One of the key trends in learning technology in recent years has been the growing interest in simulations and serious games. Much of the research into simulations and serious games has tended to focus on aspects of fun and engagement rather than on what is happening in the process to cause transferable learning. Much of it has been based on small…

Digital games were reviewed as an emerging tool in educational technology. Factors such as instructional effectiveness, time on task, relationship to curricula, student socio-economic status, violence in games, and game mechanics were considered. Despite considerable variability among studies, larger overall effect sizes for the impact of games on…

The authors present this interview with Eric Chiang, Associate Professor of Economics, Director of Instructional Technology, and Technology Director for the Online MBA Program at Florida Atlantic University. He has authored 26 peer-reviewed research publications and is the author of "CoreEconomics," an economic principles textbook now in…

Digital games for learning have quickly transitioned from a theoretical possibility, to a hyped technology, to an idea that almost seems quaint compared to advances in Biochips, Smart Robots, and self-driving cars. As a field, it is now better understand what games are good for, what they are not, and in what kinds of situations they can be…

In light of considerable debate centering on the value of higher education and its effect on student preparation for the world of work, this article describes new methods employed in teaching an introductory professional course and the outcomes of its initial offerings. This case study supports research indicating that problem-based learning is an…

If one wants to teach youth to think, one has to restrain himself from doing all their thinking for them. One has to refrain from specifying in advance what they are going to think. Yet, this is just what educational technologists are consistently guilty of doing. Educational technology is committed to excluding the possibility of anything new or…

Educators have been paying attention to the teaching potential of the 3D virtual world browsing program Second Life, and they have been using the tool to teach subjects such as arts and mathematics in the past few years. In this article, the author focuses on how to teach language arts in Second Life. Advantages and disadvantages of two Second…

Contemporary changes in pedagogy point to the need for a higher level of video production value in most classroom video, replacing the default video protocol of an unattended camera in the back of the classroom. The rich and complex environment of today's classroom can be captured more fully using the higher level, but still easily manageable,…

This article describes the educational effects of the Time To Know Digital Teaching Platform used with low socio-economic status (SES) students' in learning mathematics, Hebrew, and English as a Foreign Language (EFL) in Israel. The study described in the article is based on the assumption that one of the possible solutions for bridging the social…

An inquiry-based approach to watching videos of children engaged in learning, supported by tools that allow for frequent and close viewing, provides an opportunity for prospective teachers to develop their skills of observation and interpretation before entering the classroom. The in-depth study of videos creates a context in which teachers can…

The authors describe the generative process for using video editing for teachers' professional development. The article provides a rationale, a theoretical framework, and a critical review of the authors' work over the past five years.

The use of reflection and analysis in preparation of elementary and secondary preservice teachers has become a standard practice aimed at helping them develop the capacity to engage in intentional and systematic investigation of their practice. Editing video may be a more powerful tool than writing reflections based on memory to help preservice…

Evidence collected on the effectiveness of four educational technologies is briefly reviewed. The authors conclude that there is reasonable evidence that computer-assisted instruction can have at least a modest effect on improving learning and probably more when its instructional approaches are properly matched to instructional objectives, that…

Digital video is used to capture and assess a wide range of everyday classroom teaching practices. Generally, these applications are informal in nature and considered either risk-free or risk-neutral by teachers. Increasingly, however, captured video can be scrutinized and assessed by "others" to determine the presence and/or quality of specific…

Everything old is new again. In a recent "Point of View" editorial commentary in "Educational Technology," Richard E. Clark revisits the now-famous media-effects debate with a focus on serious games. Clark argues that serious games have little to offer that improves upon traditional methods. This article responds to those claims. While Clark's…