This article draws on second language theory, particularly output theory as defined by Swain (1995), in order to conceptualise observations made in a computer-assisted language learning setting. It investigates second language output and learner behaviour within an electronic role-play setting, based on a subject-specific problem solving task and…

While the concepts and principles associated with learner autonomy underpin a broad range of CALL applications and research projects, current debates and research paradigms in CALL do not provide adequate tools and models to investigate in depth the relationship between CALL and the development of learner autonomy. This paper explores the…

This paper introduces the Quail Model, a device for the classification and visualisation of learning goals. The model is a communication tool that can smoothen the discussion within a course design team, support shared understanding, and improve decision making. Its theoretical background mingles contributions from instructional design (Bloom,…

Many students doubt that statistical distributions are of practical value. Simulation makes it possible for students to tackle challenging, understandable projects that illustrate how distributions can be used to answer "what-if" questions of the type often posed by analysts. Course materials that have been developed over two years of classroom…

A product evaluation was conducted of "Desire2Learn", an online learning management system gaining popularity in educational institutions. Since an online trial version of the software was not available for evaluation, an inspection meeting with the vendor was arranged. This provided the evaluation team with an opportunity to examine the…

How can one better use modern CALL resources to help language learners to build up a larger target language (TL) vocabulary quickly? A major need that quickly becomes apparent at the intersection of the fields of second language vocabulary acquisition (SLVA) and computer-assisted language learning (CALL) is the lack of sufficient research with…

Sixty-eight college students enrolled in a French course listened to a multimedia-based French passage in one of four groups to which they were randomly assigned: the listening text (a) alone, with no annotations; (b) in pairs, with no annotations; (c) alone, with written and pictorial annotations; and (d) in pairs, with written and pictorial…

Computers, computer programs, and other novel and vivid technological applications to language learning can unintentionally redirect attentional resources and therefore increase the salience of unplanned as well as targeted features. Incidental activities such as keyboarding (Henry, 1992), manipulation of a mouse (Meunier, 1996), and other…

A ubiquitous learning environment provides an interoperable, pervasive, and seamless learning architecture to connect, integrate, and share three major dimensions of learning resources: learning collaborators, learning contents, and learning services. Ubiquitous learning is characterized by providing intuitive ways for identifying right learning…

Much of traditional schooling in America is built around systems of compliance and control, characteristics which stifle the creative and entrepreneurial instincts of the children who are subjected to these tactics. This article explores a different approach to education, one that involves capturing the interest of the student through the use of…

Many studies have been conducted to verify the effect of learner characteristics and motivation in traditional classrooms, but very few are found in online learning research. This study sought to identify what learner characteristics and motivation types affected a group of undergraduate students' learning and application of learning for a course…

This year sees the 40th anniversary of the first policy paper regarding the use of computers in higher education in the United Kingdom. The publication of this paper represented the beginning of the field of learning technology research and practice in higher education. In the past 40 years, policy has at various points drawn from different…

The problem addressed in the study was whether 10- and 11-year-old children, collaborating within a computer-supported classroom, could engage in progressive inquiry that exhibits an essential principal feature of mature scientific inquiry: namely, engagement in increasingly deep levels of explanation. Technical infrastructure for the study was…

A year-long study of 131 second and third graders in 12 classrooms compared three daily 20-minute treatments. a) Fifty-eight students in six classrooms used the 1999-2000 version of Project LISTEN's Reading Tutor, a computer program that uses automated speech recognition to listen to a child read aloud, and gives spoken and graphical assistance.…

Science instruction is typically highly dependent on visual representations of scientific concepts that are communicated through textbooks, teacher presentations, and computer-based multimedia materials. Little is known about how students with visual impairments access and interpret these types of visually-dependent instructional materials. This…