Researchers question how and what students learn from commercial digital games. Using a concurrent mixed-methods approach, this study examined 30 students' construction of knowledge and skills while playing a commercial off-the-shelf game for 7 weeks. Quantitative data included students' background survey and pre- and post-assessments for…

This paper reports on three primary school students' explorations of 3D rotation in a virtual reality learning environment (VRLE) named VRMath. When asked to investigate if you would face the same direction when you turn right 45 degrees first then roll up 45 degrees, or when you roll up 45 degrees first then turn right 45 degrees, the students…

Ecological ponds can be a good teaching tool for science teachers, but they must be built and maintained properly to provide students with a safe and suitable learning environment. However, many schools do not have the ability to build and maintain an ecological pond. This study used virtual reality technology to develop a web-based virtual…

This article reports a subset of findings from a larger study centered on designing a series of six digital learning objects to help Grade 5 (age 10-12) students begin to consider the nature of models (understood as the physical or mental representation of objects, phenomena, or processes), the particle nature of matter, and the behavior of…

The purpose of this study is to address the pragmatics of integrating virtual worlds for teaching and learning for K-12 education. Specifically this qualitative investigation focuses on a reflective dialogue gathered from a group of K-12 (primary and secondary school) educators about their experiences using both "Active Worlds Educational…

The purposes of this study were to examine the effects of two types of interactive computer simulations and of prior knowledge levels on concept comprehension, cognitive load, and learning efficiency. Seventy-two 5th grade students were sampled from two elementary schools. They were divided into two groups (high and low) based on prior knowledge…

Two grade 5 classes (11-12-year-olds) were introduced through an inquiry-based pedagogy to scientific ideas and concepts within a 3D game-like multi-user virtual environment (MUVE). This article explores how a particular set of strategies and conditions might encourage and sustain the use of the MUVE, Quest Atlantis (QA), as a problem-based…

This study sought to develop meaningful and engaging virtual cyberbullying scenarios in digital environments that reflect the educational needs of today's adolescents. In order to inform and script these scenarios, a threestage study was implemented with middle schools. This paper describes how data collected in each stage informed the…

Over the years deaf and hard-of-hearing children have been reported as having difficulty with time conception and, in particular, the proper arrangement of events in a logical, temporal order. The research examined whether deaf and hard-of-hearing children perceive a temporal sequence differently under different representational modes. We compared…

For the forty-third time, the Association for Educational Communications and Technology (AECT) is sponsoring the publication of these Proceedings. Papers published in this volume were presented online during the annual AECT Convention. Volume 1 contains 37 papers dealing primarily with research and development topics. Papers dealing with the…

This study examined the literacy practices of children ages 5-11 as they engaged in out-of-school use of virtual worlds. The purpose of the study was to explore the nature, purpose, and role of literacy in children's use of a virtual world. In this article, I reflect on how children's use of literacy practices in the virtual world constructed and…

Teachers' continuing professional development, that is an essential part of their professional career, is the subject of constant demand of them and of each educational reform interest. The rapid growth of technology and the choices of teaching and learning that it provides give possibilities for synchronous and asynchronous methods of distance…

The application of technology in classroom settings has equipped educators with innovative tools and techniques for effective teaching practice. Integrating digital technologies at the elementary and secondary levels helps to enrich the students' learning experience and maximize competency in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and…

This paper presents an overview of the research conducted within a funded Comenius project which aims at developing a virtual European CLIL Resource Centre for Web 2.0 Education. E-CLIL focuses on Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), creativity and multiculturalism through digital resources. In this sense, our prior research on CLIL…

Over the past several years, the authors have been developing an instructional technology, called Teachable Agents (TA), which draws on the social metaphor of teaching to help students learn. Students teach a computer character, their "agent," by creating a concept map of nodes connected by qualitative causal links. The authors hypothesize that…