This article examines the value of using complex animated PowerPoint presentations to teach operations management techniques and concepts. To provide context, literature covering the use of PowerPoint animations in business education is briefly reviewed. The specific animations employed in this study are identified and their expected benefits to…

This article considers the impact of the increasing use of the visual mode in texts found in urban landscapes on two 3-year-olds' understanding of communication practices. The data discussed are taken from a study into a group of 3- to 6-year-olds' interaction with and emerging comprehension of the visual mode and its connection to…

Research shows that computer animations are especially helpful in fields such as chemistry and in this mixed-methods study, we investigate the educational effectiveness of Bio-Organic Reaction Animations (BioORA), a 3-D software, in four undergraduate biochemistry classes at different universities. Statistically significant findings indicate that…

Many researchers argue that students must be meaningfully engaged in the learning resources for effective learning to occur. However, current online learners still report a problematic lack of attractive and challenging learning resources that engage them in the learning process. This endemic problem is even more evident in online collaborative…

Developing fluency across symbolic-, macroscopic-, and particulate-level representations is central to learning chemistry. Within the chemistry education community, animations and simulations that support multi-representational fluency are considered critical. With advances in the accessibility and sophistication of technology,…

Agent technology has become one of the dynamic and most interesting areas of computer science in recent years. The dynamism of this technology has resulted in computer generated characters, known as pedagogical agent, entering the digital learning environments in increasing numbers. Commonly deployed in implementing tutoring strategies, these…

The study examined the effects of video-based multimedia instruction on secondary school students' achievement and retention in biology. In Nigeria, 120 students (60 boys and 60 girls) were randomly selected from four secondary schools assigned either into one of three experimental groups: Animation + Narration; Animation + On-screen Text;…

This study investigates the effects of using interactive computer animations based on predict-observe-explain (POE) as a presentation tool on primary school students' understanding of the static electricity concepts. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test control group design was utilized in this study. The experiment group consisted of 30…

Given the massive volume of course-relevant videos now available on the Internet, this article outlines a pedagogy to facilitate the instructional employment of such materials. First, we describe special features of streaming media that have enabled their use in the classroom. Next, we introduce a typology comprised of six categories (conjuncture,…

Using readily available technology, students of all ages can easily create impressive animated products. Animation allows educators to capitalize on the natural desire that students of all ages hold to tell stories and share their understanding of the world. In the course of planning their animations, students conduct research on topics, organize…

Three experiments on structural priming in Mandarin-speaking 5-year-olds were conducted to test the priming as implicit learning hypothesis. It describes a learning mechanism that acts on a shared abstract syntactic representation in response to linguistic input using an equi-biased Mandarin SVO-"ba" alternation. The first two…

Since the complex and transient information in instructional animations requires more cognitive resources, the segmenting principle has been proposed to reduce cognitive overload by providing smaller chunks with pauses between segments. This study examined the effects of different types of activities during pauses in a segmented animation. Four…

This article is an introduction to video screen capture. Basic information of two software programs, QuickTime for Mac and BlueBerry Flashback Express for PC, are also discussed. Practical applications for video screen capture are given.

Animated agents are virtual characters who demonstrate facial expressions, gestures, movements, and speech to facilitate students' engagement in the learning environment. Our research developed a courseware that supports a XML-based markup language and an authoring tool for teachers to script animated pedagogical agents in teaching materials.…

The Electrochemistry topic is found to be difficult to learn due to its abstract concepts involving macroscopic, microscopic, and symbolic representation levels. Studies have shown that animation and simulation using information and communication technology (ICT) can help students to visualize and hence enhance their understanding in learning…