Being able to speak or communicate orally is an ultimate goal for most English language learners. Thus, teaching speaking is a main component of the curriculum in most communicative-based English language classrooms. However, teachers struggle to teach speaking in English language classrooms. Two main reasons contribute to this struggle:…

Introduction: This article describes the field test of "4to24," a transition application (app) for parents of and students with visual impairments. In this stage of the development process, researchers evaluated the app's usability and gained feedback on app use and experience from end users. Methods: Participants, including 27 parents…

VR technology allows learners to access simulated, immersive and interactive virtual environments to perform authentic learning activities. In particular, VR has emerged as a valuable tool for L2 learning. However, VR research has tended to pay more attention to desktop-based VR than to VR via mobile-rendered HMDs, leaving the potentials of VR…

The use of mobile applications (apps) is popular among parents and teachers due to their cost-effectiveness and ease of implementation, and the number of apps with the specific aim to increase eye contact for children with autism is growing rapidly. However, research is limited to assess the efficiency of the majority of the apps available for…

Fluency Assessment and Benchmarking for Literacy in Education (FABLe) is the first mobile application being developed for the assessment of foundational literacy skills in India. FABLe passages are currently available in English for Grades 2, 3 and 4, with plans to expand to other Indian languages. FABLe is designed to administer curriculum-based…

The rapid development in the world of technology and communication has contributed directly to the teaching and learning process in schools. Therefore, a paradigm shift towards learning methods in the education system needs to be implemented to meet the educational aims of the 21st century. This is due to the current methods of delivery in…

This article addresses the learning style as a criterion for optimization of adaptive content in hypermedia applications. First, the authors present the different optimization approaches proposed in the area of adaptive hypermedia systems whose goal is to define the optimization problem in this type of system. Then, they present the architecture…

There has been a substantial increase in the number of health-related smartphone applications (apps) available to consumers in recent years. How does one decide which apps have scientific evidence backing their claims and which are "fake news"? In this Commentary, we explore the hierarchy of scientific claims and review recent literature…

Smartphones have evolved into all-purpose computing machines with exceptional capabilities. They are becoming increasingly powerful, with modern audio "codec" (coder/decoder) chips that provide recorded audio of high quality. Smartphone developers now offer many sound applications (apps) using both the devices' built-in microphone and…

People with visual impairments (that is, those who are blind or have low vision) have a disadvantage in the process of being selected as a romantic partner. It is further underscored that these difficulties with dating and fitting in among sighted individuals extend beyond formative years into adulthood (Sacks & Wolffe, 2006). Thus, the…

Sexual assault is a significant problem on college campuses. To date, much of the research on prevention and response has been conducted with students enrolled at traditional 4-year institutions. Limited research exists on 2-year institutions (also known as community colleges), which enroll a more diverse population (e.g., economic, gender,…

Augmented reality (AR) is an emerging technology that can help educators enhance their classrooms. With one-to-one initiatives and application (app) development creating affordable technology, teachers have more access to innovative supports for their students with disabilities' academic, social, emotional, and behavioral skill development. Using…

We present research that explored digital coding in an Australian early years learning centre and how it impacted on a focus group of 3 and 4-year-old children's creativity. The questions that guided the design experimental method were: (1) how do young children develop and demonstrate creativity when learning through play with digital coding…

Researchers and educators have advocated computational thinking (CT) should be integrated into K-12 settings as early as elementary schools. However, there has been a lack of knowledge of how pre-service K-8 teachers would be engaged in the learning of CT and its integration in different subject areas. In this study, we taught a flipped learning…

Rain Classroom, a mobile learning technology developed in China, has received great popularity. Research into its acceptance and effectiveness, however, remains sparse. Through research instruments, i.e. a questionnaire adapted from the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), a semi-structured interview and linguistics knowledge tests, both…