To investigate the effects of example format (erroneous examples vs. correct examples) and feedback format (elaborated feedback vs. knowledge of results feedback) on medical students' diagnostic competence in the context of a web-based learning environment containing case-based worked examples, two studies with a 2 x 2 design were conducted in the…

Postsecondary distance education has attracted increasing attention in recent years, an understandable change when one considers that innovative approaches to distance education have offered opportunities to overcome some of the key challenges in traditional "brick and mortar" education. Nonetheless, there are a plethora of issues that…

Many United States secondary students perform poorly on standardized summative science assessments. Situated Assessments using Virtual Environments (SAVE) Science is an innovative assessment project that seeks to capture students' science knowledge and understanding by contextualizing problems in a game-based virtual environment called…

Most neuropsychological assessments of episodic memory bear little similarity to the events that patients actually experience as memories in daily life. The first aim of this study was to use a virtual environment to characterize episodic memory profiles in an ecological fashion, which includes memory for central and perceptual details,…

As a fifth-grade mathematics teacher, the author tries to create authentic problem-solving activities that connect to the world in which his students live. He discovered a natural connection to his students' real world at a computer camp. A friend introduced him to Alice, a computer application developed at Carnegie Mellon, under the leadership of…

Virtual classrooms and virtual activities have waxed and waned, with most focusing on fostering learning in the cognitive domain and, realistically, most becoming rapidly discontinued. But social virtual realities (SVR) are uniquely "social," so what about interpersonal skills? This article describes the authors' experiences exploring SVR as a…

In this article, the successful implementation of a development cycle for a physics teaching package based on game-like virtual reality software is reported. The cycle involved several iterations of evaluating students' use of the package followed by instructional and software development. The evaluation used a variety of techniques, including…

Recent societal trends indicate more tolerance for homosexuality, but prejudice remains on college campuses. Speaker panels are commonly used in classrooms as a way to educate students about sexual diversity and decrease negative attitudes toward sexual diversity. The advent of computer-delivered instruction presents a unique opportunity to…

Virtual microscopy (VM) is a relatively new technology that transforms the computer into a microscope. In essence, VM allows for the scanning and transfer of glass slides from light microscopy technology to the digital environment of the computer. This transition is also a function of the change from print knowledge to electronic knowledge, or as…

This paper presents the findings from one of the first empirical research studies which has investigated the impact of Inter-Life; a novel three-dimensional immersive virtual learning environment, on learning and development of social and educational life transition skills in a group of looked after and accommodated children. Drawing on social…

This paper presents some of the overall frameworks and models for language learning that were used under Avalon (Access to Virtual and Action Learning live ONline), an EU co-funded project aimed at developing language-learning scenarios in virtual worlds. The introduction and background summarize some of the theories that constitute the starting…

There are many pressures on academics to "satisfy" students' needs for feedback, not least the inclusion of questions about feedback. Many have commentated on the lack of student engagement with summative feedback while most believe that feedback is necessary to improve individual student performance. Several have looked at a range of…

In the teaching of computer networks the main problem that arises is the high price and limited number of network devices the students can work with in the laboratories. Nowadays, with virtualization we can overcome this limitation. In this paper, we present a methodology that allows students to learn advanced computer network concepts through…

Though many national and international science organizations stress the importance of integrating scientific inquiry into classroom instruction, this is often difficult for teachers. Moreover, assessing and scaffolding inquiry skills for students can be even more of a challenge. This paper investigated the student performances in an inquiry-based,…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the factors that determine the acceptance of the WebCT learning system among students of the faculties of Business and Education Sciences at the University of Huelva, and to verify the direct and indirect effects of these factors. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 226 students at the…