The major goal of this study was to empirically compare text-plus-mobile phone learning using an integrated 2D barcode tag in a printed text with three other conditions described in multimedia learning theory. The method examined in the study involved modifications of the instructional material such that: a 2D barcode was used near the text, the…

The purpose of the study is to investigate the potential benefits of using animation, visual cueing, and their combination in a multimedia environment designed to support learners' acquisition and retention of scientific concepts and processes. Undergraduate participants (N = 119) were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental conditions…

New information and communication technologies (ICTs) provide educators and learners with an innovative learning environment to stimulate and enhance the teaching and learning process. In this context, novel educational concepts such as blended learning are being developed. In the present paper, we present the results obtained from a blended…

Two experiments explored the role of vicarious "self" explanations in facilitating student learning gains during computer-presented instruction. In Exp. 1, college students with low or high knowledge on Newton's laws were tested in four conditions: (a) monologue (M), (b) questions (Q), (c) explanation (E), and (d) question + explanation (Q + E).…

Hypothesis development is a complex cognitive activity, but one that is critical as a means of reducing uncertainty during ill-structured problem solving. In this study, we examined the effect of metacognitive scaffolds in strengthening hypothesis development. We also examined the influence of hypothesis development on young adolescents'…

Technological developments have affected teachers' instructional techniques: technology has allowed the concept of education to be viewed from different perspectives. The aim of this research is to integrate Web 2.0 tools, which are sparsely found on the internet (each tool is on a different site), into education and see if it positively affects…

Multimedia sound is both durable and resistant to interference and forgetting. Yet sound alone is insufficient to learn from multimedia, hence the need for purposeful advice on how to enhance learning from technology with sound. The advice ranges from descriptions of the playback system to balancing the input to structuring the function of a…

The power of a web-based forensic science game to teach content and motivate STEM careers was tested among secondary students. More than 700 secondary school students were exposed to one of the three web-based forensic cases for approximately 60 min. Gain scores from pre-test to a delayed post-test indicated significant gains in content knowledge.…

This paper reports an extended analysis of the study reported in [Wood, C. (2005). "Beginning readers' use of 'talking books' software can affect their reading strategies." "Journal of Research in Reading, 28," 170-182.], in which five and six-year-old children received either six sessions using specially designed talking books or six sessions of…

This paper describes a framework which was developed for carers (teachers and parents) to help them create personalised social stories for children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs). It explores the social challenges experienced by individuals with ASDs and outlines an intervention aimed at revealing the hidden code that underpins social…

Critical user interface design features of computer-assisted instruction programs in mathematics for students with learning disabilities and corresponding implementation guidelines were identified in this study. Based on the identified features and guidelines, a multimedia computer-assisted instruction program, "Math Explorer", which delivers…

A mobile and multimedia game designed for History education was analyzed in terms of how it is designed and how it was applied as a narrative learning environment. In History education, narrative can be argued to be very useful to overcome fragmentation of the knowledge of historical characters and events, by relating these with meaningful…

The effectiveness of a reading intervention using the whole-word multimedia software "Oxford Reading Tree (ORT) for Clicker" was compared to a reading intervention using traditional ORT Big Books. Developing literacy skills and attitudes towards learning to read were assessed in a group of 17 struggling beginner readers aged 5-6 years. Each child…

The purpose of this case study is to better understand the relationships between Web usability and students' perceived learning in the design and implementation of Web-based multimedia (WBMM) tutorials in blended courses. Much of the current research in this area focuses on the use of multimedia as a replacement for classroom instruction rather…

Research findings show the difficulties younger students have in working with graphs. Higher mental operations are necessary for a skilled interpretation of abstract representations. We suggest connecting a concrete representation of the modeled problem with the related graph. The idea is to illustrate essential mental operations externally. This…