Research reveals that in highly structured learning environments pedagogical agents can act as tools to direct students' learning processes by providing content or problem solving guidance. It has not yet been addressed whether pedagogical agents have a similar impact in more open learning environments that aim at fostering students' acquisition…

This study examined the role of individual differences and the quality of the teaching-learning process on learning outcomes in a web-based instructional environment, and explored the implications of those variables on the design, delivery and evaluation stages of web-based instruction. The study used data from two web-supported courses, one is…

This paper adopts an academic literacies perspective to argue for a critical approach to the writing practices of the online university classroom. It describes an on-going action research project in an online Masters in Online and Distance Education (MAODE) programme at the UK Open University, which aims to create an online writing resource to…

Simulation output analysis has received little attention comparing to modeling and programming in real-world simulation applications. This is further evidenced by our observation that students and beginners acquire neither adequate details of knowledge nor relevant experience of simulation output analysis in traditional classroom learning. With…

At present, the design of computer-supported group-based learning (CSGBL) is often based on subjective decisions regarding tasks, pedagogy and technology, or concepts such as "cooperative learning" and "collaborative learning." Critical review reveals these concepts as insufficiently substantial to serve as a basis for CSGBL design. Furthermore,…

This study examines the effects of a teaching method using 3D virtual reality simulations on achievement and attitude toward science. An experiment was conducted with fifth-grade students (N = 41) to examine the effects of 3D simulations, designed to support inquiry-based science curriculum. An ANOVA analysis revealed that the 3D group scored…

In a voluntary tutor-based training program, socially disadvantaged adolescents acquired basic computer skills. Two training groups were compared: one group was instructed by adolescents, the other by adults. Both groups achieved comparable results in a final test. The tutees' learning results did not differ with respect to their initial…

This article evaluates Check and Connect (Hoppe & Bray, 2000), a computer-assisted learning program funded by a competitive subgrant under the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Part B" (ages 3-21). The program targeted 20 students in high school with disabilities categorized as "learning disabilities,"…

Several authors have pointed out that CALL research does not have the academic status that it should have because it does not take place within a well-developed theoretical framework. For this reason, there have been several proposals which seek to anchor CALL research within various existing theoretical frameworks--for instance, instructed second…

The first part of this article describes the use of Computer-aided note taking (CAN) for a fifth-grade student with a profound hearing loss who has been mainstreamed in her local grade school since first grade. As such, this is a case study of how technology can directly and dramatically impact the educational experience of a student with a…

This article describes practical issues related to the design and the development of a Web-Based Learning Environment (Web-LE) for high school students. The purpose of the Fossilization Web-LE was to help students understand the process of fossilization, which is a complex phenomenon and is affected by many factors. The instructional design team…

The Global News VILLAGE (Virtual Information Literacy Learning and Growing Environment) is an online tutorial developed at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to help undergraduates learn how to use the library to find current information about global events and issues. Supporting the interdisciplinary Global Studies curriculum, the…

In this article, the authors report on two international case studies that used comparable applications of information and communication technologies (ICTs) and were undertaken in comparable academic areas and levels of study. In the two cases, the authors explored faculty resistance to the use of ICTs for teaching and learning in higher…

In this case study our aim was to gain more insight in the possibilities of qualitative formative peer assessment in a computer supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environment. An approach was chosen in which peer assessment was operationalized in assessment assignments and assessment tools that were embedded in the course material. The course…

This study examined 48 computer-based compositions produced by adolescents (13-14 years old) using evaluations by specialist music teachers and the adolescents' self-evaluations and self-assessments. Based on previous research (Seddon and O'Neill, 2001), we expected that the teachers' evaluations of the compositions would not differentiate between…