Educational computer games provide an environment in which interactions among students, teachers, and texts differ non-trivially from those of the traditional classroom. In order to build and research computer games effectively, it is important to provide a theoretical background that adequately describes and explains learning and interactions in…

Behavioral and neurophysiological evidence suggest that attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is characterized by the impact of abnormal reward prediction error signals carried by the midbrain dopamine system on frontal brain areas that implement cognitive control. To investigate this issue, we recorded the event-related brain potential…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of game-like activities on adult learning during a computer-based simulation. This research also studied the use of visual metaphors as graphic organizers to help make the underlying science principles explicit without interfering with the interactive nature of the simulation. A total of…

Two studies, an experimental category learning task and a computational simulation, examined how sequencing training instances to maximize comparison and memory affects category learning. In Study 1, 2-year-old children learned color categories with three training conditions that varied in how categories were distributed throughout training and…

Rosenthal and Rubin introduced a general effect size index, r[subscript equivalent], for use in meta-analyses of two-group experiments; it employs p values from reports of the original studies to determine an equivalent t test and the corresponding point-biserial correlation coefficient. The present investigation used Monte Carlo-simulated…

This article reports the findings of a research project that saw researchers from interaction design and drama education come together with a group of eleven and twelve year olds to investigate the current and future complementarity of computers and live classroom drama. The project was part of a pilot feasibility study commissioned by the…

Nowhere in the current digital technology landscape is the process of "blurring the lines between media" more apparent than with the uses and applications of gaming practices and technologies. Here the overlaps between new media and media interfaces are becoming significant as games technologies and practices are becoming more pervasive as…

Common items with inconsistent b-parameter estimates may have a serious impact on item response theory (IRT)--based equating results. To find a better way to deal with the outlier common items with inconsistent b-parameters, the current study investigated the comparability of 10 variations of four IRT-based equating methods (i.e., concurrent…

This paper presents a review of literature that introduces major concepts and issues in using avatars and pedagogical agents in first- and second-person virtual environments (VEs) for learning online. In these VEs, avatars and pedagogical agents represent self and other learners/participants or serve as personal learning "guides". The…

The first purpose of this experimental study was to determine if there were effects on achievement between traditional pencil-and-paper instructional strategies and computer simulated instructional strategies used to teach interior design business ethics. The second purpose was to determine the level of engagement of interior design students using…

This study explored affective factors in learning English as a foreign language in a 3D game-like virtual world, Quest Atlantis (QA). Through the use of communication tools (e.g., chat, bulletin board, telegrams, and email), 3D avatars, and 2D webpage navigation tools in virtual space, nonnative English speakers (NNES) co-solved online…

Educators know that people learn best by doing. When students are doing something rather than reading or learning about it, they learn better. Immersive environments help students retain more information and speed up their learning. There's an enhancement in the way they learn. Immersive environments--which utilize technologies like simulations,…

Based on a categorization of simulation and gaming barriers developed in a previous study, this work seeks to explore in greater depth the composition and nature of these obstacles. It examines the interrelationships between the barriers and the impact of other contextual factors in the pedagogic environment. A series of in-depth interviews were…

Chemical process simulation is one of the most fundamental skills that is expected from chemical engineers, yet relatively few graduates have the opportunity to learn, in depth, how a process simulator works, from programming the unit operations to the sequencing. The University of Calgary offers a "hands-on" postgraduate course in…

Information technology (IT) innovations have and continue to have a significant impact on international marketing practice and customer interactions. With the marketing environment becoming increasingly dependent on technology, marketing teaching in higher education faces a challenging task of effectively leveraging technology in diverse learning…