As artificial intelligence (AI) plays a more prominent role in our everyday lives, it becomes increasingly important to introduce basic AI concepts to K-12 students. Currently, most K-12 AI research focuses on introducing fundamental AI concepts using pure virtual platforms like webpages or software. However, robots, as helpful and popular tools…

Digital media and advancements in learning technologies have dramatically reshaped the landscape of K-12 education. By 2018, 96% of public schools had the infrastructure required for digital learning. This dissertation evaluates how augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) technologies are integrated into K-12 education, focusing on…

The diffusion of the virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) technological ecosystem into education is nascent. Research on VR/AR in Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 12 (PK-12) education has been focused on the technologies' effect on learning in various use cases. This study, grounded in Diffusion of Innovations theory (Rogers, 2003), uses a…

The research problem explored in this qualitative study was the lack of literature from the perspectives of K-12 music teachers on using virtual technology to instruct secondary concert bands. This study showed the challenges and successes experienced with the use of this technology and their impact on music teachers' overall view of using virtual…

As VR becomes increasingly mainstream due to lowering hardware costs and increased access to VR content, it becomes critical to fill the gap in learning sciences literature that explains how this content may be developed in alignment with targeted learning outcomes. It also becomes imperative to study the integration of VR outside the…

One of the critical roles of instructional leaders is to help teachers with technology integration. Instructional leaders should be familiar with emerging technology and understand how they can help teachers integrate new technology appropriately into their classrooms. One tool that has become increasingly popular to support student learning is…

As classrooms become more diverse and inclusive, classroom management is a consistent issue that new teachers, in particular, special education teachers report being ill-prepared for. The enactment of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA, 2015) and continued punishment referral patterns have given rise to concerns regarding the overuse of…

In general, newer educational assessments are deemed more demanding challenges than students are currently prepared to face. Two types of factors may contribute to the test scores: (1) factors or dimensions that are of primary interest to the construct or test domain; and, (2) factors or dimensions that are irrelevant to the construct, causing…

We live in a digital age and technology is constantly changing, therefore the way people learn and perceive information is starting to change. Hence, virtual learning environments may be a new and innovative way to stimulate minds. In the book "Virtually There," Stephen Heppell explains, Learning is breaking out of the narrow boxes that…

Online learning has seen an explosive growth at the K-12 level, however little research has used an experimental design approach to specifically examine the outcomes of delivery methods. This study examines what effect learning in an immersive learning environment (virtual world) has on student achievement and satisfaction with the lesson. To…

The purpose of this study was to identify science teachers' perceptions concerning the use of technology in science laboratories and identify teachers' concerns and recommendations for improving students' learning. Survey methodology with electronic delivery was used to gather data from 164 science teachers representing Texas public schools. The…

This study explored the development of student's conceptual understandings of limit and derivative when utilizing specifically designed computational tools. Fourteen students from a secondary Advanced Placement Calculus AB course learned and explored the limit and derivative concepts from differential calculus using visualization tools in the…

Through an examination of the underserved urban population, this paper takes a look at how the use of games and simulations may provide a means of closing a gap in education which has lingered for several decades. Discussion on how this engagement might look as both a class learning algebra through game programming and gameplay is reviewed. As…

Any student seeking a high school diploma from the public school system in one U.S. state must pass the state's high school graduation test. In 2009, only 88% of students at one high school in the state met the basic proficiency requirements on the science portion of the test. Because improved science education has been identified as an explicit…

Over the course of the last several decades, K-12 educational systems have begun to adopt digital technologies to support teaching and learning. These tools have enabled the rise of online schools as well as fundamentally changing practices of school leadership. However little attention has been given to how instructional leadership is changed…