Virtual reality (VR) is an innovative technology that is rapidly gaining popularity in and out of the classroom. With improvements in hardware and software technology and the push for one-to-one computing, teachers have access to innovative VR supports and resources. These innovative technologies have the potential to improve instruction for…

Whether you have a well-equipped Virtual Reality (VR) lab or are still questioning how to get started, you can be sure that virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality (VR, AR, and MR) experiences are not fads soon to fade away. In that case, then what better place than the school library to "mess about" with VR/AR/MR and expand learners'…

Using innovative technologies to study Mars and the sun and other stars is one way to engage learners in learning more about our solar system and how it impacts us on a daily basis. The focus of this paper is to highlight several innovative technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality that are easily accessible by educators and…

Manipulatives offer students with disabilities access and support in classrooms. However, it is important for educators to be aware that concrete manipulatives are not the only option. Teachers serving students identified with a disability in the middle grades may consider selecting virtual manipulatives as supplement, complement, or in lieu of…

Thoughtful and intentional collaborations among small, community-curated museums, colleges, and schools have the potential to create transformative learning opportunities for all partners while also improving access to, and preservation of, museum collections. In this article, we describe the Digital Scholarship in Museum Partnerships (DSMP)…

We present a simple procedure to make an augmented reality app to visualize any chemical 3D model. The molecular structure may be based on crystallographic data or from computational modeling. This guide is made in such a way that no programming skills are needed, and the procedure uses free software and provides a way to visualize 3D structures…

Living Book--Augmenting Reading for Life, a three-year EU-funded Erasmus + project (September 2016-August 2019), exploited the affordances of augmented reality (AR) and other emerging technologies in order to address the underachievement of European youth in reading skills. The program developed an innovative approach that empowers teachers from…

The objective of our program is to foster and facilitate authentic research experiences in middle and high school science courses. We do so by providing students with a complete experience in scientific experimentation and communication. The centerpiece is a set of experiment modules in which students investigate the effects of toxic chemicals on…

Twenty-first century schools are characterized by increasing diversity and use of technology. An opportunity exists for school counselors to utilize technology to create novel and innovative classroom guidance lessons designed to facilitate cultural exploration and promote cultural understanding. This article provides a rationale for how the…

We have iteratively designed and researched five digital games focusing on Newtonian dynamics for middle school classrooms during the past seven years. The designs have evolved dramatically in terms of the roles and relationships of the formal representations, phenomenological representations, and control schemes. Phenomenological representations…

Recent years have seen a growing interest in intelligent game-based learning environments featuring virtual agents. A key challenge posed by incorporating virtual agents in game-based learning environments is dynamically determining the dialogue moves they should make in order to best support students' problem solving. This paper presents a…

The game of Plinko offers students an exciting real-world example of the applications of probability and data analysis. The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSI 2010) and the Guidelines for Assessment in Statistics Education (GAISE) (Franklin et al. 2007) suggest that students in grades 6-8 be given ample opportunities to engage in…

Seafloor exploration being done by scientists is an ideal way to introduce students to technology as a tool for inquiry. The same technology that allows scientists to share data in near real time can also provide students the tools to become researchers. NOAA's Ocean Explorer Explorations website is a rich research data bank that can be used by…

Technological advances have created amazing opportunities for people throughout the world to access and share information. These opportunities have helped to create a generation of young adolescents who want to make the most of each minute of the day, seizing opportunities to seek information and communicate at the same time. This generation is…

As teachers negotiate the integration of new literacies in the classroom, one of their greatest resources may, in fact, be their students. In this essay, the use of dialogue between educators and a student is highlighted in order to demonstrate how classrooms are evolving in the area of new literacies. In regard to the integration of new…