Collaborative problem solving (CPS) has been shown to both engage and benefit students' learning of mathematics. However, there is evidence that group work is not always easy to facilitate, in part because educators lack details about learners' engagement during group work: the processes of problem solving involved, and how these are engaged. In…

When learning is virtual and students' webcams are turned off, interaction between students and teachers compared to an in-person classroom can fall short. The reasons some students keep their webcams off are numerous and compelling from an equity lens perspective (Yu 2020a): The history of policing in the United States points to an increased use…

The aim of this article is to increase understanding of the development of spatial practices in virtual learning environments. The spatial change and development in 38 small-group e-discussions taken from a data set of a yearlong 8th-grade humanities course are described and analyzed. We show that the focus on spatial changes in computer-supported…

This paper describes a mixed-methods investigation into whether an asynchronous, virtual collaboration with Japanese peers helped pre-service social studies teachers in the U.S. demonstrate civic competence as it relates to international and global education. After the collaboration, most students described themselves as better-prepared world…

The purpose of this action research was to improve reading comprehension and student engagement in a hybrid learning environment as measured by performance on reading comprehension assessments and student self-reporting surveys. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, I conducted classes for the 2020-2021 school year in a hybrid model. In my ninth grade…

Multiple-source inquiry that involves collaboration and deliberation is a complex construct; accordingly, valid measurement of these related competencies should require students to demonstrate their collaborative inquiry and social deliberation skills as part of an integrated performance. In this article, we report findings from the first phase of…

Distance education has historically contained little or no learner-learner interactions. Currently the Internet allows for unprecedented levels of learner-learner interaction and has the potential to transform how students learn online. However, many courses offered online focus more on flexibility and independence than on interaction and…

This think piece by Carolyn Alexander-Bennett is a reflection of her keynote speech at DEANZ2016 conference, which was held from 17-20th April at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. In her speech Carolyn revisits the issues, developments, and technology trends that led to the birth of FarNet (an online cluster of schools catering for the…

This article puts forward a three related case study series, using a Virtual Reality Learning Environment (VRLE) with a view to supporting the development of students' ideation skills in conventional primary and secondary education. This learning environment is fairly new and therefore it is necessary to examine its educational uses and determine…

Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) are often used to support learning in formal and informal educational contexts. A technology-based educational experience consists of several elements: content, syllabus, roles, sequence of activities, assignments, assessment procedures, etc. that must be aligned with the affordances of the technologies to…

In a classical instructed language classroom setting, the practicing of communication situations is too often limited to producing isolated phrases and sentences without actually testing their relevance for the intended action. An example is describing and finding a route. In this paper, results of the early pilots with a collaborative virtual…

This paper reports on the use and potentials of Learning Platform (LP) technologies for organising learning in English primary and secondary schools. It reports on the findings of qualitative research on the benefits of LPs based on data from case studies in 12 "early adopting" English primary and secondary schools. The paper reports…

This research project aimed to understand and explore the ways electronically networked (e-networked) tools can support authentic science inquiry in junior secondary classrooms in order to address concerns about student engagement in science. The research questions for this study were: (1) What are the existing ideas, experiences and visions that…

Purpose: This study examines students' approaches towards learning university-level mathematics and how a technology-enhanced environment is received by the students transitioning from secondary to tertiary level mathematics. Method: The study was conducted in a private university in Malaysia, which provides an interactive virtual learning…

As a global cyberinfrastructure, the Internet makes authentic digital problem spaces like educational virtual environments (EVEs) available to a wide range of classrooms, schools and education systems operating under different circumstantial, practical, social and cultural conditions. And yet, if the makers and users of EVEs both have a hand in…