Children with complex communication needs (CCN) resulting from autism spectrum disorders, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and other disabilities are severely restricted in their participation in educational, vocational, family, and community environments. There is a substantial body of research that demonstrates convincingly that children with CCN…

In this study, a follow-up analysis of the data reported in Lin et al. ("Learn Media Technol." doi: 10.1080/17439884.2011.629660 , 2011), we investigated the relationship between student use of a virtual field trip (VFT) system and the probability of students reporting wanting to visit the national park site upon which the VFT was modeled,…

At Winona State University's Krueger Library, where Kendall Larson is an associate professor and Allison Quam is an assistant professor, informational and directional signs are an essential part of the interior space. Yet the ubiquitous sign and media saturation has challenged them to design and maintain effective signage that is conspicuous and…

This study compared linear text-based and non-linear hypertext-based instruction in a handheld computer regarding effects on two different levels of knowledge (declarative and structural knowledge) and learner motivation. Forty four participants were randomly assigned to one of three experimental conditions: linear text, hierarchical hypertext,…

What do Google Maps and a library's Online Public Access Catalog (OPAC) have in common? Google Maps provides users with all the information they need for a trip in one place; users can get directions and find out what attractions, hotels, and restaurants are close by. Librarians must find the ultimate OPAC that will provide, in one place, all the…

Students in natural resources programs commonly take courses in geospatial technologies. An awareness of the uncertainty of spatial data and algorithms can be an important outcome of such courses. This article describes a laboratory exercise in a graduate geographic information system (GIS) class that involves collection of data for the assessment…

Introduction: The Internet is a dynamic environment which is continuously being updated. Search engines have been, currently are and in all probability will continue to be the most popular systems in this information cosmos. Method: In this work, special attention has been paid to the series of changes made to search engines up to this point,…

This paper presents a new course, Radionavigation Systems, whose laboratory and theoretical components complement each other to enhance student learning. Radionavigation skills and knowledge are taught by means of various instructional methods, and the laboratory successfully merges hands-on learning using specific instrumentation and software…

Approximately 80% of youth on the autism spectrum in the U.S. who attend college will attend a 2-year college at some point in their postsecondary education. These community-based colleges are universally-accessible educational institutions which offer both academic and vocational courses and are experienced in teaching diverse learners who may…

Understanding how geologists conduct fieldwork through analysis of problem solving has significant potential impact on field instruction methods. Recent progress has been made in this area but the problem solving behaviors displayed by geologists during fieldwork and the associated underlying cognition remains poorly understood. We present…

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the value of using discourse analysis to understand users' interactions in a scenario-based virtual environment. This study investigated six dyads' synchronous discourses while they worked side-by-side to plan and implement goal-related decisions in a virtual inquiry. The Collaborative Process Analysis…

Europeana: Think Culture (http://www.europeana.eu) is a wonderful cultural repository. It includes more than 15 million items (images, text, audio, and video) from 1,500 European institutions. Europeana provides access to an abundance of cultural and heritage information and knowledge. Because Europeana has partnered with and brought together so…

We examined the utility of a PDA-based software system with integrated GPS technology for providing location-aware visual and auditory prompts to enable people with intellectual disability to successfully navigate a downtown bus route. Participants using the system were significantly more successful at completing a bus route than were people in a…

The strategic development of an academic library website is an ongoing process. The methods available to libraries in their efforts to understand the use of their website are also changing. A pilot survey of a group of UK academic libraries provided an insight into the approaches and methods adopted by this group. The study also revealed some of…

It is critical that students learn how to retrieve useful information in hypermedia environments, a task that is often especially difficult when it comes to image retrieval, as little text feedback is given that allows them to reformulate keywords they need to use. This situation may make students feel disorientated while attempting image…