A promising method to support game-based learning is to facilitate learners' externalization of cognitive and metacognitive processes. Externalizing Problem Representation (EPR) refers to a cognitive behaviour in which a learner constructs her own representations overtly. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether learning supports…

Tablets have much to offer children with learning difficulties, but evidence of their effectiveness to teach academic skills is limited and cannot be easily separated from the quality of the software. This paper analyses data from 3 iterative cycles of designing an app for children with Down syndrome to support their awareness of quantity through…

There are many academic studies in the literature examining educational digital applications. These studies documented the positive effects of practices on attitudes and academic achievement. Information technologies which have become a part of our lives have taken their place in our education system and contributed to education system in many…

This paper presents an overview of some of Michael Cole's work, starting with his pioneering research in Liberia with the Kpelle (and later, with Sylvia Scribner, studies of literacy with the Vai, 1981), which was formative of his version of a cultural-historical psychology, his translation and interpretations of the work of L. S. Vygotsky and…

Sigmund Tobias came to the United States in 1948, after his family had fled to China from the Holocaust in Europe. His Memoir ("Strange Haven: A Jewish Childhood in Wartime Shanghai") describes that part of his life. He settled in New York, where he completed his B.A. and M.S. in School Psychology from the City College of New York, and a…

Digital games were reviewed as an emerging tool in educational technology. Factors such as instructional effectiveness, time on task, relationship to curricula, student socio-economic status, violence in games, and game mechanics were considered. Despite considerable variability among studies, larger overall effect sizes for the impact of games on…

This article presents a review of existent literature that provides insight in the effectiveness of computer learning games. Based on this research, the effectiveness of games is illustrated in detail with regard to three current perspectives on games: design characteristics of games, the process of gameplay and the reflection of specific…

English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' language use in 3-D virtual environments is a vibrant avenue that still deserves more research attention in the field of CALL. To contribute research and pedagogical implications to the current Second Life (SL) literature, this study aims to examine EFL adult learners' use of communication strategies…

There is intense interest in computer games. A total of 65 percent of all American households play computer games, and sales of such games increased 22.9 percent last year. The average amount of game playing time was found to be 13.2 hours per week. The popularity and market success of games is evident from both the increased earnings from games,…

This exploratory study investigated the influence of two recreational computer games on children's subsequent performance on computer-based instructional tasks. Examined speed, correct solutions, and cognitive processes; and suggests that the extent of recreational game influence depends on how closely the game type matches the design of the tasks…

This paper presents a cognitive theory of multimedia learning from which predictions on individual differences in learning are derived and tested. Elementary students learned how to add and subtract integers with an interactive multimedia game that included visual and symbolic representations of the arithmetic procedure. They learned either with…

Outlines curriculum reforms being made in the master's level educational technology program at San Diego State University. Topics discussed include technological changes and the roles of educational product designers; human information processing; knowledge base design; student design of educational adventure games; interactive video design; and…

Two studies to determine how students interact with two microworlds that reflect a constructivist view of learning investigated students' goals during interaction, strategies utilized to achieve their goals, changes in goals during interaction, and common patterns of interaction and learning. Concludes that well-designed games enable students to…

System-initiated adaptive advice and learner-requested nonadaptive background information were investigated in computer simulation game experiments with 64 seventh graders, 38 college students, and 80 seventh and eighth graders in Germany. Results are discussed in terms of theories of problem solving, intelligence, memory, and information…

Results of a case study of an exhibit of art and artifacts designed for children are presented. The focus of the study was to apply the principles of instructional-message design to the evaluation of the exhibit. The exhibit, "Art Inside Out: Exploring Art and Culture through Time," was displayed at the Art Institute of Chicago. Textual…