For the thirty-seventh year, the Research and Theory Division and the Division of Instructional Design of the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) sponsored the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented at the annual AECT Convention in Jacksonville, Florida. This year's Proceedings…

The objective of this article is to investigate the computer animation and virtual reality technologies for developing a virtual marine museum. The museum consists of three exhibition areas. The first area displays fishes in freshwater, including creeks, rivers, and dams in Taiwan. The second area exhibits marine ecology and creatures of different…

This article describes a university-sponsored experiential-based simulation, the NANO SCENARIO, to increase the public's awareness and affect attitudes on the societal implications of nanoscience and nanotechnology by bringing together diverse stakeholders' perspectives in a participatory learning environment. Nanotechnology has the potential for…

In this paper, I review both mathematics education and CSCL literature and discuss how we can better take advantage of CSCL tools for developing mathematical proof skills. I introduce a model of proof in school mathematics that incorporates both empirical and deductive ways of knowing. I argue that two major forces have given rise to this…

Two major obstacles to using problem-based learning methods with writing in elementary school classrooms are the time it takes to design the learning environment and the time required for students to interact at their own pace with ill-structured problems used to spur student writing. This study examined whether game elements could be used along…

This article discusses our teaching approach in graduate level Engineering Statistics. It is based on the use of modern technology, learning groups, contextual projects, simulation models, and statistical and simulation software to entice student motivation. The use of technology to facilitate group projects and presentations, and to generate,…

A series of computer simulations was run to measure the relationship between testlet validity and the factors of item pool size and testlet length for both adaptive and linearly constructed testlets. Results confirmed the generality of earlier empirical findings of H. Wainer and others (1991) that making a testlet adaptive yields only marginal…

The objectives of this study were to: examine the potential interaction between students' epistemological beliefs and placement in a simulation condition (constructivist versus non-constructivist) on conceptual development; and to assess whether a constructivist computer simulation experience would result in a greater degree of conceptual change…

Type I error rates of the likelihood ratio test for the detection of differential item functioning (DIF) were investigated using Monte Carlo simulations. The graded response model with five ordered categories was used to generate data sets of a 30-item test for samples of 300 and 1,000 simulated examinees. All DIF comparisons were simulated by…

An attempt was made to determine which item response theory (IRT) equating method results in the least amount of equating error or "scale drift" when equating scores across one or more test forms. An internal anchor test design was employed with five different test forms, each consisting of 30 items, 10 in common with the base test and 5…

The feasibility of quick norms derived by the procedure described by B. D. Wright and M. H. Stone (1979) was investigated. Norming differences between traditionally calculated means and Rasch "quick" means were examined for simulated data sets of varying sample size, test length, and type of distribution. A 5 by 5 by 2 design with a…

The essence of the computer revolution is yet to come, for computers are essentially generators of realities. Virtual reality (VR) is the next step in the evolutionary path; the user is placed inside the image and becomes a participant within the computational space. A VR computer generates a direct experience of the computational environment. The…

Previous work on the effects of dimensionality on parameter estimation was extended from dichotomous models to the polytomous graded response (GR) model. A multidimensional GR model was developed to generate data in one-, two-, and three-dimensions, with two- and three-dimensional conditions varying in their interdimensional associations. Test…

The effectiveness of computer simulation versus laboratory procedures in teaching logic circuits was compared. Also investigated was the sequencing of these activities with a reading assignment. Subjects were 96 undergraduates who were tested using different pretests and posttests. An analysis of variance on the data gathered showed that sequence…

P. O. Johnson and J. Neyman (1936) proposed a general linear hypothesis testing procedure for testing the null hypothesis of no treatment difference in the presence of some covariates. This is generally known as the Johnson-Neyman (JN) technique. The need for the hypothesis testing step (often omitted) as originally presented and the…