The authors report an implemented environment for computer-assisted authoring of test items and provide a brief discussion about the applications of NLP techniques for computer assisted language learning. Test items can serve as a tool for language learners to examine their competence in the target language. The authors apply techniques for…

Education research rarely lends itself to large scale experimental research and true randomization, leaving the researcher to quasi-experimental designs. The problem with quasi-experimental research is that underlying factors may impact group selection and lead to potentially biased results. One way to minimize the impact of non-randomization is…

This research investigated the application of knowledge maps in e-learning materials design and hypothesized that knowledge maps would be more effective than e-learning in general at improving the performance and satisfaction of e-learning. In order to test the hypotheses, we conducted an experiment with 175 participants and randomly assigned them…

This paper details the development of a multidialectical text-to-speech (TTS) application, "Sinteiseoir," for the Irish language. This work is being carried out in the context of Irish as a lesser-used language, where learners and other L2 speakers have limited direct exposure to L1 speakers and speech communities, and where native sound…

E-learning has been widely adopted as a promising solution by many organizations to offer learning-on-demand opportunities to individual employees (learners) in order to reduce training time and cost. While successful information systems models have received much attention among researchers, little research has been conducted to assess the success…

This paper describes the Generic Automated Marking Environment (GAME) and provides a detailed analysis of its performance in assessing student programming projects and exercises. GAME has been designed to automatically assess programming assignments written in a variety of languages based on the "structure" of the source code and the correctness…

NASA is involved in a project involving the International Space Station (ISS) and an Earth-focused camera called EarthKam, where schools, and ultimately students, are allowed to remotely program the EarthKAM to take images. Here the author describes how EarthKam was used to help middle school students learn about biomes and develop their…

Quality encompasses a very broad range of ideas in learning materials, yet the accuracy of the content is often overlooked as a measure of quality. Various aspects of accuracy are briefly considered, and the issue of computational accuracy is then considered further. When learning materials are produced containing the results of mathematical…

High profile cases of fraudulent financial reporting such as those that occurred at Enron and WorldCom have shaken public confidence in the U.S. financial reporting process and have raised serious concerns about the roles of auditors, regulators, and analysts in financial reporting. In order to address these concerns and restore public confidence,…

According to industry representatives, computer science education needs to emphasize the processes involved in solving computing problems rather than their solutions. Most of the current assessment tools used by universities and computer science departments analyze student answers to problems rather than investigating the processes involved in…

In like manner as conventional education and teaching approaches distance education tends to model the same procedures. Indeed, formerly enriched on printed material served as a primary source. However, thanks to the developments in technology and evolution in education, computerised information has made inroads in distance education programmes.…

Commenting source code has long been a common practice in software development. This thesis, consisting of three pieces of work, made novel use of the code comments written in natural language to improve software reliability. Our solution combines Natural Language Processing (NLP), Machine Learning, Statistics, and Program Analysis techniques to…

This study broadens the objectives of previous work (Boyer, N., Langevin, S., Gaspar, A. (2008). "Self direction and constructivism in programming education." "Proceedings of the ACM Special Interest Group in IT Education Conference," 16-18 October 2008, Cincinnati, OH) in which we used a survey-based instrument, the Personal…

Incorporating programmable logic devices (PLD) in digital design courses has become increasingly popular. The advantages of using PLDs, such as complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs) and field programmable gate arrays (FPGA), have been discussed before. However, previous studies have focused on the experiences from the point of view of the…

This study examined the relationship between students working in a technology-rich environment and their development of higher order thinking skills. Based on a PhD thesis, which examined a greater range of relationships than can be reported here, this article focuses on developing critical thinking skills within a technology-rich environment.…