Virtual reality (VR) can provide access to otherwise inaccessible aspects of the world and thus promote science learning. We developed a VR learning tool about the water cycle, with 11 lessons for classroom teaching at the primary level. We assessed prior knowledge before a four-week intervention and learning outcomes directly after the…

Purpose: Speech understanding in noise and horizontal sound localization is poor in most cochlear implant (CI) users with a hearing aid (bimodal stimulation). This study investigated the effect of static and less-extreme adaptive frequency compression in hearing aids on spatial hearing. By means of frequency compression, we aimed to restore…

Short-term memory (STM) and working memory (WM) capacity, which are at the centre of information processing, are significant predictors of learning in both children with typical hearing (TH) and hearing loss. We compared the performance of long-term cochlear implant (CI) users with their typical hearing (TH) peers on verbal short-term memory…

Given the role of education in shaping social ideology, there is value in considering how learning spaces affect students' perceptions of inclusivity and social justice. This paper posits that ability as a central focus in education can intersect with marginalization arising from race, gender, class, and indigeneity, towards potential…

Twenty students who earned A or B course-grades in the proof unit(s) of a secondary course that addressed proof in geometry were asked to work on two proof tasks while sharing their thinking aloud and using smartpens. Students were classified into two categories: those who were successful with both proofs and those who were unsuccessful with both…

Introduction: Individuals with visual impairments may use long canes for estimating distances and detecting gaps, obstacles, and texture patterns. The study presented here investigated whether length perception with canes is influenced by cane material. Methods: Visually impaired, sightedblindfolded, and sighted individuals (n = 30 for each group)…

Purpose: Cognitive screening tools to identify patients at risk for cognitive deficits are frequently used by clinicians who work with aging populations in hearing health care. Although some studies show improvements in performance on cognitive screening exams when hearing loss intervention is provided in the form of a hearing aid or cochlear…

To examine how individuals with visual impairments understand space and the way they develop cognitive maps, we studied the differences in cognitive maps resulting from different methods and tools for spatial coding in large geographical spaces. We examined the ability of 21 blind individuals to create cognitive maps of routes in unfamiliar areas…

Introduction: As the number of people with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) is continuously increasing, rehabilitation and engineering researchers have identified the need to design sensory-substitution devices that would offer assistance and guidance to these people for performing navigational tasks. Auditory…

Navigational and reaching spaces are known to involve different cognitive strategies and brain networks, whose development in humans is still debated. In fact, high-level spatial processing, including allocentric location encoding, is already available to very young children, but navigational strategies are not mature until late childhood. The…

Novel trends and innovations have enhanced contemporary educational environments. When applied properly, these computing advances can create enriched learning opportunities for students. "Mobile Technologies and Augmented Reality in Open Education" is a pivotal reference source for the latest academic research on the integration of…

Most of the spatial information needed by sighted people to construct cognitive maps of spaces is gathered through the visual channel. Unfortunately, people who are blind lack the ability to collect the required spatial information in advance. The use of virtual reality as a learning and rehabilitation tool for people with disabilities has been on…

Neurocognitive processes such as executive functioning (EF) may influence the development of speech-language skills in deaf children after cochlear implantation in ways that differ from normal-hearing, typically developing children. Conversely, spoken language abilities and experiences may also exert reciprocal effects on the development of EF.…

Purpose: To establish the age at which children can complete tests of spatial listening and to measure the normative relationship between age and performance. Method: Fifty-six normal-hearing children, ages 1.5-7.9 years, attempted tests of the ability to discriminate a sound source on the left from one on the right, to localize a source, to track…

It seems intuitively obvious that active exploration of a new environment would lead to better spatial learning than would passive visual exposure. It is unclear, however, which components of active learning contribute to spatial knowledge, and previous literature is decidedly mixed. This experiment tests the contributions of 4 components to…