As teachers plan for instruction, technology integration is an important factor in the planning and implementation process. This has become imperative in a virtual learning environment for instructors to be competent (Gregory & Lodge, 2015). Problems exist with integrating technology that aligns with teaching and learning in content areas.…

The aim of this paper is to investigate the role and influence of expectations management in realising benefit success when adopting a virtual learning environment (VLE). Based on a discussion of findings from a further and higher education college in the UK, a conceptual expectations management model is developed that explores the factors…

Research into virtual worlds demonstrates that to successfully use virtual world platforms in different disciplines, certain limitations and potential difficulties of these platforms must be overcome. The current study extends previous research by investigating problems in integrating virtual worlds in education with a longitudinal observation of…

This paper focuses on methodologies of serious games deployment and evaluation. Particularly, this study will present a specific category of serious games that are based on Collaborative Virtual Environments and they aim to support Collaborative Learning. We call these serious games Collaborative Virtual Educational Games (CVEG). The paper aims to…

This descriptive case study explores the implementation of a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) in a Jewish supplemental school setting. The research was conducted to present the recollections and reflections of three constituent populations of a new technology exploring constructivist education in the context of supplemental and online…

There have been repeated calls for restructuring of schooling to take advantage of information and communication technologies (ICT). This article recognizes an increasing range of radical restructuring resulting from the co-evolution of education and digital technologies in school systems and related activity in the global ecosystem. Research of…

Wawasan Open University (WOU) was established in 2007 with the sole aim of providing affordable and accessible higher education opportunities to working adults in the fields of business, technology, education and liberal studies. As part of its Open Distance Learning (ODL) delivery, WOU provides tutorial support for students every semester through…

New technologies often have the potential for disrupting existing established practices, but nowhere is this so pertinent as in education and training today. And yet, education has been glacially slow to adopt these changes in a large scale way, and innovations seem to be imposed mainly by students' and their changing social lifestyles than…

The authors' team has been working with virtual worlds since 2006, deploying them in diverse contexts including secondary schools, special schools, vocational education and training, higher education and the community sector. Here the authors outline their operational experience of the complex web of interrelated factors involved in running…

This qualitative, descriptive case study employed the use of narrative to investigate a virtual school program in a public school district in Texas. A focus group interviewing process was used to interview the participants. Findings from this study conclude that with continued support from district leaders, along with having the appropriate…

Running Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) classes using Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) has become a high priority project for many educational institutions, as it offers opportunities for online education and support for conventional education. However, acquiring and deploying a VLE is a difficult task that concerns teachers'…

The technologies underlying virtual environments like videogames and the methodologies of the learning sciences create an important intersection for work in educational technology. Coupling these fields enables us to consider participatory learning in terms of the ways that "context" shapes a process of making meaning. In this article,…

This exploratory case study examines how three media attributes in 3-D MUVEs--avatars, 3-D spaces and bubble dialogue boxes--affect interaction in an online problem-based learning (PBL) activity. The study participants were eleven undergraduate students enrolled in a 200-level, three-credit-hour technology integration course at a Midwestern…

Our increasingly globalized world is driven by shared knowledge, and nowhere is that knowledge more important than in education. Now more than ever, there is a demand for technology that will assist in the spread of knowledge through customized, self-paced, and on-demand learning. The Handbook of Research on Innovative Technology Integration in…

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…