The present research investigates the contribution of an interactive educational virtual environment on milk pasteurization to the learning outcomes of 40 students in a technical secondary school using SOLO taxonomy. After the interaction with the virtual environment the majority of the students moved to higher hierarchical levels of understanding…

This study aimed to investigate the perceptions of a computer-assisted writing program among EFL learners in a college composition class. A mixed method research design was employed combining both qualitative and qualitative techniques. Forty-five junior students in a Taiwanese college writing class were introduced to the computer-assisted writing…

The popularity of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) has grown enormously, with communities of players reaching into the millions. Their fantasy narratives present multiple challenges created by the virtual environment and/or other players. The games' potential for education stems from the fact that players are immersed in a…

This project analyzed the effectiveness of a city-wide wireless weather sensor network, the Taipei Weather Science Learning Network (TWIN), in facilitating elementary and junior high students' study of weather science. The network, composed of sixty school-based weather sensor nodes and a centralized weather data archive server, provides students…

The aim of this study is to reveal how well online communities of practice (oCoPs) help teachers share explicit knowledge and bring their tacit knowledge to the surface. An Internet based oCoP platform called "The Professional Development Circle" (The PDC) was developed for this study. The study was conducted in two phases: 1) a mandatory…

Highly mobile devices are not just little computers or calculators. They have unique affordances and constraints that matter in teaching and learning. In addition, kids not only like portable digital technologies but use them as integral parts of their lives. If schools do not reconsider what they teach and how and where they teach it, students…

This article proposes three guidelines for mobile technology design that address the needs and goals of teachers who are considered mainstream with regard to technology use. Devices should be easy to learn and use, focused on the curriculum, and instruction-friendly. Only if the three guidelines are followed by hardware and software developers…

This article discusses the importance of private interactions, in which a student works alone with learning materials, and public interactions, in which a group of students engage in discourse around learning materials. While traditional technology requires that designers choose one type of interaction over another, the authors show how handheld…

This article presents findings from research in a school district using handhelds to support writing across the curriculum. The authors report that handheld devices can be useful to foster classroom note-taking activities, assist students who have handwriting difficulties, and provide inspiration to teachers who want to create collaborative and…

This article introduces two contrasting ways of using highly mobile information technology for educational purposes. The first example uses mobile devices and scientific probes to gather information; the second uses a combination of mobile and desktop computers to disseminate it by way of podcasts. The examples also show that mobile devices…

The emergence of mobile technologies has afforded educators new ways of thinking about teaching and learning. When mobile technologies target specific instructional initiatives, they become lifelong learning tools for students and an integral part of the learning process. The key to success is creating logical and meaningful connections between…

MyArtSpace is a service for children to spread their learning between schools and museums using mobile phones linked to a personal Web space. Using MyArtSpace as an example, the authors discuss the possibilities for mobile technology to form bridges between formal and informal learning. They also offer guidelines for designing such bridges.…

In a world that is increasingly mobile and connected, the nature of information resources is changing, and wireless mobile technologies provide access to a wide range of resources and tools, anywhere and anytime. Consequently, learning is shifting increasingly from formal to informal environments. This article provides some thoughts about this…

Five representatives from the mobile computing industry provide their perspectives on handhelds in education. While some of their ideas differ, they all agree on the importance of staff development, appropriate curriculum development, and teacher support to create the kinds of personalized learning environments that mobile devices make possible.

This article explores how the future of mobile learning games lies in the blurring of the line between fun and learning, between in-school and out-of-school. Accomplishing this requires new paradigms as well as new technologies. Mobile learning games can be the conduits between the world of school and the world of life, and make them both more fun…