For the thirty-eighth time, the Research and Theory Division of 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 Indianapolis, Indiana. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

The historical research study will focus on the development and growth of virtual education programs for K-12 students, with primary emphasis on the states of Florida, California, and Pennsylvania. The term virtual education will be used interchangeably throughout this document with online courses and e-learning. The purpose of this historical…

Many people in general think that digital game environment has potential as a learning environment. However, empirical research in digital game environment and education is a still relative young field, so to create a digital learning environment where students are actively engaged in the learning process is a great challenge. In part, it has been…

With their increased popularity, games open up possibilities for simultaneous learning on multiple levels; players may learn from contextual information embedded in the narrative of the game and through the risks, benefits, costs, outcomes, and rewards of the alternative strategies that result from fast-paced decision making. Such dynamics also…

Negotiation skills are essential in everyday life, whether in a professional or personal context. Negotiation enables two parties to address misunderstandings and avoid conflicts through an exchange that depends as much on the interpersonal skills of the negotiators as the tactics employed. Acquiring these skills requires not only sound conceptual…

For the thirty-eighth time, the Research and Theory Division of 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 Indianapolis, Indiana. The Proceedings of AECT's Convention are published in two…

A few school administrators in Clovis, California, began a quest to introduce online high school courses in their school district, believing it might cost less to teach classes online than it would to teach students face to face in a classroom. They figured instead of having one teacher fielding a load of 150 students per course, an online course…

In 2001, the U.S. Department of Education and the Ministry of Education in China entered into a bilateral partnership to develop a technology-driven approach to foreign language learning that integrated gaming, immersion, voice recognition, problem-based learning tasks, and other features that made it a significant research and development pilot…

The "Convince Me" computer environment supports critical thinking by allowing users to create and evaluate computer-based representations of arguments. This study investigates theoretical and design considerations pertinent to using "Convince Me" as an educational tool to support reasoning about public policy issues. Among…