This article reviews the (quasi)experimental research of the past decade on the learning effects of computer simulations in science education. The focus is on two questions: how use of computer simulations can enhance traditional education, and how computer simulations are best used in order to improve learning processes and outcomes. We report on…

Present research and development offer various learning analytics tools providing insights into different aspects of learning processes. Adoption of a specific tool for practice is based on how its learning analytics are perceived by educators to support their pedagogical and organizational goals. In this paper, we propose and empirically validate…

Multimedia materials are now increasingly used in curricula. However, individual preferences for multimedia materials based on visual and verbal cognitive styles may affect learners' emotions and performance. Therefore, in-depth studies that investigate how different multimedia materials affect learning performance and the emotions of learners…

Conceptual clarification is essential if we are to establish a stable and deep discipline of technology enhanced learning. The technology is alluring; this can distract from deep design in a surface rush to exploit the affordances of the new technology. We need a basis for design, and a conceptual unit of organization, that are applicable across…

Learning is a social process. That is why it is extremely important to understand how students interact socially in online courses and how it affects the learning process. However, social aspects, understood as those expressions or comments that go beyond strictly academic interaction, i.e. the need to carry out group work, are not clearly…

Wikis as shared digital artifacts may enable users to participate in processes of knowledge building. To what extent and with which quality knowledge building can take place is assumed to depend on the interrelation between people's prior knowledge and the information available in a wiki. In two experimental studies we examined the impact on…

Based on cognitive load theory, it is well known that when studying a diagram that includes explanatory text, optimal learning occurs when the text is physically positioned close to the diagram as it eliminates the need for learners to split their attention between the two sources of information. What is not known is the effect on learning when…

In view of the current theoretical and empirical support for a student-generated questions approach to learning along with the advantageous features of network technology, several online student question-generation learning systems with a peer-assessment component have been developed. Despite this, all existing systems are limited in terms of the…

This exploratory study analyzes how students use different communication modes to share information, negotiate meaning and construct knowledge in the process of doing a group learning activity in a Primary Grade 5 blended learning environment in Singapore. Small groups of students interacted face-to-face over a computer-mediated communication…

Can an electronic portfolio that is both a multimedia container for student work and a tool to support key learning processes have a positive impact on the literacy practices and self-regulated learning skills of students? This article presents the findings of a yearlong study conducted in three Canadian provinces during the 2007-2008 school year…

This study used eye-tracking methodology in the school setting to examine fourth graders' online processing of text and graphics while reading an illustrated science text. We were interested in identifying patterns of visual behavior, which was examined considering individual differences in reading comprehension, prior knowledge, and spatial…

This paper is the first of its series that studies the power children have in game-play and examines its implications for teaching and learning. As a start, the paper describes a framework of power based on a synthesis of various types of power underlined in literature. The paper then looks into the power issue through observation and interviews…

This article focuses on personal learning environments (PLEs). The idea with PLEs is to put students in a more central position in the learning process by allowing them to design their own learning environments and by emphasising the self-regulated nature of the learning. This study describes the structure, functions and challenges of PLEs made by…

This study presents a new simulation game and analyzes its impact on operations management education. The proposed simulation was empirically tested by comparing the number of mistakes during the first and second halves of the game. Data were gathered from 100 teams of four or five undergraduate students in business administration, taking their…

Grounded in our work on designing game-based curriculum, this paper begins with a theoretical articulation of transformational play. Students who play transformationally become protagonists who use the knowledge, skills, and concepts of the educational content to first make sense of a situation and then make choices that actually transform the…