In theory, computer game-based learning can support several vocabulary learning affordances that have been identified in the foreign language learning research. In the observable evidence, learning with computer games has been shown to improve performance on vocabulary recall tests. However, while simple recall can be a sign of learning,…

Advanced displays and natural user interfaces (NUI) are a very suitable combination for developing systems to provide an enhanced and richer user experience. This combination can be appropriate in several fields and has not been extensively exploited. One of the fields that this combination is especially suitable for is education. Nowadays,…

Writing down spoken number words (transcoding) is an ability that is predictive of math performance and related to working memory ability. We analysed these relationships in a large sample of over 25,000 children, from kindergarten to the end of primary school, who solved transcoding items with a computer adaptive system. Furthermore, we…

Interactive digital media, or video games, are a powerful new medium. They offer immersive experiences in which players solve problems. Players learn more than just facts--ways of seeing and understanding problems so that they "become" different kinds of people. "Serious games" coming from business strategy, advergaming, and entertainment gaming…

Sigmund Tobias came to the United States in 1948, after his family had fled to China from the Holocaust in Europe. His Memoir ("Strange Haven: A Jewish Childhood in Wartime Shanghai") describes that part of his life. He settled in New York, where he completed his B.A. and M.S. in School Psychology from the City College of New York, and a…

In this meta-analysis, we systematically reviewed research on digital games and learning for K-16 students. We synthesized comparisons of game versus nongame conditions (i.e., media comparisons) and comparisons of augmented games versus standard game designs (i.e., value-added comparisons). We used random-effects meta-regression models with robust…

Due to a progressive deterioration of our planet and its resources, environmental education has become important and children are required to understand environmental issues at an early ages. So, they can cultivate the positive changes in the future. Over the past decade, many new evaluation methods have developed for evaluating user experience…

Only a limited number of research studies have investigated how students design educational computer games and its impact on student learning. In addition, most studies on educational game design by students were conducted in the areas of mathematics and science. Using the qualitative case study approach, this study explored how seventh graders…

This study compares the early life experiences of kindergarteners in 1998 and 2010 using two nationally representative data sets. We find that (a) young children in the later period are exposed to more books and reading in the home, (b) they have more access to educational games on computers, and (c) they engage with their parents more, inside and…

This study examines the development of oral fluency in a Computer-Mediated Communication (CMC) environment that uses a "shouting" digital game as a pedagogical tool: Spaceteam ESL4. Spaceteam ESL is a game for mobile devices that involves time-sensitive aural exchanges among players (English learners), with great potential to promote…

Background: In this paper, we investigate the relationship between theory and design in the context of creating digital games to support children's development of scientific expertise. Synthesis: Theoretically, we consider two frameworks--Knowledge in Pieces (or KiP) and Science as Practice (or SaP). While KiP is a theory about the structure of…

Students' activities in game/scenario-based tasks (G/SBTs) can be characterized by a sequence of time-stamped actions of different types with different attributes. For a subset of G/SBTs in which only the order of the actions is of great interest, the process data can be well characterized as a string of characters (i.e., action string) if we…

Computer games, which are currently very popular among students, can affect different cognitive abilities. The purpose of the present study is to examine undergraduate students' experiences and preferences in playing computer games as well as their mental rotation abilities. A total of 163 undergraduate students participated. The results showed a…

Language teachers are working in a world which has changed in the past decades in fundamentally disruptive ways, through profound changes in the role that networked computers play in everyday life and through the social and demographic shifts brought on by an increasingly globalized society, bringing together more than ever before people from…

Based on the assumption that educational software addressing Primary school learners must comprise a set of features to encourage children's creativity and development, the appropriate design of second language hypermedia adaptive games for Primary School children can pose a wide range of challenges both for the language teacher and computer…