CODAP is a widely-used programming environment for secondary school data science. Its direct-manipulation-based design offers many advantages to learners, especially younger students. Unfortunately, these same advantages can become a liability when it comes to repeating operations consistently, replaying operations (for reproducibility), and also…

This autoethnographic paper is part of a special issue trying to answer the question "How to design or choose languages for programming novices?" I will describe how my programming language Hedy was created, how the initial design goals were formed, how my perspectives on learning and teaching changed along the way, and how Hedy changed…

In today's classrooms, digital technologies and digital media enable an unlimited number of learning resources. Digital tools are one type of digital technology used in pedagogical settings. By digital tools we mean software that is not produced for educational purposes, but which may be used to support learning. Using theoretical concepts from…

Popular culture images of reading tend to portray readers as solitary individuals deeply immersed in reading a single text in a quiet, undisturbed spot. Yet, in our documentation of adolescent students reading in Singapore secondary schools, we find that there are many ways and modes of reading, much of which is social in nature. Through the use…

This paper explores third-wave post-neoliberalism as an assemblage, fractured and dis/embodied, a mobile tool of governance articulated in various shapes across geopolitical sites. Post-neoliberalism is assembled alongside other key cultural shifts, such as post-truth, posthuman and the computational turn. In light of this Special Issue, this…

The focus of assessment in statistics has gradually shifted from traditional assessment towards alternative assessment where more attention has been paid to the core statistical concepts such as center, variability, and distribution. In spite of this, there are comparatively few assessments that combine the significant three types of statistical…

This report examines the outcomes of the Summer Programs, a two-pronged initiative developed by the Superintendent to provide supplemental instruction for students in need of remediation and access to selected digital application for practice outside the regular school context. The Summer Programs are comprised of seven in-class components and one…

In the Netherlands, as in many other countries, the algebraic expertise of students graduating from secondary education is an issue. The use of digital tools for algebra education is expected to change epistemologies, activity structures and student achievement. Therefore, a study was set up to investigate in what way the use of ICT in upper…

Over the last decade, Alternate Reality Games (ARGs), a form of narrative often involving multiple media and gaming elements to tell a story that might be affected by participants' actions, have been used in the marketing and promotion of a number of entertainment related products such as films, computer games and music. This paper discusses the…

This article explores the use of computer-assisted interviewing (CAI) as a tool for consulting with children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This is considered within the context of a research study which utilized one CAI programme, "In My Shoes", to investigate children and young people's views of provision, support, and participation in…

This article reports a quasi-experimental study on the effects of multimedia teaching and learning in English Literature--a subject which places high cognitive load on students. A large-scale study was conducted in 4 high-achieving secondary schools to examine the differences made to students' learning and performance by the use of multimedia and…

Automatic program evaluation is a way to assess source program files. These techniques are used in learning management environments, programming exams and contest systems. However, use of automated program evaluation encounters problems: some evaluations are not clear for the students and the system messages do not show reasons for lost points.…

In this paper, we identify key challenges faced by computer-based assessment (CBA) in secondary education and we put forward a framework of design considerations: design with the students and teachers, select the most appropriate media platform and plan an evolution rather than a revolution of prior practices. We present the CBA application…

We report here the overall results of a cluster randomised controlled trial of the use of computer-aided instruction with 672 Year 7 pupils in 23 secondary school classes in the north of England. A new piece of commercial software, claimed on the basis of publisher testing to be effective in improving reading after just six weeks of use in the…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate computer game theories for educational software. We propose a framework for designing engaging educational games based on contemporary game studies which includes ludology and narratology. Ludology focuses on the study of computer games as play and game activities, while narratology revolves around the…