A distinct feature of educational games using augmented reality (AR) is that the game is played through physically interacting with the environment, whereas physical interaction is typically rather limited in other digital games. Understanding and performing the interactive game mechanics can be cognitively demanding. Adding pre-training could…

Virtual reality (VR) can promote design performance, and may generate a high cognitive load and affect creative design thinking as well. In order to examine the effect of VR application on cognitive load and engineering design creativity, this study recruited 81 eighth-grade students as participants and employed a non-equivalent-groups…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the affordances of participatory simulations by comparing students' models of engagement and science learning outcomes in a multi-team participatory simulated game (MPSG) and a single-team participatory simulated game (SPSG). Two versions of a mobile-based game about marine fishery management were…

We engaged 47 eighth-grade students in a newly developed learning environment that integrates mobile augmented reality (AR) technology to support students' learning of nuclear energy use and radiation pollution, a topic related to a socioscientific issue (SSI) that involves complex reasoning considering scientific evidence and multiple…

This study investigated the effects of metaconceptually-enhanced, simulation-based inquiry learning on eighth grade students' conceptual change in science and their development of science epistemic beliefs. Two experimental groups studied the topics of motion and force using the same computer simulations but with different simulation guides: one…

Evidence for cognitive benefits of simulated versus physical experiments is unclear. Seventh grade participants (n = 147) reported their understanding of two simple pendulum problems (1) before conducting an experiment, (2) immediately following experimentation, and (3) after a 12-week delay. "Problem type" was manipulated within…

Current studies have reported that secondary students are highly engaged while playing mobile augmented reality (AR) learning games. Some researchers have posited that players' engagement may indicate a flow experience, but no research results have confirmed this hypothesis with vision-based AR learning games. This study investigated factors…

Computer-based multimedia presentations employing animated agents (avatars) can positively impact perceptions about engineering; the current research advances our understanding of this effect to pre-college populations, the main target for engineering outreach. The study examines the effectiveness of a brief computer-based intervention with…

For the forty-first time, 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 Kansas City, Missouri. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two volumes. Volume 1 contains twenty-seven…

This study examined how middle school students constructed their understanding of the mitosis and meiosis processes at a molecular level through multimedia learning materials presented in different interaction and sensory modality modes. A two (interaction modes: animation/simulation) by two (sensory modality modes: narration/on-screen text)…