Educational technology designs in developing countries mostly focus on making knowledge resources widely available, through MOOCs, repositories and computer-based tutoring. The use of digital media for cognitive augmentation, particularly interactive designs that help learners understand modelling topics in STEM, is underexplored. We report a…

Gestural recognition systems are important tools for leveraging movement-based interactions in multimodal learning environments but personalizing these interactions has proven difficult. We offer an adaptable model that uses multimodal analytics, enabling students to define their physical interactions with computer-assisted learning environments.…

The introduction of elearning often leads to an increase in the time staff spends on tutoring. To alleviate the workload of staff tutors, we developed a model for organizing and supporting learner-related interactions in elearning systems. It makes use of the knowledge and experience of peers and builds on the assumption that (lifelong) learners,…

Tutors have only limited time to support students. In this paper, we discuss a model that addresses the question of how to help students answer content-related questions. A small group of students is created, which consists of the student who asked the question and peers who should be able to answer it. Criteria used to compose the group are the…

Discusses how students learn to model in scientific contexts. Highlights include current research in science education; a computer-based simulation of a student learning to model; an example of a physics task; collaboration with another student; a dialog mechanism; and external representations. (LRW)

While simulations have widely been used to facilitate conceptual change in learning science, results indicate that significant disparity or gap between students' prior conceptions and scientific conceptions still exists. To bridge the gap, we argue that the applications of computer simulation in science education should be broadened to enable…

Describes research project being implemented in the United Kingdom that has been developed to examine the process of change in secondary school students' conceptual understandings in the physical sciences. Models of conceptual change are described, the role of computer based activities in promoting conceptual change is discussed, and software…

Discusses the nature and function of mental models, explains tools for exploratory and expressive learning, and describes a research program to be conducted in the United Kingdom for 10- to 16-year-olds that is designed to explore characteristics of students' mental models. Highlights include knowledge domains; software, including simulations; and…

Discussion of teaching complex knowledge domains through exploration highlights two experiments that investigated the educational value of a Dutch computer simulation program which models the relationship between erosion and agriculture in a developing country as part of the secondary school geography curriculum. Learning by doing versus learning…