The "Educational Media and Technology Yearbook" is dedicated to theoretical, empirical, and practical approaches to educational media development. All chapters are invited and selected based on a variety of strategies to determine current trends and issues in the field. The 2011 edition highlights innovative Trends and Issues in Learning…

There has been an increasing interest in the use of computer-mediated communication (CMC) in problem-based learning. One line of research has been to introduce synchronous, or simultaneous, communication attempting to create text-based digital real-time interaction. Compared with face-to-face (F2F) communication, CMC may be a poorer medium…

Introduces a project for elementary school students in which students build a robot by following instructions and then write a computer program to run their robot by using LabView graphical development software. Uses ROBOLAB curriculum which is designed for grade levels K-12. (YDS)

Teachers who have tried problem-based historical inquiry have often found its demands overwhelming. Both teachers and students need a support structure to assist them with the inquiry process. The Persistent Issues in History (PIH) Network seeks to nurture and support a national community of teachers who engage their students in problem-based…

GeoThentic, an online teaching and learning environment, focuses on engaging teachers and learners in solving real-world geography problems through use of geospatial technologies. The design of GeoThentic is grounded on the technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK) framework as a metacognitive tool. This paper describes how the TPACK…

This study examines online messages in a discussion forum that a group of K-12 history teachers used to discuss curriculum implementations as part of their professional development. It has 3 main research foci. First, it focuses on identifying the types of assistances provided to the teachers in an online forum. Second, it examines teachers'…

Despite the challenges inherent in adopting problem-based learning (PBL) in the middle school classroom, successful PBL teachers are able to find suitable solutions. In this exploratory study we examined the perceptions and practices of five successful middle school PBL teachers regarding the specific difficulties encountered with PBL and the…

As instructors move further into the incorporation of 21st century technologies in adult education, a new paradigm of digitally-enriched mediated learning has emerged. This book provides a comprehensive framework of trends and issues related to adult learning for the facilitation of authentic learning in the age of digital technology. This…

The Spanish educational system will require certain changes in order to achieve the Bologna objectives for the European Higher Education Area, including a more professional profile, with new activities and roles for both students and teachers, who must assume new skills that will affect concepts and attitudes related to the teaching and learning…

The traditional, didactic lecture is under attack from diverse quarters. With its origins rooted in the emergence of orality, the lecture now stands as only one of a plethora of educational communication tools, and has been subject to criticism particularly by constructivists for failing to deliver deep and effective learning experiences. This…

The purpose of this study is to examine the potential of using computer databases as cognitive tools to share learners' cognitive load and facilitate learning in a multimedia problem-based learning (PBL) environment designed for sixth graders. Two research questions were: (a) can the computer database tool share sixth-graders' cognitive load? and…

This instructor's edition provides an overview of Problem-Based Learning (PBL). PBL organizes students into teams that work on projects to achieve the learning objectives embedded in each PBL project. The focus of this PBL project is managing technological change. The project is structured around a high-impact problem--one that has the potential…

Discussion of problem-based learning (PBL) focuses on the design and implementation of an undergraduate instructional technology course for teacher preparation grounded in PBL principles. Students examined problems teachers may have integrating technology into instructional and/or professional activities, developed strategies to eliminate the…

Examines 20 of the most important issues for professionals in the field of educational technology including learning, policy, social, technology, and future issues. Describes how these issues have been effectively taught in a college course using problem-based learning approaches and speculates on what kind of issues may soon become important.…

Research on help seeking with a computer coach providing on-demand help has not produced fully adequate models of the process from a cognitive perspective. The present study postulates a model of help seeking from a cognitive perspective and tests this model in a learning situation characterized as problem-based and computer-supported. The…