This article aims at discussing how Dynamic Decision Network (DDN) can be employed to tackle the challenges in modeling temporally variable scientific inquiry skills and provision of adaptive pedagogical interventions in INQPRO, a scientific inquiry exploratory learning environment for learning O'level Physics. We begin with an overview of INQPRO…

As part of the project titled "Hands-On Heads-On: The Effective Use of Manipulatives Both Virtual and Physical" being undertaken at Edith Cowan University, there was an investigation into the use of virtual manipulatives and the interactive whiteboard (IWB). Virtual manipulatives may be defined as a virtual representation of a physical…

A meta-analysis was performed to synthesize existing research comparing the effects of computer applications (i.e., computer-assisted instruction, computer simulations, and Web-based learning) versus traditional instruction on elementary school students' achievement in Taiwan. Forty-eight studies were located from four sources, and their…

This study examined the effects of manipulating the modality (text-only, voice-only, voice+text) of a tutorial and restriction (restricted vs. unrestricted) of a simulation's interface on retention and transfer of tutorial content. The tutorial prepared novice students to use Packet Tracer, a simulation developed by Cisco that teaches network…

Researchers in information systems and technology-mediated learning have begun to examine how virtual world environments can be used in learning and how they enable learning processes and enhance learning outcomes. This research examined learning processes in a virtual world learning environment (VWLE). A research model of VWLE effects on learning…

Drawing on game-design principles and an underlying situated theoretical perspective, we developed and researched a 3D game-based curriculum designed to teach water quality concepts. We compared undergraduate student dyads assigned randomly to four different instructional design conditions where the content had increasingly level of…

Central limit theorem (CLT) is considered an important topic in statistics, because it serves as the basis for subsequent learning in other crucial concepts such as hypothesis testing and power analysis. There is an increasing popularity in using dynamic computer software for illustrating CLT. Graphical displays do not necessarily clear up…

Computer simulations under three conditions of polytomous differential item functioning (DIF) compared the ability of three different statistical procedures to detect nonuniform DIF. The procedures were a nominal and an ordinal extension of the Mantel-Haenszel statistic, and logistic discriminant function analysis. Results showed that only the…

Previous research examining the effects of reducing the number of score groups used in the matching criterion of the Mantel-Haenszel procedure, when screening for differential item functioning, has produced ambiguous results. The goal of this study was to resolve the ambiguity by examining the problem with a simulated data set. The main results…

Virtual reality technology offers the promise of interaction with a computer-based environment that engages visual, auditory, and tactile perception. Three interrelated virtual reality design topics are particularly relevant to visual literacy. The first is the concept of avatars. Avatars are agents that appear in a virtual world representing the…

This master's thesis investigates the relationship between the traditional animator and the computer as computer animation systems allow them to apply traditional skills with a high degree of success. The advantages and disadvantages of traditional animation as a medium for expressing motion and character are noted, and it is argued that the…

This report describes Designer, an interactive tool for assisting with the design of two-dimensional graphic interfaces for instructional systems. The system, which consists of a color graphics interface to a mathematical simulation, provides enhancements to the Graphics Editor component of Steamer (a computer-based training system designed to aid…

Describes a computer simulation game that helps teach spatial autocorrelation, a fundamental geographic concept referring to the degree and kind of spatial patterning to be found in geographic data. Experiences with this simulation exercise at the State University of New York Buffalo are briefly summarized. (Author/BSR)

Focuses on the use of electronic mail for teaching and learning about social welfare policy processes and compares electronic mail as a simulation medium to more structured computer applications. (Author)

Discusses intelligent tutoring systems (ITS), one application of artificial intelligence to computers used in education. Basic designs of ITSs are described; examples are given including PROUST, GREATERP, and the use of simulation with ITSs; protocol analysis is discussed; and 38 prototype ITSs are listed. (LRW)