This study investigates the role of embodiment when learning a technical procedure in immersive virtual reality (VR) by introducing a framework based on immersion and interactivity. The goal is to determine how increasing the levels of immersion and interactivity affect learning experiences and outcomes. In a 2 × 2 factorial design, 177 high…

Computational chemistry instructional activities are often based around students running chemical simulations via a graphical user interface (GUI). GUI-based activities offer many advantages, as they enable students to run chemical simulations with a few mouse clicks. Although these activities are excellent for introducing students to the…

Visual program simulation (VPS) is a new, interactive form of educational program visualisation, in which learners use graphical controls to direct a program's execution rather than simply watching an animation of it. In this article, we report on a qualitative empirical study of novice programmers learning through VPS. From an analysis of…

The Association Supporting Computer Users in Education (ASCUE) is a group of people interested in small college computing issues. It is a blend of people from all over the country who use computers in their teaching, academic support, and administrative support functions. Begun in 1968 as the College and University Eleven-Thirty Users' Group…

This study investigated the relationship between the use of a three-dimensional Virtual Reality Learning Environment for Field Trip (3DVLE[subscript (ft)]) system and the achievement levels of senior high school earth science students. The 3DVLE[subscript (ft)] system was presented in two separate formats: Teacher Demonstrated Based and Student…

Based on a categorization of simulation and gaming barriers developed in a previous study, this work seeks to explore in greater depth the composition and nature of these obstacles. It examines the interrelationships between the barriers and the impact of other contextual factors in the pedagogic environment. A series of in-depth interviews were…

The form factors of handheld computers make them increasingly popular among K-12 educators. Although some compelling examples of educational software for handhelds exist, we believe that the potential of this platform are just being discovered. This paper reviews innovative applications for mobile computing for both education and entertainment…

Technology-dependent teaching strategies can exploit the currently underused capacities of media-rich Web 2.0 technology to enable student engagement and support higher order thinking. In particular, Web 2.0 technologies support learners' opportunities to coconstruct ideas/knowledge and ways in which they can add their own interpretations in to…

Commercial computer games contain "physics engine" components, responsible for providing realistic interactions among game objects. The question naturally arises of whether these engines can be used to develop educational materials for high school and university physics education. To answer this question, the author's group recently conducted a…

The authors have created a software system called the CAVEman, for the visual integration and exploration of heterogeneous anatomical and biomedical data. The CAVEman can be applied for both education and research tasks. The main component of the system is a three-dimensional digital atlas of the adult male human anatomy, structured according to…

The article presents a brief overview of the Neighbourhood Game Design Project, a studio-based curriculum intervention aimed at engaging students in the design of place-based mobile games and interactive stories using geo-locative technologies (for example, GPS enabled cell phones). It describes the three curricular components that defined the…

This article presents the results of a three-year study of "Gamestar Mechanic" (www.gamestarmechanic.com), a flash-based multiplayer online role-playing game developed for the MacArthur Foundation's digital media learning initiative by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Gamelab in New York. The game's objective is to help children…

Background: Many of the potential benefits of using virtual worlds for teaching and learning are difficult to define and often become overly focused on the functionality of the technology or on its ability to support informal or "social" forms of learning. Purpose: The aim of the paper is to highlight the experiential nature of virtual…

Presents the results of a forum on the use and misuse of computer games and simulations. Questions from History Microcomputer Review (HMR) readers are edited and then presented to a panel of history professors who answer them individually. (BSR)

This study is aimed at presenting a critical overview of recent research studies on the use of educational online games as collaborative learning environments in Tertiary Education (TE), namely higher education and vocational training, with a view to identifying: a) the elements that online games should include in order to support fruitful and…