experiments, F. J. Boster, G. S. Meyer, A. J. Roberto, C. Inge, and R. E. Strom (2006) demonstrated that students exposed to videostreaming exhibited more improvement in examination performance than control students. In extension, this study tests the effect of using videostreaming with a very different topic…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the design and implementation of music courseware that features a music search system that uses impression keywords. The paper applies the courseware to "Kansei" (sensibility) development for elementary and junior high school students. The objectives of this courseware are to cultivate…