<p> The use of virtual laboratories has the potential to change physics education. These low-cost, interactive computer activities interest students, allow for easy setup, and give educators a way to teach laboratory based online classes. This study investigated whether virtual laboratories could replace traditional hands-on laboratories and whether students could retain the same long-term knowledge in virtual laboratories as compared to hands-on laboratories. This study is a quantitative quasi-experiment that used a multiple posttest design to determine if students using virtual laboratories would retain the same knowledge as students who performed hands-on laboratories after 9 weeks. The study was composed of 336 students from 14 school districts. Students had their performances on the laboratories and their retention of the laboratories compared to a series of factors that might have affected their retention using a pretest and two posttests, which were compared using a <i>t</i> test. The results showed no significant difference in short-term learning between the hands-on laboratory groups and virtual laboratory groups. There was, however, a significant difference (p = .005) between the groups in long-term retention; students in the hands-on laboratory groups retained more information than those in the virtual laboratory groups. These results suggest that long-term learning is enhanced when a laboratory contains a hands-on component. Finally, the results showed that both groups of students felt their particular laboratory style was superior to the alternative method. The findings of this study can be used to improve the integration of virtual laboratories into science curriculum.</p>

<p> The problem addressed is the lack of empirical research describing the delivery of individualized learning material in a secure and mobile manner. The goal was to investigate the effectiveness of deploying training materials to National Football League (NFL) players during a recent NFL season. </p><p> Over the past few seasons, NFL teams have started to deliver player training material to mobile devices. The training material is sensitive and includes planning documents for upcoming games. An effort was made to survey a representative at each of the 32 NFL teams in order to gain insight on effectiveness, security, and process. Nearly half of the league responded with 14 of the 32 franchises reporting back. </p><p> The results demonstrate that mobile devices can be an effective means to distribute educational materials to individuals in secure manner. The iPad was identified as a suitable platform for delivery of instructional material. Security elements such as encryption and using mobile security products should be strongly considered. The results are discussed in detail. A set of standards and guidelines were created based on the responses provided by club employees. </p>

<p> At present, it can be difficult for teachers to teach writing effectively in the formal classroom due to large class sizes and unreasonable standardized testing criteria. As a result, many students are unable to learn how to communicate well in writing. Teachers will need to look outside the traditional methods of writing instruction to find ways to teach writing strategies effectively and efficiently. Informal learning occurs frequently in online spaces. Online communities, such as fan fiction websites, offer an opportunity for experts and novices to work in the same digital space where one can learn from each other through interactions within the community.</p><p> This dissertation analyzes the discourse among participants in an online fan fiction website, fanfiction.mugglenet.com, in order to find evidence of writing support and effective writing instruction. Participants in the community contribute to the success of writers as they comment on stories and in the forums. Members of the community interact with one another in three different ways: through comments on stories as they are being updated, through comments in the Beta Forums, and through private interactions between beta readers and authors. Comment feeds and threads from the Beta Forums were coded for evidence of writing support and elements of effective writing instruction. Findings of the study centered on motivation and support for writers as they continue to update their stories.</p><p> The study creates theoretical constructs to contribute to existing research on educational technology and writing instruction. Based on the evidence of this study, informal learning in the community can be harnessed to teach writing to novice writers. Technology and new media prove to be a useful tool for educators who are looking to for new ways to teach writing. This grounded theory research plans to provide teachers in the classroom with more effective tools. Online fan fiction communities offer students a chance to interact with other writers about stories they have written. Learning from the community has potential to provide motivation for students to write more often and frequently. Informal learning through the community has the potential to give educators a tool to teach vital writing skills.</p>

<p> The purpose of this study was to design, pilot, and evaluate the effectiveness of a teacher-led intervention using karaoke to improve the reading skills. Elements from previous research (Biggs, Homan, Dedrick, Rasinksi &amp; Minick, 2008; Gupta, 2006) were adapted and integrated with the structure of Writer's Workshop (Calkins, 1991; Graves, 1983) to create an intervention referred to as Karaoke Workshop. The researcher, who also participated in the role of the after-school intervention teacher, adapted existing instructional and design methods and the efficacy of the adaptation of these methods in this context was part of the pilot nature of this study. </p><p> Two rounds of the design-based research cycle were followed to develop, implement, and evaluate a teacher-led intervention. The impact of the design on three key outcomes was observed leading to several key findings. The most significant finding validated the impact that karaoke has on oral reading fluency. Over an 8-week period, every participant experienced a significant improvement in oral reading fluency, with the average reading rate of participants increasing from 64 to 94 WCPM. </p><p> In addition, this study offers an instructional model for teachers who want to use karaoke in the classroom. The revised model includes separate instructional routines for teacher-led lessons and for student-driven activity. This model is based on teacher manipulation of three variables, the curriculum, the music, and the technology, which were also explored. </p><p> This study serves as an exemplar for the integration of music into the curriculum in a way that supports both the arts and student performance with core content. Given the current educational landscape, where arts instruction is often shadowed by an emphasis on the core curriculum and high-stakes testing, it is important for educators to identify ways to integrate the arts that contribute to these high-stakes outcomes.</p>

<p> The purpose of this thesis is to investigate the development of children's drawing skills through the use of technology. The research involved five children two girls and three boys, ages three to five years in a preschool center located in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. Specifically, the researcher observed and analyzed the response of the selected children to the use of tablet-based programs in the development of their drawing skills. The result showed that boys between three to four were more interactive with drawing on the iPad than girls. This result will be helpful for teachers and technology specialists to understand how to optimize technology to support early childhood artistic efforts.</p><p> The first chapter of this thesis is an introduction and holds the purpose of the study. The second chapter is a review of literature. Chapter three is the methodology. And in chapter four, findings and results are discussed. Chapter five is the conclusion and recommendations for further study.</p>

<p> College faculty members are often inadequately prepared to use technology in their classrooms. They often learn technology without institutional support, and without understanding technology's impact on student learning. As a result of these shortcomings, the use of technology in the college classroom is often not systematic or focused on improving learning. This study used a conceptual framework based on Wenger's learning community or community of practice idea. This study examined a Midwestern university where faculty made only limited use of classroom technology and did not demonstrate contemporary approaches to student learning. The study set out to determine the impact of technology-based faculty learning communities on student engagement. Five university faculty members served as research participants; all agreed to form a learning community and participate in a series of interviews that examined the impact of technology integration and the role of learning communities on adopting technology. Interview data were analyzed using an emergent and exploratory approach where themes and trends were identified through direct observation and examination of interview transcripts. One of the emergent themes was that increased faculty technology use depends primarily on positive prior experiences with technology. Another theme was that students' self-reported technology competency does not accurately reflect classroom uses, which may have a significant impact on educational technology integration strategies. The study's findings provide guidelines for a best practice model of faculty professional development to improve and enhance classroom learning with educational technology.</p>

<p> As school leaders continue to attempt to integrate technology into today's classrooms, 1:1 laptop initiatives are becoming increasingly more prevalent and certainly more affordable than ever before. School leaders must be able to justify the expenditure by the direct impact the integration of the laptops make on classroom instruction and learning. Preparing and supporting teachers to teach and facilitate learning with these new technological tools is a necessity that cannot be overlooked in ensuring the success of 1:1 laptop initiatives. This study examined the impact of various professional development preparatory factors on the instructional change that occurred immediately after implementation of a 1:1 laptop initiative within three high schools. Significant differences were observed between the teachers' perceived value of different types of professional development activities, including learning to use hardware, software, content management and instructional delivery platforms, as well as learning to integrate technology into instruction. Significant changes were also observed in each of 11 different instructional activities when comparing teacher practice pre-1:1 laptop initiative implementation and during implementation. Correlations between the amount of time teachers had access to their own laptops prior to the 1:1 implementation and the change in frequency of use of the instructional activities indicated limited significant results, as did the correlations between the length of professional development preparation designed to prepare teachers for the 1:1 laptop initiative and the change in frequency of use of the 11 instructional activities. The final correlations between the teachers' perceived value of the four professional development activities and the change in frequency of use of the 11 instructional activities also yielded limited significant results.</p>

<p> As online courses become more established, there has been a clear impetus to build interactivity, personalization, and real-time feedback into courses. Faculty and course designers have cast envious eyes at video and online games that engage and enthrall players for hours and some are experimenting with gamification&mdash;a blanket term that covers all manner of attempts to build student intrinsic motivation into online courses. In this study I analyze four cases of gamified online courses at accredited institutions of higher education. I've looked at game elements the course builders are including and whether this might be a means of progress toward educational and societal goals. My conclusion is that there is potential significantly to increase student engagement in the concept of gamifying online courses. I outline areas for future study by suggesting frameworks within which gamification might be further analyzed and assessed.</p>

<p> An ever increasing number of school districts realize the potential for online classes to allow students equal access to a high quality education. This study used quantitative methods to contribute to the body of literature pertaining to K-12 online learning and also the gender gap in mathematics, science, and English/language arts education. Research for this study focused on the extent to which the gender gap in mathematics, science, and English/language arts performance is the result of differences in the level of teacher-student interaction through analyzing students' final course grades from a school district's 6^th-12^th grade traditional courses and online courses where there is no teacher-student interaction. Student achievement was further analyzed by controlling for prior achievement, socio-economic status (S.E.S.) and ethnicity. This study intends to contribute to the body of research on the gender gap and the benefits of online education at the K-12 level.</p>

<p> Users play a key role in many training strategies, yet some organizations often fail to understand the users&rsquo; perception after a simulation training implementation, their attitude about acceptance or rejection of and integration of emerging simulation technology in medical training (Gaba, 2007, and Topol, 2012). Several factors are considered to contribute to the acceptance level of simulation training by the users, including cost, the existing training and certification policies, technical issue, realism of training, values of it, concerns about it, and its effect on the patients outcome, and medical errors (Clever, 2011and Dawson, 2006).An often overlooked factor in the success of a simulation training merger is the impact on the users and medical profession (Dickemen, 2007). This qualitative phenomenological research study explored the lived experiences of a purposeful sampling of medicals simulation training users in the decision and none decision making roles, who had been involved in simulation training at least for one year. The study obtained their perceptions, their lived experiences, feelings associated with the experience, and interactions. And then how those feelings, perception, opinions, attitudes, and interactions evolved. Data suggested that the presence of feelings attached to experience, preconceived views, existing training policies, affect the level of effectiveness, users&rsquo; view of its outlook, impact on the decisions, and the medical profession. In addition the users&rsquo; perception, beliefs, and feelings all affect the interpersonal dynamics, interactions, communications, of simulation training users during adoption of simulation technology and its implementation. Understanding the medical simulation training phenomena through the understanding of users&rsquo; perspective can redefine how they communicate, interact, share, learn in simulated environment , and from one another that help with the subsequent additions and modifications to the existing simulation training strategies. </p>