Impact of Kinect Exergame on Mental Computation Speed and Achievement

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of kinesthetic educational game on students' mental computation speed and achievement. The participants were 63 students. The working group was divided into two separate groups as experimental and control groups. The pre-test developed by the researchers was applied to measure prior knowledge of the students in the beginning of the experimental process. In the following eight weeks, computer-based and kinesthetic educational games were applied to the experimental and control group. During playing the games, number of correct answers and completion time were recorded and the post-test was applied. According to results, the mathematical performance and mental computation speed of the experimental group is higher than the performance and speed of the control group. When the findings about the game completion time of experimental group evaluated, the time of the first game is longer than the time of the last game. And also, the scores of the last game is higher than the scores of the first game.

Multimedia Active Reading

In the age of online textbooks and digital reading devices, the nature of active reading has changed. During active reading, learners build and analyze the materials they read by applying specific strategies, such as annotating, summarizing, and developing study guides or other artifacts in an effort to comprehend, memorize, and synthesize information. However, research suggests that as textbooks migrate to the digital space, contemporary active reading may be more accurately conceptualized as, at least in part, dependent upon the medium or the platform on which it occurs. This chapter proposes a novel perspective for understanding active reading called Multimedia Active Reading, which is empirically grounded in prior research that uncovered ways in which learner behaviors in the tablet textbook environment map to common physical active reading strategies (i.e., annotation, reorganization, browsing, and cross-referencing) and introduced and evaluated novel active reading support designed for the tablet textbook environment.

Distance and Online Learning

The aim of this chapter is to present a conceptual and practical overview of online learning pedagogies for the 21st century courses including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) courses. Online learning and various alternative innovative forms of online small-group learning have been developed and implemented worldwide to replace or supplement the traditional face-to-face classroom instruction. Online teaching/learning using small-group learning methods such as problem-based learning, cooperative learning, collaborative learning methods, and team-based learning are examples of such innovative reform-based collaborative student-driven pedagogies that are covered in the chapter. These innovative 21st pedagogies make learning in online environments more stimulating, engaging, and motivating for students to deeply and meaningfully learn the course content and maximize their persistence in the web-based online courses.

Strategies to Support the Faculty Adoption of Technology for Student Success Initiatives

Faculty members have a key role in helping students to navigate through the academic requirements for their chosen degree program. As the call for more institutional accountability increases across the higher education landscape, retaining and graduating students becomes critical for institutions. Technology has been touted as the solution to alleviate the problem by adopting more efficient ways of improving and monitoring student success. Historically, the faculty's primary focus was to teach, engage in research and service with limited oversight and full autonomy. This chapter will examine strategies to facilitate and support the faculty adoption of technology as it pertains to student success initiatives. The author will discuss the types of faculty and their responsibilities, the barriers institutions face to faculty participation and how to motivate faculty to adopt technology to support student success. Finally, selected strategies for successful faculty adoptions that will support student success initiatives and programs will be reviewed.

The Role of Computational Thinking in the Preparation of Pre-Service Teachers

This chapter focuses on the ways computational thinking can be integrated into the curricula of educational institutions. Readers will gain knowledge of computational thinking as it is used in instructional technology, explore computational thinking in various academic fields, become familiar with computer-based, tablet-based and mobile device resources which support computational thinking, and be exposed to a variety of processes and interventions involved in the management of instructional technology.

Using the Flipped Classroom to Improve Knowledge Creation of Master's-Level Students in Engineering

Student engagement in traditional teacher centered model of teaching is limited to independent working or working in a small group on a task designed by the teacher. Flipped classroom is a blended learning strategy that reverses the traditional educational arrangement by delivering instructional content, often online, outside of the classroom and moves activities, including those that may have traditionally been considered homework, into the classroom. Various studies support and recommend flipped model of teaching at graduate and undergraduate level but very less have analyzed the impact of flipped classroom on academic performance and especially knowledge creation at post graduate level. In this paper we are analyzing the performance and knowledge creation of master's level students using Data Mining Techniques in a flipped classroom model.

Gender Difference in Perception and Use of Social Media Tools

Research on gender difference remains a strong interest today because the gender equality issue has not been fundamentally tackled in many areas due to traditional and cultural gender values. However, on the technology adoption, especially social media tools usage, the gender difference is less prominent. The research study in this chapter was conducted in a higher education institution and data were collected from 1534 students in eight years (2009–2016). The purpose of this study is to find out if there are any gender difference in familiarity of social media concept and use of social media tools, and if the traditional gender values are affecting social media adoption. The results indicate that there is no statistically significant gender difference in media concept knowledge. Both genders were using the same top four social media tools. However, male participants have higher usage of resource-based social media tools, while females have higher usage on relationship building platforms.

Personal Learning Environments

A personal learning environment (PLE) is a construct designed to facilitate the process of learning and knowledge management. As a multidimensional system, a personal learning environment enables users to control the content and process of learning through the selection of resources, applications, and activities that best serve the learning needs. Personal learning environments exist as transformative learning spaces that differentiate to the users' ongoing personal interests and needs. Personal learning environments will continue to transform the educational landscape as technology continues to impact our culture. New modalities of learning will be needed to meet the needs of individuals who wish to pursue education in a manner that best serves their needs. Self-directed learning will require flexible landscapes that can coexist with traditional educational platforms; personal learning environments, if implemented effectively, can meet the emerging challenges in the future of education.

Trends and Issues With Massive Open Online Courses

This chapter reveals the overview of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and the implications of MOOCs in the digital age. MOOCs are the Internet-based courses which have large numbers of students involved. MOOCs have a potential for helping college students succeed and for giving a preview of a particular university's teaching style to potential applicants. MOOCs can bring students from all over the world and encourage engagement between staff and students of a given university to interact with the wider public. Offering diverse classes on different topics through MOOCs makes it easy for students to keep up with the latest trends and be on top of their professional field. The chapter argues that encouraging MOOCs has the potential to improve educational performance and gain educational goals in the modern learning environments.

Defining and Designing Responsive Online Professional Development (ROPD)

Teacher professional development programs typically do not meet teachers' ongoing, long-term needs that arise. In this chapter, the authors forward a systematic framework called responsive online professional development (ROPD) that can be used by instructional designers to provide continuous, online PD for teachers in the service of curriculum implementation fidelity. The systematic process afforded by the ROPD framework promotes teachers' reflection on their individual classroom practice as they implement new curricula or standards and provides support to teachers as they are implementing new curricula, standards, and pedagogies. Design elements of the proposed ROPD framework are discussed by the authors, and an illustrative example of the implementation and observed outcomes of a previously enacted ROPD Program (GE2PD) are discussed. When compared to conventional PD programs, professional growth from ROPD is emphasized during the implementation process through a systematic approach that intentionally connect teachers with the instructional designers of a curriculum.