The past few years has seen a proliferation of novice programming tools. The availability of a large number of systems has made it difficult for many users to choose among them. Even for education researchers, comparing the relative quality of these tools, or judging their respective suitability for a given context, is hard in many instances. For…

Students with special education have difficulties to develop cognitive abilities and acquire new knowledge. They could also need to improve their behavior, communication and relationships with their environment. The development of customizable and adaptable applications tailored to them provides many benefits as it helps mold the learning process…

This paper presents both the pedagogical design principles and the challenges faced during the development of a mobile app, Chinese Characters First Steps, to support recognising, learning and practising writing Chinese characters at beginners' level, including the difficult balance between pedagogy and technical affordances. We also present the…

Computer programming skills constitute one of the core competencies that graduates from many disciplines, such as engineering and computer science, are expected to possess. Developing good programming skills typically requires students to do a lot of practice, which cannot sustain unless they are adequately motivated. This paper reports a…

This research demonstrates the design of a Joyful Classroom Learning System (JCLS) with flexible, mobile and joyful features. The theoretical foundations of this research include the experiential learning theory, constructivist learning theory and joyful learning. The developed JCLS consists of the robot learning companion (RLC), sensing input…

Educational materials of embedded systems are currently used in many educational institutions. However, they have difficulties in arousing the interest of students. One of the reasons is that a poor CPU (central processing unit), which has been loaded in the current materials, cannot execute the multimedia processing. In order to make the…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate computer game theories for educational software. We propose a framework for designing engaging educational games based on contemporary game studies which includes ludology and narratology. Ludology focuses on the study of computer games as play and game activities, while narratology revolves around the…

A study investigated software choices of graduate-level clinicians in a university reading clinic to determine computer use and effectiveness in literacy instruction. The clinic involved students of varying ability, ages 7-12, using 24 Power Macintosh computers equipped with "ClarisWorks,""Kid Pix,""Student Writing…

Due to the opportunities provided by the Internet, people are taking advantage of e-learning courses and during the last few years enormous research efforts have been dedicated to the development of e-learning systems. So far, many e-learning systems are proposed and used practically. However, in these systems the e-learning completion rate is…

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 paper describes how a Wayne State University (Michigan) multimedia design team is applying Keller's ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction) Model of Motivational Design to the entire process of design, development, and evaluation of multimedia courseware. The ARCS Model has been applied to the prototype module and is being…

This study describes the use and assesses the benefits of a virtual learning environment (VLE)-enhanced independent language learning program (ILLP), based on the "WebCT" platform, for three groups of first- and second-year Italian students. It considers the positive outcomes of the program for the students' learning abilities. These outcomes…

Essays on computer-assisted language learning (CALL) include: "Computer-Enhanced Language Learning Environments" (Joy Egbert, Chin-chi Chao, Elizabeth Hanson-Smith); "Theory and Research Interaction via Computers" (Joy Kreeft Peyton); "Classroom Practice: Creating Interactive CALL Activities" (Joy Egbert); "CALL…