For the past nine years, the Speak Up National Research Project has endeavored to stimulate new discussions around how technology tools and services can transform education and to provide a context to help educators, parents, and policy and business leaders think beyond today and envision tomorrow. In last year's report, "The New 3E's of…

There is intense interest in computer games. A total of 65 percent of all American households play computer games, and sales of such games increased 22.9 percent last year. The average amount of game playing time was found to be 13.2 hours per week. The popularity and market success of games is evident from both the increased earnings from games,…

Explored performance and strategies of children on three sets of LOGO tasks in which they copied a given LOGO figure and directed the turtle to a destination. Found that when the copy task preceded the track task, there were no significant performance differences in accuracy or efficiency of moves to reach the path's end, in contrast to reverse…

A study of eight normal right-handed men demonstrates widespread significant decreases in brain glucose metabolic rate (GMR) following learning a complex computer task, a computer game. Correlations between magnitude of GMR change and intelligence scores are also demonstrated. (SLD)

Describes seven design principles found in computer games that contribute to the creation of more usable applications. Provides examples from several games to illustrate these principles ("attract mode," clearly stated goals, brief instructions, transparency, performance coaching, "training wheels," and consistent feedback). Argues that games set…

In K-12 classrooms, as well as on the college and university level, the incorporation of digital games has played a vital role in the educational system. While introducing teachers to new fields, these digital games have been designed and implemented for the classroom and have shown positive results at a variety of educational levels. Cases on…

There are several major challenges for instructional designers seeking to design learning games. These include the lack of access, the cost of rapidly advancing/expensive technology tools that make developing games uneconomical, the institutional time constraints limiting game use, and the concerns that schools lack sufficiently robust computer…

Describes how computer games can be adapted and used for training. Discusses elements of a well-designed computer-based training course. (JOW)

Simulations and games are designed to provide participants with an experiential context for reflection and learning in classrooms, corporate training centers, and community-based organizations. A conversational approach to debriefing sessions is one way to more deeply involve participants in exploring the meaning of their experience from multiple…

Six software products are reviewed including multimedia packages for history/geography and science. Other products include a coloring program, riddle-maker, word puzzle generator, a lesson on counting money, and a math game equipped with animation and sound effects. (IAH)

Presents a case study of the experiences of six girls with the "Phoenix Quest" (PQ) computer game and compares the responses of 41 boys and 57 girls to the same game. PQ was designed to explore language and mathematics in ways appealing to girls. Celebrating and challenging a female protagonist was important to girls. (SLD)

Discussion of the affective domain, learning, and motivation focuses on serious play as a suitable goal for situations requiring learners, both children and adults, to engage in creative higher-order thinking coupled with intense personal commitment and involvement. Suggests that interactive computer games offer opportunities to support serious…

Proposes a theoretical framework for analyzing the effect of MUD (Multi-User Dungeons) playing on users' self-efficacy by applying Bandura's social learning theory, and introduces three types of self-efficacy: computer self-efficacy; social self-efficacy; and generalized self-efficacy. Considers successful performance, vicarious experience,…

This paper reflects a multi-year collaborative effort between the New Media Consortium (NMC) and Griffith University to help inform Australian educational leaders about significant developments in technologies supporting teaching, learning, and research in tertiary education. The research underpinning the report makes use of the NMC's Delphi-based…

Virtual reality technology offers the promise of interaction with a computer-based environment that engages visual, auditory, and tactile perception. Three interrelated virtual reality design topics are particularly relevant to visual literacy. The first is the concept of avatars. Avatars are agents that appear in a virtual world representing the…