The aim of this study is to design and develop a Physically Interactive Learning Environment, the PILE system, by integrating video-capture virtual reality technology into a classroom. The system is designed for elementary school level English classes where students can interact with the system through physical movements. The system is designed to…

This research study compares the impact of a computer-based diglot reader with that of a sophisticated, computer-based, drill and practice program on second language acquisition. The affective benefits as well as depth and breadth of vocabulary development were examined. The diglot method, originally conceived by Burling, introduces second…

Economic pressures on universities and the emergence of new technologies have spurred the creation of new systems for delivering engineering laboratories in education, in particular simulations and remote-access laboratory systems. Advocates of simulation argue that physical labs needlessly consume university space and students' time. However,…

This paper summarizes our analysis of the complexity of ratio problems at Grades 6 and 7, and reports a two-year experiment related to the teaching and learning of rational numbers and proportionality in these grades. Two classes were followed and observed. Part of the teaching material was common to both classes, mainly the objectives and the…

This study investigated the effects of using Romanized spellings on beginner-level Japanese vocabulary learning. Sixty-one first-semester students at two universities in Arizona were both taught and tested on 40 Japanese content words in a computer-assisted language learning (CALL) program. The primary goal of the study was to examine whether the…

Expanded captions are designed to enhance the educational value by linking unfamiliar words to one of three types of information: vocabulary definitions, labeled illustrations, or concept maps. This study investigated the effects of expanded captions versus standard captions on the comprehension of educational video materials on DVD by secondary…

A study examined whether implementing reading computer assisted instruction compared to traditional reading instruction will produce more effective comprehension at the elementary school level. Subjects, 30 fifth-grade boys and girls in a low socioeconomic area of Brooklyn, New York, were divided into experimental and control groups. Subjects in…

This report presents the statistical results of two pre- and post-test measures of learning arising out of two different second language computer assisted language learning (CALL) contexts. Current uses of the computer in foreign language learning reflect two distinct sets of assumptions about the object of learning and the processes of learning…

The combined effects of orienting activities and levels of practice on learning from interactive video were examined in this study. The 72 college students who participated in the study were randomly assigned to either a group that received an orienting activity (i.e., a brief statement designed to prepare learners for the information to come) or…

The pedagogical strategies of human tutors in problem solving domains are described and the possibility of incorporating these techniques into computerized tutors is examined. GIL (Graphical Instruction in LISP), an intelligent tutoring system for LISP programming, is compared to human tutors teaching the same material in order to identify how the…

This report on the use of the computer conferencing system CoSy begins with a summary of its application at the Open University in 1988, and describes the changes made for its use in 1989. An evaluation based on both quantitative statistics of usage and qualitative data from interviews and conference comments is made and compared with results from…

Two variables that designers should consider when developing computer-based instruction (CBI) text screens are text density, which manipulates the context of the information presented, and screen density, which is a measurement of the amount of information presented at one time on the screen. A study on text density was designed to identify…

A study examined the quantity and quality of ideas produced in freshman composition students' writing to determine whether computer assisted instruction (CAI) stimulates invention as well as or better than current invention instruction in traditional classrooms. Two CAI programs were used: QUEST, the systematic program that examines an item/event…

This discussion first analyzes major claims of a cognitive-developmentalist perspective on the use of microcomputers in early childhood education. Five topics are specifically addressed: microcomputers and intellectual structures, microcomputers as cultural events, microcomputers and strategy repetoires, instruction and the self-construction of…

The international development of computer-based education (CBE) is discussed in terms of its current status, problems, and future prospects. The present pattern of CBE activity reflects the global pattern of industrialization; however many developing nations are interested or involved in CBE efforts. Four problem domains are discussed in the…