This research reports and analyzes for archival purposes surveyed perceptions, use, and access by 259 United States based exemplar Primary and Secondary educators of computer-based games and technology for classroom instruction. Participating respondents were considered exemplary as they each won the Milken Educator Award during the 1996-2009…

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of the educational software "Frizbi Mathematics 4" on 4th grade student's mathematics achievement, retention, attitudes toward mathematics and attitude toward computer assisted learning. Two groups (experimental and control) of students from the state primary school in Gazimagusa, North Cyprus…

Low cost and significant advances in technology now allow instructors to create their own virtual learning environments. Creating social interactions within a virtual space that emulates the physical classroom remains challenging. While students are familiar with virtual worlds and video meetings, they are inexperienced as virtual learners. Over a…

When the goal of group activities is to support long-term learning, the task of designing well-thought-out collaborative learning (CL) scenarios is an important key to success. To help students adequately acquire and develop their knowledge and skills, a teacher can plan a scenario that increases the probability for learning to occur. Such a…

In this study, which was situated in the context of information science instruction, data were collected twice using student self-reports to examine the effects of pedagogical practices on changes in boys' and girls' expectancy and value beliefs about computing. Participants were 326 7th-grade students, enrolled in three middle schools that were…

The term "authenticity" is pervasive in the education literature in general and specifically in the design education and engineering education literature; yet, the construct is often used un-reflected and ill defined. The purpose of this paper is (1) to critically examine current conceptualizations of authenticity as principles to design learning…

Educators have been striving to achieve meaningful technology use in our K-12 classrooms for over 30 years. Yet, despite significant investments of time and money in infrastructure, training, and support "we have few assurances that [educators] are able to use technology for teaching and learning" (NEA, 2008, p. 1). In this article, we call for a…

Deaf children have significant difficulties in comprehending written text. This is mainly due to the hearing loss that prevents them from being exposed to oral language when they were an infant. However, it is also due to the type of educational intervention they are faced with, which accustoms them to decoding single words and isolated sentences,…

Despite the well-known benefits of parent involvement in children's education, research clearly shows that it is difficult to effectively involve parents. This study aims to capture parents' views of a Blog Based Parent Involvement Approach (BPIA) designed to secure parent involvement in education by strengthening school-parent communication. Data…

Many courses for elementary school are based upon teacher presentation and explanation of basic topics, rather than allowing students to develop their own knowledge. This traditional model may turn elementary-level lessons into an extremely theoretical, boring and non-effective process. In this context, research in mathematics elementary education…

Intelligent tutoring systems (ITS) support students in learning a complex problem-solving skill. One feature that makes an ITS architecturally complex, and hard to build, is support for strategy freedom, that is, the ability to let students pursue multiple solution strategies within a given problem. But does greater freedom mean that students…

Over the last decades, the issue of digital divide has received particular attention from international bodies and researchers in Western countries. One of the main reasons for this growing interest is related to the implications that digital inequalities have for social development and particularly for education. Despite the relevance of the…

This article examines whether a mixture of virtual and real-life interaction--in contrast to purely virtual interaction--among some members of online communities for teachers is beneficial for all teachers' professional development in the whole community. Earlier research indicated that blended communities tend to face fewer trust and free rider…

A five-month exploratory study was conducted with iOS mobile devices in two Toronto area schools with students in grades 7 through 12. Both classrooms were identified as Special Education classes by the Ontario Ministry of Education, and each student was identified as having exceptionalities requiring additional support and differentiation within…

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…