Incorporating virtual reality (VR) technology into training environments has been effective as it allows training to remain safe, efficient, and meaningful. Welding training is no exception, with research highlighting benefits such as decreased welder anxiety, increased cost- and time-efficiency, reduction in material usage, and advanced levels of…

We report results from a driving simulator paradigm we developed to test the fine temporal effects of verbal tasks on simultaneous tracking performance. A total of 74 undergraduate students participated in two experiments in which they controlled a cursor using the steering wheel to track a moving target and where the dependent measure was overall…

Abundant prior research has compared effects of physical and virtual manipulatives on students' conceptual learning. However, most prior research has been based on conceptual salience theory; that is, it has explained mode effects by the manipulative's capability to draw students' attention to conceptually relevant (visual or haptic) features.…

Abundant prior research has compared effects of physical and virtual manipulatives on students' conceptual learning. However, most prior research has been based on conceptual salience theory; that is, it has explained mode effects by the manipulative's capability to draw students' attention to conceptually relevant (visual or haptic) features.…

There are mixed results regarding the differentiation of neurofunctional correlates of spatial abilities. Previous studies employed complex environments or alternate memory tasks which could potentially add to inconsistencies across studies of navigation. To help elucidate the existing mixed findings, we conducted a study in a simplistic…

This exploratory study investigated the usability of immersive virtual reality (VR) as a way of creating a role-play task to examine pragmatic competence, specifically the ability to produce the speech act of request. The study created a closed role-play task in two versions. One was a standard computer-based version in which participants read a…

During spatial reorientation, the use of local geometric cues (e.g., corner angles) and global geometric cues (e.g., principal axis) is differentially influenced by enclosure size. Local geometric cues exert more influence in large enclosures compared to small enclosures, whereas the use of global geometric cues is not influenced by changes in…

This study examines relative weighting of two acoustic cues, vowel duration and spectra, in the perception of high front vowels by Japanese learners of English. Studies found that Japanese speakers rely heavily on duration to distinguish /i?/ and [character omitted] in American English (AmE) as influenced by phonemic length in Japanese /ii/ and…

This study compared learning performance during and following AR and non-AR topographic map instruction and practice Two-way ANOVA testing indicated no significant differences on a posttest assessment between map type and spatial ability. Prior learning activity results revealed a significant performance difference between AR and non-AR treatment…

Recent research has demonstrated that systematic mappings between phonological word forms and their meanings can facilitate language learning (e.g., in the form of sound symbolism or cues to grammatical categories). Yet, paradoxically from a learning viewpoint, most words have an arbitrary form-meaning mapping. We hypothesized that this paradox…

Theories and methods from the prospective memory literature were used to anticipate how individuals would maintain and retrieve intentions in a continuous monitoring dynamic display task. Participants accepted aircraft into sectors and detected aircraft conflicts during an air traffic control simulation. They were sometimes required to substitute…

The Web is now a standard tool for information access and dissemination in higher education. The prospect of Web-based, simulated learning platforms and technologies, however, remains underexplored. We have developed a Web-based tutorial program (ChemVoyage) for a third-year organic chemistry class on the topic of pericyclic reactions to…

Several studies have examined realism and instructional effectiveness of physical simulations. However, very few have touched on the question of their credibility or verisimilitude, from the user's point of view. This article presents an empirical exploratory study which investigated the perceptions of potential users of a simulation-based virtual…

The IADIS CELDA 2012 Conference intention was to address the main issues concerned with evolving learning processes and supporting pedagogies and applications in the digital age. There had been advances in both cognitive psychology and computing that have affected the educational arena. The convergence of these two disciplines is increasing at a…