Modern Information Technology (IT) infrastructure and open-source software (OSS) have revolutionized our ability to access and process data, enabling us to tackle increasingly complex problems and challenges. While these technologies provide substantial benefits, they often expose users to vulnerabilities that can severely damage individuals and…

This dissertation examines the interaction patterns that happen in an online learning environment. While many studies look at online learning through the lens of the learner or the learning environment, few studies look at the interaction patterns that happen through the digital traces captured by computational tools. Based on the conceptual…

Artificial intelligence (AI) has become more prevalent in education in recent years. Specifically, the perception of generative AI chatbots that generate essays based on the input of student prompts has invoked mixed reviews among educators. The negative learning implications of generative AI chatbots include plagiarism, academic dishonesty, and…

Preschool teachers use their ideals as a sifter to comb through their most pertinent funds of knowledge related to mealtimes with young children. The purpose of this two-cycle action research study was to investigate and enhance child-feeding professional learning opportunities--targeted at early childhood educators working with young children…

The purpose of this mixed-method survey-based study addresses the underexplored area of undergraduate student perceptions of artificial intelligences (AI) impact in academia, specifically within the FCSEI in Romania. This research study will provide comprehensive findings on how AI can revolutionize teaching methodologies, learning processes, and…

Dialogue act (DA) classification plays an important role in understanding, interpreting and modeling dialogue. Dialogue acts (DAs) represent the intended meaning of an utterance, which is associated with the illocutionary force (or the speaker's intention), such as greetings, questions, requests, statements, and agreements. In natural language…

A number of studies in mobile learning research have shown that the use of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) and many different types of technology within language learning contexts can potentially influence learning of students, particularly the younger generation. In the current study, two participant groups -- EFL teachers and parents…

Language is one of the hallmarks of intelligence, demanding explanation in a theory of human cognition. However, language presents unique practical challenges for quantitative empirical research, making many linguistic theories difficult to test at naturalistic scales. Artificial neural network language models (LMs) provide a new tool for studying…

Higher education is rapidly changing, and instructors are striving to match the needs of 21st-century digital learners. There is a growing demand and shift from traditional classes to the online mode of instruction for most post-secondary learning institutions. Additionally, with the recent pandemic (COVID-19), post-secondary institutions had to…

Competency-based education (CBE) has become well-accepted as a powerful way to personalize learning. Today's advanced technologies have enhanced CBE even further. Practitioners in the field are seeking means to take advantage of technology to increase CBE's effectiveness and efficiency, especially for adult learners. Microlearning and digital open…

While information theory is typically considered in the context of modern computing and engineering, its core mathematical principles provide a potentially useful lens through which to consider human language. Like the artificial communication systems such principles were invented to describe, natural languages involve a sender and receiver, a…

Language learners' identity construction and language learning through narratives (Norton 2010; Johnson 2015) and multimodal technologies (Lam 2006; White 2007) have been found to be effective ways to facilitate ESL learning. Additionally, Multimodal pedagogies and narrative practices in the language classroom facilitate L2 learning, investment in…

Although mobile learning using smartphones and applications or apps have the potential to inform and educate individuals in an outdoor environment, users may find that connectivity issues and basic knowledge of outdoor environments, including both physical and emotional, could be limited by what this technology provided. This study provided my…

The purpose of this research study was to determine if trial and error learning was an effective, practical, and efficient learning method for Technology, Engineering, and Design Education students at the post-secondary level. A mixed methods explanatory research design was used to measure the viability of the learning source. The study sample was…

People learn from prior experiences. We first learn how to use a spoon and then know how to use a different size of spoon. We first learn how to sew and then learn how to embroider. Transferring knowledge from one situation to another related situation often increases the speed of learning. This observation is relevant to human learning, as well…