Tangible user interfaces (TUIs) are frequently used to teach children abstract concepts, in science and mathematics. TUIs offer a natural and immediate form of interaction that promotes active and hands-on engagement and allows for exploration and reflection. Tangible objects are representational artifacts in their essence, and they increase the…

Introduction: In contemporary information societies, reading digital text has become pervasive. One of the most distinctive features of digital texts is their internal connections via hyperlinks, resulting in non-linear hypertexts. Hypertext structure and previous knowledge affect navigation and comprehension of digital expository texts. From the…

Many interesting research and design questions occur at the intersections of traditional disciplines, yet most coursework and research programs for undergraduate engineering students are focused on one discipline. This leads to underutilization of the potential in better preparing students through multidisciplinary projects. Identifying this…

In recent years, massive open online Courses (MOOCs) as an online instruction format have attracted educators' attention in higher education. While there are many news reports and blog entries about MOOCs, evidence-based research is still emerging. Research examining the learners' perspective on taking a MOOC is scarce but very much needed. This…

The computer-based "Graduate Record Examinations"® ("GRE"®) revised General Test includes interactive item types and testing environment tools (e.g., test navigation, on-screen calculator, and help). How well do test takers understand these innovations? If test takers do not understand the new item types, these innovations may…

This study examines the relationships between cognitive styles of field dependent learners with their attitudes towards e-learning (distance education) and instructional behavior in e-learning instruction. The Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) and the attitude survey (for students' preferences) towards e-learning instruction as distance education…

We present CSTutor, a sketch-based interface designed to help students understand data structures, specifically Linked Lists, Binary Search Trees, AVL Trees, and Heaps. CSTutor creates an environment that seamlessly combines a user's sketched diagram and code. In each of these data structure modes, the user can naturally sketch a data structure on…

The majority of adaptive and intelligent tutoring systems (AITS) are dedicated to a specific domain, allowing them to offer accurate models of the domain and the learner. The analysis produced from traces left by the users is didactically very precise and specific to the domain in question. It allows one to guide the learner in case of difficulty…

Introduction: This study aims to understand the interactions of perception, effort, emotion, time and performance during the performance of multiple information tasks using Web information technologies. Method: Twenty volunteers from a university participated in this study. Questionnaires were used to obtain general background information and…

Implementing Web-based educational environment requires not only developing appropriate architectures, but also incorporating human factors considerations. User interface becomes the major channel to convey information in e-learning context: a well-designed and friendly enough interface is thus the key element in helping users to get the best…

Although the influence of colour on size perception has been known for a century, there is only limited research on interventions that can reduce this effect. This study was therefore undertaken in order to identify appropriate interventions and propose design guidelines for information visualisation, especially in applications where size…

Online recordings of lectures provide students with anytime-anyplace access to lectures. Research shows that students prefer courses accompanied by online recordings and an increasing number of universities provide recorded lectures. This paper presents the results of a study into the use of recorded lectures at two universities in the…

To investigate the most efficient way to represent text in reading Chinese on computer displays, three typographic variables, character size (41[feet] arc/24 pixels and 60[feet] arc/32 pixels), character spacing (1/4 and 1/8 character width) and font type (Kai and Ming), were manipulated. Results showed that the reading speed for Chinese…

Website quality measurement tools have been largely static and have struggled to determine relevant attributes of user satisfaction. This study compares and contrasts attributes of user satisfaction based on usability guidelines seeking to identify practical easy-to-administer measurement tools. The website users assessed business school homepages…

The need to educate a competitive workforce is a global problem. In the US, for example, despite billions of dollars spent to improve the educational system, approximately 35% of students never finish high school. The drop rate among some demographic groups is as high as 50-60%. At the college level in the US only 30% of students graduate from…