A Study of Educational Simulations Part I - Engagement and Learning

Interactive computer simulations with complex representations and sophisticated graphics are a relatively new addition to the classroom, and research in this area is limited. We have conducted over 200 individual student interviews during which the students described what they were thinking as they interacted with simulations. These interviews were conducted as part of the research and design of simulations for the Physics Education Technology (PhET) project. PhET is an ongoing project that has developed over 60 simulations for use in teaching physics, chemistry, and physical science. These interviews are a rich source of information about how students interact with computer simulations and what makes an educationally effective simulation. We have observed that simulations can be highly engaging and educationally effective, but only if the student's interaction with the simulation is directed by the student's own questioning. Here we describe our design process, what features are effective for engaging students in educationally productive interactions and the underlying principles which support our empirically developed guidelines. In a companion paper we describe in detail the design features used to create an intuitive simulation for students to use

2012 Georgia Scholarship of STEM Teaching and Learning Conference Program

Conference Progra

Effect of Computer Simulations on Secondary School Students’ Academic Achievement in Chemistry in Anambra State

The poor performance of students in chemistry is often blamed on inadequate practical exposure during the teaching of chemistry due to hazardous nature of some chemistry experiments. Consequently, the search for teaching method that will be used to overcome this practical constraint has continued to engage researchers. Specifically, the main purpose of this study is to determine the effects of computer simulation on academic achievement of students in chemistry. Quasi experimental research design, specifically, non–equivalent control group design was used. The sample consisted of 78 which is made up of 38 experimental group (18 males and 20 females) while control group was 40 students (16 males and 24 females) drawn from two coeducational secondary school in Awka Education zone of Anambra State. Instruments used for data collection was Chemistry Achievement Test which was pilot tested for the period of one week in another zone. Scores obtained was used to estimate the instrument reliability which was found to be 0.78 Kuder Richardson formulas 20. Two research assistants were trained in carrying out the teaching using computer simulations. Pretest was given to the students before treatment. After four weeks of teaching, a posttest was given. Mean gain was used to answer the research question while hypotheses was tested with ANCOVA to determine the significance difference. The result revealed that computer simulation was more effective in enhancing students’ achievement in chemistry than lecture method; there was no significant difference on students’ achievement due to gender. It was recommended that computer simulation should be adopted for teaching hazardous chemistry concepts. Based on the findings, it was concluded that computer simulation should be employed in chemistry teaching as a means of improving students’ achievement in the subject and providing a real life experiment for dangerous chemistry practicals

Applications of computer communications in education.

Applications of computer communications can be used in many ways in education. An overview is given of a number of categories of computer communications applications in learning-related activities. Particular attention is given to a new type of system called a course-support environment. In this type of system a database is integrated with Web-based tools and applications, and used to generate a course-support environment accessed via a standard Web browser. Some examples are given. The article moves on to an overview of various issues confronting the acceptance of computer communication systems in educational settings, and indicates some of the ways in which computer communications engineers will have to deal with those issue

E-Learning in Business

e-Learning is replacing face-to-face classroom instruction in a growing number of businesses, but what is the prospect for the continued proliferation of e-learning in business? On one hand, the quality of instruction, the cost effectiveness of new technology, a supportive e-learning educational culture, an expansion of the Internet, an increase in online courses, shorter business cycles, mergers, and increasing competition encourage business use of e-learning. On the other hand, employee reticence in using learning technologies, insufficient corporate investment, lack of business-relevant university courses, narrow bandwidth, and Internet access issues are constricting the business use of these technologies

EFFECTS OF SEGMENTATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL ANIMATION IN FACILITATING LEARNING

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of segmented-animation, playpause- animation and continuous-animation in facilitating learning of low prior knowledge learners. A courseware prototype entitled Transmission Media was developed for the research purpose. The courseware contains nine animations on various topics in Transmission Media. Pre-test and post-test experimental design was employed on three different groups respectively. The data collected were analyzed statistically by using one-way between-groups ANOVA with post-hoc comparisons. Apparently, the result suggests that segmented-animation was significantly more effective than play-pause-animation and continuous-animation in enhancing students’ learning performance. The result indicates that segmented-animation was beneficial for students in conducting adequate cognitive processes of the information depicted in the animation. Furthermore, the result shows that allowing students to decide the segmentation in play-pause-animation condition does not necessarily promotes better learning. This was due to low prior knowledge students’ inability in deciding the appropriate stop points in animation and/or play-pause-replay button design that might causes split attention effect resulting extraneous cognitive load throughout the learning process

PELATIHAN PENGGUNAAN MICROSOFT POWERPOINT SEBAGAI MEDIA PEMBELAJARAN

Kegiatan pengabdian pada masyarakat ini bertujuan untuk memberikan pelatihan penggunaan Microsoft PowerPoint sebagai media pembelajaran kepada para guru di sekolah. Penggunaan teknologi informasi dan komunikasi dalam pembelajaran semakin meluas dan penting untuk memahami penggunaan Microsoft PowerPoint sebagai media pembelajaran yang efektif dan efisien. Beberapa isu terkait dengan penggunaan Microsoft PowerPoint sebagai media pembelajaran adalah kurangnya pemahaman tentang fitur-fitur yang ada dalam PowerPoint, kurangnya kreativitas dalam penyusunan materi, dan kurangnya penggunaan media tambahan yang mendukung dalam pembelajaran. Penelitian-penelitian sebelumnya menunjukkan bahwa penggunaan Microsoft PowerPoint dalam pembelajaran dapat meningkatkan minat dan motivasi belajar siswa serta mempermudah proses pembelajaran. Oleh karena itu, kegiatan pengabdian pada masyarakat ini dilaksanakan dengan metode pelatihan praktis dan interaktif. Hasil dari kegiatan ini menunjukkan bahwa para guru memiliki pemahaman yang lebih baik tentang fitur-fitur PowerPoint sebagai media pembelajaran dan mampu mengembangkan materi yang lebih kreatif dan menarik. Para peserta juga mampu memanfaatkan media tambahan yang mendukung pembelajaran seperti gambar, video, dan animasi. Kesimpulan dari kegiatan ini adalah bahwa pelatihan penggunaan Microsoft PowerPoint sebagai media pembelajaran sangat penting dilakukan untuk meningkatkan kualitas pembelajaran di sekolah. Oleh karena itu, diharapkan para guru dapat memanfaatkan Microsoft PowerPoint sebagai media pembelajaran dengan lebih optimal dan efektif

Seeing is believing: impact of digital simulation pedagogical use in spatial geometry classes

Digital simulators have an interesting potential to explain the relationships between two or more variables in a system, facilitating the activation of learning processes and favoring the occurrence of meaningful learning with positive impact on academic performance. To study the impact of the use of digital simulation on learning and academic performance of 9th graders in Spatial Geometry a quasi-experimental study was carried out, with a control group and pretest/post-test design. The analysis of covariance of the post test results controlled by the pre-test results revealed a significant improvement in the general academic performance of the experimental group, with a significant improvement of skills related to measurement and associations between nets and solids. Students’ positive opinions suggest the experience promoted the occurrence of meaningful learning. Implications for practice point to the pedagogical adoption of such digital resources and special attention to the educational context