Learning Technologies and Interactive Designs

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (29 June 2013) | Viewed by 24155

Special Issue Editor

Department of Educational Technology, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID 83725-1747, USA
Interests: instructional games and simulations; immersive learning environments; vision and cognition
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

For learners to become competent in any key subject, it is necessary to design appropriate instructional learning experiences. Strategies to encourage the enhancement of subject-specific skills that relate to technology--and interactions with and through technology--include:

• Hands-on, involving students in “doing” – experimenting first-hand with physical objects in the environment and having concrete experiences before learning abstract and complex concepts.
• Minds-on, focusing on core concepts and critical thinking processes needed for learners to create and re-create concepts and relationships in their own minds.
• Authentic, allowing learners to explore, discover, discuss, and meaningfully construct concepts and relationships in contexts that involve real-world problems and projects that are relevant and interesting.

A variety of technologies can provide unique learning experiences. Mobile devices can be used for hands-on activities because they are hand-held and virtual objects can be manipulated and experimented with and by the student. Web-based tools are capable of supporting text, images, audio, and video but also provide tutoring and automated assessments. Games and virtual worlds can support data representation that can potentially scaffold a student’s ideas and understanding of concepts for critical thinking. Multiple forms of delivery coupled together can be used to portray information in a way to student that can help with the learning of new concepts. Portability aspects of some technologies allow students to perform or participate in activities in different sites for authentic learning experiences. With interactive learning technologies, students can participate in instructive activities while learning with their environment and the world around them.

This special issue aims to address innovative technologies, and innovative uses of technology, for learning experiences with a focus on design. Preference will be given to empirically-driven articles that provide evidence and assessments of learning.

Prof. Dr. Brett E. Shelton
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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223 KiB  
Article
Learning in Social Networks: Rationale and Ideas for Its Implementation in Higher Education
by Ibis M. Alvarez and Marialexa Olivera-Smith
Educ. Sci. 2013, 3(3), 314-325; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci3030314 - 22 Jul 2013
Cited by 37 | Viewed by 8820
Abstract
The internet has fast become a prevalent medium for collaboration between people and social networks, in particular, have gained vast popularity and relevance over the past few years. Within this framework, our paper will analyse the role played by social networks in current [...] Read more.
The internet has fast become a prevalent medium for collaboration between people and social networks, in particular, have gained vast popularity and relevance over the past few years. Within this framework, our paper will analyse the role played by social networks in current teaching practices. Specifically, we focus on the principles guiding the design of study activities which use social networks and we relate concrete experiences that show how they contribute to improving teaching and learning within a university environment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning Technologies and Interactive Designs)
494 KiB  
Article
Improving Science Assessments by Situating Them in a Virtual Environment
by Diane Jass Ketelhut, Brian Nelson, Catherine Schifter and Younsu Kim
Educ. Sci. 2013, 3(2), 172-192; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci3020172 - 30 May 2013
Cited by 50 | Viewed by 7123
Abstract
Current science assessments typically present a series of isolated fact-based questions, poorly representing the complexity of how real-world science is constructed. The National Research Council asserts that this needs to change to reflect a more authentic model of science practice. We strongly concur [...] Read more.
Current science assessments typically present a series of isolated fact-based questions, poorly representing the complexity of how real-world science is constructed. The National Research Council asserts that this needs to change to reflect a more authentic model of science practice. We strongly concur and suggest that good science assessments need to consist of several key factors: integration of science content with scientific inquiry, contextualization of questions, efficiency of grading and statistical validity and reliability. Through our Situated Assessment using Virtual Environments for Science Content and inquiry (SAVE Science) research project, we have developed an immersive virtual environment to assess middle school children’s understanding of science content and processes that they have been taught through typical classroom instruction. In the virtual environment, participants complete a problem-based assessment by exploring a game world, interacting with computer-based characters and objects, collecting and analyzing possible clues to the assessment problem. Students can solve the problems situated in the virtual environment in multiple ways; many of these are equally correct while others uncover misconceptions regarding inference-making. In this paper, we discuss stage one in the design and assessment of our project, focusing on our design strategies for integrating content and inquiry assessment and on early implementation results. We conclude that immersive virtual environments do offer the potential for creating effective science assessments based on our framework and that we need to consider engagement as part of the framework. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning Technologies and Interactive Designs)
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408 KiB  
Article
The Use of a Learning Management System (LMS) to Serve as the Virtual Common Space of a Network for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) in an Academic Department
by Nicolette Bradley, Lorraine Jadeski, Genevieve Newton, Kerry Ritchie, Scott Merrett and William Bettger
Educ. Sci. 2013, 3(2), 136-146; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci3020136 - 15 May 2013
Cited by 80 | Viewed by 7735
Abstract
Traditionally, undergraduate curriculum committees, consisting of appointed faculty and student representatives, have served as the sole departmental vehicle for investigating, discussing and promoting the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) within an academic department. However, with the universal demand for greater accountability on [...] Read more.
Traditionally, undergraduate curriculum committees, consisting of appointed faculty and student representatives, have served as the sole departmental vehicle for investigating, discussing and promoting the scholarship of teaching and learning (SoTL) within an academic department. However, with the universal demand for greater accountability on all aspects of evidence-based teaching and on the totality of student learning and career outcomes, some academic departments have encouraged the formation of additional organizations to support their SoTL mandate. In the Department of Human Health and Nutritional Sciences, the approach taken was to combine the interests of the faculty who had a sustained interest in the “scholarship of knowledge translation and transfer” in the health sciences with those who had a developing interest in SoTL. These faculty members would then form the foundation of a “network” which has been called the K*T3net. The virtual common space of the network is on a Learning Management System (LMS) site which is accessed by all faculty members in the network and by a growing number of staff and senior PhD students in the department. The features and potential uses of the K*T3net website will be discussed. The development of the K*T3net has already supported the proposal for a new undergraduate course on SoTL and is opening the possibility for graduate students to add a SoTL component to their thesis research. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Learning Technologies and Interactive Designs)
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