Variation theory, which is a theory of learning developed by Marton and others, has quickly become popular in education research. Our purpose of this paper is to articulate the application of variation theory in the form of a number of concrete design principles that offer prescriptive and practical guidelines for improving the designs of…

The term "cognitive tool" has been used in many areas of academic specialisation, where it has taken on multiple connotations. In this historical and systematic review, we investigate the conceptualisation of cognitive tools in the learning sciences and educational technology. First, the theory of cognitive tools vis-à-vis learning and…

The design and creation of digital interactive content for teaching and learning are gaining increasing importance. As this technology advances, the need to cope with everyday demands necessitates teachers and content developers to accommodate their students in this aspect. Interactive digital content provides opportunities for students to study…

This study explored interactive interface design for writing practice, feedback, and grading in Chinese character learning systems. In the experiment, 30 novice Chinese learners were invited to perform designated learning tasks on two different learning systems. Learning times and outcomes were measured. The results indicated that improvement of…

Second language teaching and learning has experienced a change towards the use of mobile technologies inside and outside the classroom. The goal of this article is twofold: to compare and evaluate three different commercial English language learning apps (Duolingo, Babbel, and Busuu) that cover the four skills (speaking, writing, listening, and…

Learning occurs when content is accessed in a recursive process of awareness, exploration, reflection and resolution within one's social context. With the rapid adoption of mobile technologies, mobile learning (m-Learning) researchers should incorporate aspects of mobile human-computer interaction research into the instructional design process.…

This study explores whether learning management systems (LMSs) enable faculty course developers to use the reconfigurable characteristics of the software to implement the seven principles of effective teaching (Chickering & Gamson, 1987). If LMSs are to be considered pedagogically effective, these systems must help engage faculty in effective…

This paper expands the boundaries of video annotation in education by outlining the need for extended interaction in online video use, identifying the challenges faced by existing video annotation tools, and introducing Video-ANT, a tool designed to create text-based annotations integrated within the time line of a video hosted online. Several…

In a recent meta-analysis of distance and online learning, Bernard et al. (2009) quantitatively verified the importance of three types of interaction: among students, between the instructor and students, and between students and course content. In this paper we explore these findings further, discuss methodological issues in research and suggest…

Purpose: Teaching advanced technical concepts in a computer science program to students of different technical backgrounds presents many challenges. The purpose of this paper is to present a detailed experimental pedagogy in teaching advanced computer science topics, such as computer networking, telecommunications and data structures using…

Today, the Internet plays a major role in distributing learning material within third level education. Multiple online facilities provide access to educational resources. While early systems relied on webpages, which acted as repositories for learning material, nowadays sophisticated online applications manage and deliver learning resources.…

Interactive visual learning tools (IVLTs) are software environments that encode and display information visually and allow learners to interact with the visual information. This article examines the application and utility of frameworks in the analysis and design of IVLTs at the micro level. Frameworks play an important role in any design. They…

The possible benefits of agent expressiveness have been highlighted in previous literature; yet, the issue of verbal expressiveness has been left unexplored. I hypothesize that agent verbal expressiveness may improve the interaction between pedagogical agents and learners, ultimately enhancing learning outcomes. Evidence from a quasi-experimental…

Many epistemic activities, such as spatial reasoning, sense-making, problem solving, and learning, are information-based. In the context of epistemic activities involving mathematical information, learners often use interactive 3D mathematical visualizations (MVs). However, performing such activities is not always easy. Although it is generally…

Feedback has been one of the important elements of learning and teaching theories and still pervades the literature and instructional models, especially computer and web-based ones. However, the mechanisms about feedback dominating the fundamentals of all the instructional models designed for self-learning have changed considerably with the…