An educational escape activity was developed, embedding elements of both augmented and immersive virtual reality technologies, in an active learning environment. The mental visualization of abstract concepts can be difficult for students, inhibiting their ability to reason cogently regarding important topics of stereochemistry. Consequently, an…

simSchool is a game-based, virtual, and interactive tool that allows pre-service teachers to acquire new skills while constructing knowledge through experimentation with learning situations. Pre-service teachers develop know-how--or heuristic knowledge--through repeated practice in the "Personality Plus Higher-Order Thinking" module to…

The advent of the Internet has been instrumental in producing new Game Based Learning (GBL) tools where education and games converge. Alternate Reality Games (ARGs) are one such GBL tool. Interactive narrative games that use the Internet as a central communications platform, ARGs challenge players to collaboratively collate a fragmented story.…

Though there is considerable research to support using Game-Based Learning (GBL) in higher education, its implementation is lagging behind K-12 education by an order of magnitude. By considering the current state of GBL from leadership, primary consumer, academic and technical perspectives, the authors frame the main issues involved with…

When kids play video games, they want to perfect their skills, advance to the next level, and become a master. It is the kind of focus that many teachers would love to see in their classrooms. From elementary through high school, computer games are being woven into the curriculum to engage students in new ways. However, many schools lack the…

These proceedings contain the papers and posters of the 15th International Conference on Mobile Learning 2019, which was organised by the International Association for Development of the Information Society and co-organised by the University of Applied Sciences, in Utrecht, The Netherlands, April 11-13, 2019. The Mobile Learning 2019 Conference…

Operation ARA (Acquiring Research Acumen) is a computerized learning game that teaches critical thinking and scientific reasoning. It is a valuable learning tool that utilizes principles from the science of learning and serious computer games. Students learn the skills of scientific reasoning by engaging in interactive dialogs with avatars. They…

Engagement in game design tasks can help preservice teachers develop pedagogical and technical skills for teaching and promoting critical thinking and problem-solving skills. Through the design process, preservice teachers not only exercise critical-thinking and problem-solving skills, but also learn about an instructional method to support their…

Discusses the use of computer adventure games and simulations to teach children critical thinking. Provides lists of mid-elementary to adult-level adventure games (with manufacturer and current price) and software helpful in teaching critical thinking (indicating name of package, manufacturer, age level, and current price for each entry). (JN)

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 "Darfur is Dying" website was the winning entry of a contest called Darfur Digital Activist, launched by MTV's 24-hour college network (mtvU). The site describes the winning game as "a narrative-based simulation where the user negotiates forces that threaten the survival of his or her refugee camp. It offers a faint glimpse of what it is like…

Games and Simulations in Online Learning: Research and Development Frameworks examines the potential of games and simulations in online learning, and how the future could look as developers learn to use the emerging capabilities of the Semantic Web. It presents a general understanding of how the Semantic Web will impact education and how games and…

Use of educational games to supplement traditional classroom lectures is purported by some researchers to increase interest, motivation, and retention, as well as to improve higher order thinking and reasoning skills. This paper reviews proposed benefits of using games as cognitive tools, and discusses the complexities of assessing those benefits.…

Introduces "SimCity 2000," a computer simulation, as a tool for teaching urban geography. Argues that, combined with other activities, it can enhance computer literacy, geographical knowledge, and critical skills. Notes gender differences in students' previous exposure to the software; argues that instructors must consider this when…

We are delighted to welcome you to the International Conference on Education and New Developments 2015-END 2015, taking place in Porto, Portugal, from 27 to 29 of June. Education, in our contemporary world, is a right since we are born. Every experience has a formative effect on the constitution of the human being, in the way one thinks, feels and…