The purpose of this article is to demonstrate how marketing educators can utilize the design-thinking process to create an engaged, high-impact learning experience for students. The guidelines of the assignment outlined in this article show how marketing students can utilize the design-thinking process in order to create a mobile application that…

Gifted adolescents may identify as "gamers" who create avatars to navigate video games and cell phone apps. Avatars provide a unique venue through which gifted teens can explore the issues of self and identity in a critical time of their development. The purpose of this article is to (a) provide an overview of what avatars are, (b)…

Completing doctoral dissertations is difficult work and may be harder for distance students physically separated from institutional and collegial supports. Inability to complete independent research contributes to doctoral student attrition. Factors impacting completion include institutional factors, student characteristics, and supervisory…

This article establishes traits of adaptable communicators in the 21st century, explains why adaptability should be a goal of technical communication educators, and shows how multimodal pedagogy supports adaptability. Three examples of scalable, multimodal assignments (infographics, research interviews, and software demonstrations) that evidence…

For many people, mobile phones are a part of modern life. Although the purpose of this technology revolves around language and communication, its application to language learning still appears to be underutilized. This is changing, as the widespread use of this handheld technology offers numerous opportunities to use functions that are ideal for…

The opening sentence in an article posted on edutechteacher.org titled "Video in the Classroom" states "In addition to being fun and motivating, video projects teach students to plan, organize, write, communicate, collaborate, and analyze (2012)." The author goes on to say "With the proliferation of webcams, phone cameras, flip cams, digital…

Changes in the U.S. Healthcare System along with the need for institutions of higher education to prepare a work force ready to address the challenges of today and tomorrow have highlighted the need to incorporate technology in its broadest sense as part of the student learning experience. In health professional education, this becomes challenging…

Auditory-based communication skills are developed at a young age and are maintained throughout our lives. However, some individuals--both young and old--encounter difficulties in achieving or maintaining communication proficiency. Biological signals arising from hearing sounds relate to real-life communication skills such as listening to speech in…

Success in today's global market requires students to attain numerous 21st-Century skills, including collaborative and communication skills, and knowledge of how to use technology to both locate and create information. The use of instructional blogging in the classroom is one way to help students develop such skills. The Children's Internet…

"The NMC Horizon Report" series is the most visible outcome of the New Media Consortium (NMC) Horizon Project, an ongoing research effort established in 2002 that identifies and describes emerging technologies likely to have a large impact on teaching, learning, research, or creative expression within every sector of education in some 65…

To strengthen the motivation of learners, the professional training sector is focusing more and more on game-based learning. In this context, the authors have become interested in the design of Learning Role-Play Game (LRPG) scenarios. The aim of this article is to improve the designers' confidence in the validity of the game-based learning…

All adults need strong social skills to find and keep a job, establish relationships, and participate fully in adult life--but building these skills can be a special challenge for people with autism, Asperger syndrome, nonverbal learning disorder, social anxiety, and other disorders affecting social learning. Give them the essential support they…

This article details the many benefits of educators' use of digital camera technology and provides an activity in which students practice taking portrait shots of classmates, manipulate the resulting images, and add language arts practice by interviewing their subjects to produce a photo-illustrated Word document. This activity gives…

The seven Favorite Assignments featured in this article were originally presented at the 2010 ABC Annual Convention, Chicago, Illinois. The reader can consider a variety of learning objectives from team building to persuasion, application of electronic media to face-to-face communication, and much more. Some Favorite Assignments take a full…

The role of technology in education is ever increasing. This article looks at students with disabilities and the problem of writing independently. Speech recognition technology offers an option, or solution, for students who have physical and/or learning disabilities and for students who cannot access and use computer keyboards or switches.…