As university lecturers, we often struggle to provide our students with good quality feedback in a consistent manner. This is usually caused by the increasing imbalance in teacher-student ratios (Hounsell et al., 2008), as well as the pressure of academic life and the lack of time (Sadler, 2010). In addition, assessment practices should be…

Motion planning is a core problem in robotics concerned with finding feasible paths for a given robot. Motion planning algorithms perform a search in the high-dimensional continuous space of robot configurations and exemplify many of the core algorithmic concepts of search algorithms and associated data structures. Motion planning algorithms can…

This study examines the effects of interactive and learning structures enabled by different Learning Management Systems (LMS) on satisfaction and learner engagement in online courses. An LMS can support or hinder active engagement, meaningful connections between segments of the course, easy communication, and formative feedback by making it easier…

In fall 2007, J.B. Speed School of Engineering at the University of Louisville joined the ranks of universities requiring the purchase of Tablet PCs for all new entering students. This article presents a description of how the Department of Engineering Fundamentals incorporated Tablet PCs into their instruction, a review of the literature…

The Universal eLearner is an online integrated learning module, under development, that incorporates accessible technology, universal design for learning, and best practices for online education. The American Foundation for the Blind and Bridge Multimedia have just completed a three-year grant through the National Institute on Disability and…

The paper analyzes three major problems encountered by our team as we endeavored to turn problem solving examples in the domain of programming into highly reusable educational activities, which could be included as first class objects in various educational digital libraries. It also suggests three specific approaches to resolving these problems,…

This paper presents both the design and the pilot formative evaluation study of a computer-based problem-solving environment (named LECGO: Learning Environment for programming using C using Geometrical Objects) for the learning of computer programming using C by beginners. In its design, constructivist and social learning theories were taken into…

In this article we report on an 8-year process that included three successive iterations of the following cycle: (a) development of instructional technology, (b) formative evaluation, and (c) modification of the technology. From the first formative evaluation to the last, our students told us that they found heavily contextualized language…

Noting that formative research on educational computer software has traditionally focused on comprehensibility, appeal, and usefulness, this report argues that these three elements tell us very little about the actual role that the formative researcher plays in the instructional design process. This paper outlines the complexity of the tasks and…

Describes the formative evaluation of a prototype, computerized, interactive learning and practice program for university students in theoretical computer science. Found the program to provide a rich learning environment. (EV)

This paper reviews a series of formative assessment studies that were conducted to inform and evaluate a large-scale instructional software development project at the University of Missouri-Rolla (UMR). The three-year project, entitled "Taking the Next Step in Engineering Education: Integrating Educational Software and Active Learning,"…

Solutions Unlimited is a computer/video project developed by the Agency for Instructional Television (AIT) in collaboration with a consortium of state, provincial, and local education agencies. The goal of the project is to improve the problem-solving skills of students in grades 6 through 8 through the use of brief instructional television…

This study presents a formative evaluation of "The Intelligent Physics Tutor," an interactive software program designed to improve high school physics students' problem-solving skills. The purposes of this evaluation were to describe how the "Tutor" was used in the pilot high school class; to determine teacher and student…

Describes a two-year Canadian project devoted to the development and formative evaluation of a graduated series of four graphics-based programing environments for young children, called pre-Logo Microworlds. Field tests of software and instructional materials are described, and classroom observations and teacher and student interviews are…

An evaluation of a CD-ROM multimedia component of a first grade science curriculum, the IBM/CTW "Through the Woods," is presented. The presentation offers hands-on activities related to forest ecology, such as virtual nature walks. Children participating in the study (n=95) displayed ability to use the technology, a high degree of affect…