To aid in teaching dialogue skills a virtual simulator called "Communicate!" was developed at Utrecht University. Teachers can build scenarios for students to practice dialogues with a virtual character. In two experiments (n = 128 and 133, a year apart), we investigated if and how "Communicate!" can be an effective aid to…

Background: Although cutting-edge chemistry research can be an interesting and motivating context for students in pre-university education, few characteristics of supportive and effective learning materials based on such contexts are available. Purpose: In this study we investigated the design, implementation, and evaluation of context-based…

This contribution is situated in the discussion on sex education in the Netherlands, in relation to "Islamic Pedagogy," in particular "Islam 'and' Pedagogy," on the one side, and (religious) identity development on the other side. Islamic Pedagogy seems to be the theoretical framework of an example of developed teaching…

'Web-based and Interactive Italian' is a detailed and progressive programme developed by the author for the Maastricht University Language Centre. The course started in 2013, with the intention of catering for the variability in the number of students following the regular courses, as well as broadening the language offer using blended learning.…

Internationalization has been an important concept in higher education over the past two decades. The way that internationalization is manifest has consequences to academic disciplines, including geography. A new system of liberal arts colleges in the Netherlands has created opportunities for interdisciplinary education, representing a departure…

This article presents an overview of a newly designed course in materials development at a teacher education institute in the Netherlands. It also includes an evaluation of the course by its participants, student teachers of English as a foreign language (EFL) in Dutch secondary schools. The course overview describes the aims and objectives of the…

Multiuser immersive learning scenarios hold strong potential for lifelong learning as they can support the acquisition of higher order skills in an effective, efficient, and attractive way. Existing virtual worlds, game development platforms, and game engines only partly cater for the proliferation of such learning scenarios as they are often…

Most e-learning environments are applications in which the teacher uploads study materials that students download. This approach to e-learning discards the fact that didactic principles should be part of a broader instruction strategy aimed at achieving certain goals. It is possible for e-learning tools to support and improve didactical…

This paper discusses the requirements for implementation of computer-based learning (CBL) and presents three examples of activities related to CBL in the Netherlands in 1979-80. Problems in developing a technology for CBL materials production are discussed, and several insights behind the development of such a technology are considered: (1) it is…

The role of textbook publishing in educational reform is examined in this paper. The study evaluated a 4-year project in which three schools in the Netherlands implemented an open learning program (OLP) and created their own publishing company. Following the introduction, the second part provides a description of the OLP. The third part explains…

This article reports on the development of a teaching-learning package about information technology for teachers by the North-East London Polytechnic (Great Britain) and the University of Gronigen (Netherlands). Modules included in the package are described. (PP)

These seven papers from the section on children's libraries address such topics as library services for children, training of children's librarians, outreach programs for children, bibliographic instruction, and children's literature. Titles of the presentations are "Children's Libraries Information Services to Children, Adults and…

Based on the premise that the production strategy and the production approach have a strong impact on quality courseware development, a survey was conducted in 1987 to evaluate the development processes used for computer-assisted instruction curriculum materials. Questionnaires were sent to 64 institutions of higher education in England, the…

An extension of the 1999 Manual, "Development of Standards in Vocational Education and Training," this second volume presents the key terms and attitudes, reports on experience and knowledge in standards development collected in recent years on the basis of questions raised during the process, and suggests how to deal with the problems…

The developments in information technology and multimedia give new opportunities to increase the efficiency and quality of skills education. This paper presents three applications developed in the Netherlands to enhance professional skills learning in different areas of psychology: (1) BioPsy, an application developed to teach and train the…