Program animation systems have not been as widely adopted by computer science educators as we might expect from the firm belief that they can help in enhancing computer science education. One of the most notable obstacles to their adoption is the considerable effort that the production of program animations represents for the instructor. We…

This study focuses on student development with Calibrated Peer Review (CPR)[TM], a web-based tool created to promote writing and critical thinking skills. Research questions focus on whether or not students showed improvement in writing and reviewing competency with repeated use of CPR in a senior-level biology course and whether the difference…

While discussion of the criteria needed to assess learning objects has been extensive, a formal, systematic model for evaluation has yet to be thoroughly tested. The purpose of the following study was to develop and assess a multi-component model for evaluating learning objects. The Learning Object Evaluation Metric (LOEM) was developed from a…

Multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs) are quickly gaining importance as tools for foreign language instruction by promoting collaboration and social presence in a lifelike 3-D environment. One of the largest and fastest growing of these MUVEs is Linden Lab's "Second Life" (SL). With an international membership of over 9,000,000 residents, SL is…

New social-sharing applications are transforming the Internet from a "read-only" (Web 1.0) environment to a "read-write" ecology that many are calling Web 2.0. These tools (e.g., weblogs and wikis) enable Internet users to publish information online almost as easily as they can read online, and they have tremendous potential for learning. This…

Promoting the development of students' scientific inquiry capabilities is a major learning objective in science education. As a result, teachers require effective assessment approaches to evaluate students' scientific inquiry-related performance. Teachers must also be able to offer appropriate supplementary instructions, as needed, to students.…

Automatic test generating system in distributed computing context is one of the most important links in on-line evaluation system. Although the issue has been argued long since, there is not a perfect solution to it so far. This paper proposed an innovative approach to successfully addressing such issue by the seamless integration of genetic…

This dissertation questions the common assumption that e-learning requires a "learning management system" (LMS) such as Moodle or Blackboard. Based on an analysis of the current state of the art in LMSs, we come to the conclusion that the functionality of conventional e-learning platforms consists of basic content management and…

There is a critical need for research into the use of digital technologies to support the assessment of performance on complex tasks in schools. This paper reports on a component of a pilot study aimed at investigating the use of digital forms of performance assessment, manageable within schools, with high levels of reliability and capable of…

In teacher education, electronic portfolios provide an authentic form of assessment documenting students' personal and professional growth. Using the engineered-based system, College LiveText, and an off-the-shelf general tool, HyperStudio, pre-service teachers constructed e-portfolios as part of their teacher preparation requirements. This case…

Learning objects are interactive web-based tools that support the learning of specific concepts by enhancing, amplifying, and/or guiding the cognitive processes of learners. Research on the impact, effectiveness, and usefulness of learning objects is limited, partially because comprehensive, theoretically based, reliable, and valid evaluation…

Currently, e-learning systems are mainly web-based applications and tackle a wide range of users all over the world. Fitting learners' needs is considered as a key issue to guaranty the success of these systems. Many researches work on providing adaptive systems. Nevertheless, evaluation of the adaptivity is still in an exploratory phase.…

Previous research of adaptive learning mainly focused on improving student learning achievements based only on single-source of personalization information, such as learning style, cognitive style or learning achievement. In this paper, an innovative adaptive learning approach is proposed by basing upon two main sources of personalization…

Business intelligence and information logistics have become an important part of teaching curricula in recent years due to the increased demand for adequately trained graduates. Since these fields are characterized by a high amount of software and methodology innovations, teaching materials and teaching aids require constant updating. Teradata has…

The purpose of our paper is to describe and compare educational models based on four major concepts that can be used to assess educational quality. We focus on graduate management programs since they are increasingly supporting their education offerings with state-of-the-art technology. We examine why some distance educational models are more…