Virtual reality is a rapidly growing technological innovation that continues to garner attention for use in education. This self-study of two teacher educators spans immersive head-mounted virtual reality implementation from 2014-2023 with middle-grades students, preservice teachers, and adult learners. Empirical data sources include learner…

This study intends to examine English as a foreign language (EFL) learners' attitudes toward practicing English in Second Life (SL) and to unpack the effects of avatar identities on EFL learners' sense of self-efficacy and language practices. Nine EFL learners worldwide participated in a task-based course in SL, using avatars to carry out…

Fostering learner agency is a primary goal of Integrative Computer Assisted Language Learning, a type of CALL (Warschauer, 1996) that encompasses networked learning and multimedia, including hypermedia. Although navigation has been a focus of attention in some more established CALL scenarios such as Intelligent Computer Assisted Language learning…

This article examines the affordances of virtual worlds for initiating a transformative learning experience for adults. In particular, it addresses the capacity of virtual worlds to allow creation of an alternate self which requires some level of personal self-reflection; provide atypical experiences that can initiate reflection; allow experience…

Many university administrators are unaware of the increasing use of computer technologies for educating employees. This study explored higher education administrators' perceptions of computer technology for university administrator learning. A treatment group of UC Berkeley administrative employees was assigned to use an online simulation; a…

Expectations for simulations in healthcare education are high; however, little is known about healthcare students' expectations of the learning process in virtual reality (VR) and simulation-based learning environments (SBLEs). This research aims to describe first-year healthcare students' (N=97) expectations regarding teaching, studying, and…

This Action Research project and Pilot Study was designed and implemented to improve students' hypothetical thinking abilities by exploring the possibility that learning and playing the computer game Minesweeper may inherently help improve hypothetical thinking. One objective was to use educational tools to make it easier for students to learn the…

A risk associated with the use of games in training and education is that players "game the game," instead of focusing on their learning goals. The term "gamer mode" is proposed to describe this attitude. A player with a gamer-mode attitude strives to achieve goals that are optimal for winning the game, but suboptimal with…

Higher education institutions are under significant pressure to provide affordable, sustainable approaches that will prepare their students with the skills they will need after graduation to achieve success in the 21st Century workplace. Digital Media Simulations are among the new technologies that have emerged with the promise to help…

Higher education in the U.S. has traditionally prepared students for work and social success, but with families, work, and society itself undergoing revolutionary change, is this preparation sufficient to develop the 21st-century workforce? This book explores how evolving family structures, new ways of balancing work and personal lives, and rapid…

Computers can help the range of ways learners build up their own perception. Students who collect data from the Internet can be self-directed and independent. They can select sources to study and the connections to follow. Relying on the bounds laid down by teachers, the students may be in full control of their subjects and their studies. Students…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore how professional skills training in making ethical decisions for redundancy selection, can be utilised though interactive role play, in a virtual learning environment. Design/methodology/approach: A pilot study was undertaken with a group of part time mature students pursuing a professional…

This work explores the feasibility of proposing universal design guidelines for E-training modules considering aging differences as an important factor. A controlled experiment was designed and conducted to evaluate the effects of module design characteristics on information recall, satisfaction, disorientation, and task workload, and the…

Invited as a paper from E-Learn 2009 This study compared two programmes developed as a learning tool for students to practise basic laboratory procedures. One was a Flash simulation programme, the other a Second Life virtual reality programme. A cohort of 93 bioscience students participated in the between trial. A control group was used to…

There is intense interest in computer games. A total of 65 percent of all American households play computer games, and sales of such games increased 22.9 percent last year. The average amount of game playing time was found to be 13.2 hours per week. The popularity and market success of games is evident from both the increased earnings from games,…