Search Results

open access

An investigation of the use of instructional simulations in the classroom as a methodology for promoting transfer, engagement and motivation.

Description: Innovative educators seek technologies to facilitate or enhance the learning experience while taking nothing away from the message of instruction. Simulations have been shown to meet this requirement. While simulations cannot replace the teacher or the message of instruction, they can provide a deeper and more cognitively engaging learning experience. Classroom use of simulations has been ongoing since the 1960's. However, substantive research on their efficacy remains limited. What research ha… more
Date: August 2007
Creator: Lunce, Leslie Matthew
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Affordances of External Representations in Instructional Design: The Effect of Narrative and Imagery in Learning.

Description: Consisting of both theoretical and empirical inquires, this study examines the primary functions of narrative and the relationship between narrative and mental imagery. The study proposes a new framework to interpret semiotic resources. Combining this with the linguistic functional theory of Halliday (1978), a functional method to empirically investigate semiotic representations was also developed. In the empirical inquiry, the study developed a latent construct method to empirically test the … more
Date: December 2008
Creator: Wu, Yan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Global Village Playground: A qualitative case study of designing an ARG as a capstone learning experience.

Description: The Global Village Playground (GVP) was a capstone learning experience designed to address institutional assessment needs while providing an integrated, contextualized, and authentic learning experience for students. In the GVP, students work on simulated and real-world problems as a design team tasked with developing an alternate reality game that makes an impact on the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the design of the… more
Date: May 2009
Creator: Dondlinger, Mary Jo
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Digitally Curious: A Qualitative Case Study of Students’ Demonstrations of Curiosity in a Technology-Rich Learning Environment

Description: Curiosity is an important construct for educators as it is connected with knowledge and higher-order thinking, goal-oriented behavior, motivation, and persistence. It is also negatively correlated with boredom and anxiety. While research documents this strong connection between learning and curiosity, no studies existed exploring curiosity in a technology-rich learning environment. The purpose of this study is to identify and examine whether students demonstrate curiosity in a sixth grade mathe… more
Date: August 2011
Creator: McLeod, Julie Kiser
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

User-Centered Evaluation of the Quality of Blogs

Description: Blogs serve multiple purposes, resulting in several types of blogs that vary greatly in terms of quality and content. It is important to evaluate the quality of blogs, which requires appropriate evaluation criteria. Unfortunately, there are minimal studies on framework and the specific criteria and indicators for evaluating the quality of blogs. Moreover, quality is related to user perception, and should therefore be evaluated by the receivers. This dissertation examines the criteria and indica… more
Date: August 2011
Creator: Chuenchom, Sutthinan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Student reflections as artifacts of self-regulatory behaviors for learning: A tale of two courses.

Description: The rapid growth of online and blended learning environments in both higher education and K-12, along with the development of innovative game based, narrative driven, problem-based learning (PBL) systems known as Alternate Reality Games (AltRG), has led to the need to understand student’s abilities to self-regulate their learning behaviors and practices in these novel environments. This study examines student reflections and e-mails related to self-regulatory practices for learning across two d… more
Date: December 2011
Creator: Bigenho, Christopher William
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Analyzing Visitors’ Discourse, Attitudes, Perceptions, and Knowledge Acquisition in an Art Museum Tour After Using a 3D Virtual Environment

Description: The main purpose of this mixed methods research was to explore and analyze visitors’ overall experience while they attended a museum exhibition, and examine how this experience was affected by previously using a virtual 3dimensional representation of the museum itself. The research measured knowledge acquisition in a virtual museum, and compared this knowledge acquired between a virtual museum versus a real one, employing a series of questionnaires, unobtrusive observations, surveys, personal a… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: D’ Alba, Adriana
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Are They Ready? a Multi-case Study of Traditional and Innovative Texas Teacher’s Perceptions of 21St Century Skills in Teaching and Learning

Description: The 21st century is now in the second decade and the need for 21st century skills is discussed at all levels of education as necessary for student success in the future. Federal, state, and districts are addressing this need and have written technology plans to address 21st century skills needed. the purpose of this dissertation is to contribute to the knowledge of 21st century educational technology. the data includes seven recorded interviews from two separate research projects covering two m… more
Date: May 2012
Creator: Royal, Joy
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Developing Oral Reading Fluency Among Hispanic High School English-language Learners: an Intervention Using Speech Recognition Software

Description: This study investigated oral reading fluency development among Hispanic high school English-language learners. Participants included 11 males and 9 females from first-year, second-year, and third-year English language arts classes. The pre-post experimental study, which was conducted during a four-week ESL summer program, included a treatment and a control group. The treatment group received a combination of components, including modified repeated reading with self-voice listening and oral di… more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Ruffu, Russell
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Teacher Perceptions of the Flipped Classroom: Using Video Lectures Online to Replace Traditional In-class Lectures

Description: Advancements in media technologies have resulted in increased student usage causing teachers to struggle to be able to engage and hold student’s interest in a typical classroom. As students’ needs change, the field of education changes. One strategy that is gaining in popularity among teachers is the implementation of the “flipped classroom” also known as the “inverted classroom” or “reverse instruction” - a method incorporates technology to “flip” or “reverse” what is typically done in class … more
Date: August 2012
Creator: Snowden, Kelly E.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Students' Attitudes Towards Rapport-building Traits and Practices in Online Learning Environments

Description: This research was a triangulated study of student attitudes towards instructors' rapport-building traits and their preferences amongst instructors' rapport-building practices in online learning environments. Participants were undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in courses within an educational technology program at a central Texas university. The study employed a mixed-methods approach involving the Likert-item assessment of learners' attitudes, the identification and prioritization of… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Wright, Robert Demmon
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Teacher Perception of Project-Based Learning in a Technology-infused Secondary School Culture: a Critical Ciné-ethnographic Study

Description: Project-based learning has long been used in the educational realm as it emphasis a student-centered strategy which promotes meaning, enriched learning that enhances inquiry and problem-solving skills in a rich, authentic environment. The relevance and authentic design of projects may further be enhanced by the use of technology in the classroom. Technology is rapidly changing the face of American education in ways that were barely thinkable as little as five years before and provides the possi… more
Date: December 2012
Creator: Gratch, Jonathan
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Effects of Problem-based Learning on a Fifth Grade Language Arts Classroom

Description: The main purpose of this qualitative research was to discover the effects of problem-based learning on a fifth grade language arts classroom. The secondary purpose was to examine how receptive fifth grade students were to a new way of learning. In this descriptive study, a group of nine students created an alternate reality game as part of a problem-based learning module. The instructional design of the study included three weeks for students to design and construct their games and one week to … more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Blackwell, Deborah
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Self-regulated Learning Characteristics of Successful Versus Unsuccessful Online Learners in Thailand

Description: The purpose of this study was to identify the existing level of self-regulated learning (SRL) among Thai online learners, to examine the relationship between SRL and academic achievement based on a) course completion and b) course grades, and to investigate differences in SRL as they correlate to demographic factors. A mixed-methods research design with modified MSLQ online surveys and semi-structured interviews was used during the process of data collection. One hundred eighty-eight of the 580… more
Date: May 2013
Creator: Samruayruen, Buncha
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Analyzing Patterns Within Academic and Legal Definitions: a Qualitative Content Analysis of the Term "Cyberbullying"

Description: Regardless of culture or nation, students today are experiencing bullying via technology. With the rise of technology, this abuse has the ability to become more far-reaching, and more pervasive than ever. These students face oppression, and in some cases severe imbalances of power. Current research is being conducted and laws created based on varying operational and conception definitions of the term "cyberbullying." This study aims to analyze and provide a coherent definition for the term "cyb… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Winn, Matthew R.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Comparison of Learning Performance Between Students Who Do and Students Who Do Not Use Mobile Technology-based Activities

Description: This study examined if using mobile technology-based activities would increase student performance in biological science courses. The study compared two groups of students in lectures and labs. Each group had about 20 students. The mobile group had mobile technology-based activities and the non-mobile group received conventional instruction. The mobile group used links to the website, or a QR Code to access the activities. The non-mobile group had handouts and worksheets over the same content. … more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Stowe, William A., Jr.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Exploring the Impact on Self-regulated Learning: a Comparative Analysis of Learner Experiences Using Problem-based Learning, Game Play, and Computer-based Instruction

Description: The ability to transfer what you know to new and different contexts is a sign of successful learning. While students often graduate from college with the required number of courses many lack the skills necessary to apply appropriate strategies to solve problems in different contexts, to reason, and think critically. More than a decade ago the Boyer Report (1995) pointed to this fact as a sign that Universities were falling short in adequately supporting their undergraduate populations. As a res… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Najmi, Anjum A.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Face-to-face Versus Online Gender Roles: the Effect of Psychological Identity on the Characteristics and Circumstances of Online Disinhibition

Description: Human behaviors and social norms are transferred to the Internet in complex and divergent ways. The term online disinhibition has been coined to describe situations when Internet users seem to behave more openly and unrestrained online, often acting in ways they would not dare to act in the face-to-face world. According to Suler, there is a need for future research to "focus on which people, under what circumstances, are more predisposed to the various elements of online disinhibition." With th… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Greene, Amy L.
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Motivating Pre-service Teachers to Incorporate Technology Into the Classroom

Description: Technology integration into the classroom is a multi-faceted and complex topic. One factor that can have an effect on a teacher's incorporation of technology into their classroom is pre-service teacher technology training. In this research study the ARCS instructional design model was applied to a pre-service teacher technology course in the hopes of motivating course attendees to both learn about technology incorporation and to incorporate technology into their future classrooms. The ARCS inst… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Gardner, David
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

Social Media in Policing: a Study of Dallas-fort Worth Area City Police Departments

Description: Social media offers numerous opportunities to companies, organizations and government agencies to communicate with people outside their organization, to promote their interests and to better serve their customers, or as in the case with government agencies, to better serve their citizens. However, little is known about how police departments in particular use social media. This research study explores why police departments use social media, how they manage their social media tools, and the pro… more
Date: August 2013
Creator: Altunbas, Fuat
Partner: UNT Libraries
open access

The Current State of Us Higher Education Social Media Policies with Regard to Teaching and Learning: a Document Review Needs Assessment

Description: In the world we live in today, having a social media account such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, or Google+ has become deeply ingrained in our society. The old way of networking with who you knew or who knew your family is no longer in play for many people. In the times in which we live, much personal and professional networking is completed via social media. The old way of networking had unwritten rules of engagement which, basically, were to be respectful and not cause any embarrassment with… more
Date: December 2013
Creator: Reed, Adalheidur Steinunn
Partner: UNT Libraries
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