In this study, a multimedia computer-aided tutorial (MCAT) on the topic of debris-flow hazards was developed for senior high-school students in Taiwan. The format of the new course is a blend of whole-class presentations, interactive discussions among the teacher and students, and classroom activities using the MCAT software. The whole-class…

Whereas existing learning environments on the Web lack high level interactivity, we have developed a human tutor-like tutorial conversation system for the Web that enhances educational courseware through mixed-initiative dialog with natural language processing. The conversational tutoring agent is composed of an animated tutor, a Latent Semantic…

Australian schools are expected to integrate various uses of digital technology across all subject areas. In many schools the effectiveness of this has been questionable with little application to the development of student's creativity. This paper reports on a pilot study investigating children's creativity during computer-based activities.…

A review of the literature yields many intriguing applications of interactive multimedia technology that can be seen through a series of "snapshots" describing current projects and initiatives for deaf education. The five main categories chosen to represent these activities are: instructional design, communication bridges, skill development…

This article investigates the multimodal discourses taking place in a primary school computer supported collaborative literacy environment, in which face-to-face talk in pairs is combined with computer-mediated communication. Following a socially mediated model of education, we have taken into account the collaborative process of the participants…

Jim Boyes, Sandra Dowie, and Ismael Rumzan explore Bates and Poole's SECTIONS framework ("Effective Teaching in Higher Education" 2003), a set of criteria comprised of students' needs, ease of use, cost structure, teaching and learning uses, interactivity, organizational issues, and novelty, as a tool for instructors and support staff to evaluate…

Physics education research increasingly makes use of video data for analysis of student learning and teaching practice. Collection of these data is conceptually simple but execution is often fraught with costly and time-consuming complications. This pragmatic paper discusses the development of systems to record and permanently archive audio and…

Using project-based learning pedagogy in EdTc 658 Advances in Educational Technology, I have trained inservice teachers in Southwestern Louisiana with an advanced computer multimedia program called Director[R] (Macromedia, Inc.) [1]. The content of this course focused on modeling the project-based learning pedagogy and researching Acadian's…

Introduction: Fixed Learning Module (FLM) adopted in pathology teaching to medical undergraduates, encompasses exhibition of potted specimens and charts. Though it is an important teaching method it also has its limitations. Aim: To create an alternative method for teaching pathology using web based, interactive computer technology [i.e.,…

Teaching online entails delivering a course fully or in part via the Internet and, in particular, the World Wide Web. Online course delivery in higher education is widespread and increasing. A range of offerings exists, including fully online degree programs, online courses in all disciplines of study, and hybrid courses, where face-to-face…

The authors have been working with teachers who are drawing upon various online resources to construct digital documentaries that explore some facet of history, such as Japanese American internment or the liberation of Western Europe during World War II. These activities build on students' interest in digital media, recognizing a fundamental shift…

In this article, the author describes an authoring project that familiarizes his students with writing workshops and also provides them a forum for examining key theoretical perspectives about "the relationship between print and other modalities." This project became the focus of an inquiry that addressed the following research questions: (1) What…

The momentum gathering behind authentic learning/critical skills raises fundamental issues concerning teaching and learning. This article discusses some of the more general arguments surrounding authentic learning with particular reference to an in-depth evaluation of its impact on schools in one part of Great Britain. It then moves on to describe…

This paper introduces an evaluation tool prepared to examine the quality of visuals in course-books. The tool is based on Mayer's Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (i.e. Generative Theory) and its principles regarding the correct use of illustrations within text. The reason to generate the tool, the development process along with the…

Upper-elementary students encounter a sometimes dizzying array of traditional and nontraditional texts both in and outside of the classroom. This practical handbook helps teachers in grades 4-6 harness the instructional potential of fiction, poetry, and plays; informational texts; graphic novels; digital storytelling; Web-based and multimodal…