The purpose of this study is to survey microcomputer applications in special education in Western Massachusetts Schools and, in particular, to assess the extent to which special education is moving beyond drill and practice software with special needs students. Data were collected from 185 special education teachers by a questionnaire and follow-up interviews from eleven special education teachers in Western Massachusetts. Results showed that computers and software are generally integrated in special education teachers' curricula. They used the microcomputer as a compensatory tool to sharpen students' mathematics skills, language arts and reading comprehension. Some special education teachers also used computers for language assessment, speech training, eye-hand coordination and communication. Apple computers were the most popular brand used in this study. Adaptive devices such as firmware cards, switches, and speech synthesizers were used to help special needs students access computers. Computer-assisted instruction, word processing and games were the most popular software used. Students worked on computers generally alone, or in a small group, or in combination; the amount of supervision required depended upon students' functioning level and physical limitations. Most special education teachers did not teach and computer language; only a few teachers explored Logo or BASIC with their students. Special education teachers realized that the computer is a good tool to motivate students and to increase self-esteem and attention; they received some inservice training on computer uses, but complained that it was not enough to help their students. Factors making it difficult for special education teachers to use computers were: lack of appropriate software, teachers being behind the trend, not enough class time to use computers, and perceptions of computers as dehumanizing. The study concludes with recommendations for increasing special education teachers' computer training via input from hardware and software experts, and for requiring special education teachers to take introductory computer courses such as Logo, BASIC programming, authoring language systems and software evaluation. Also, it recommends that school administrations give financial and technical support for such training in order to use microcomputers and related devices more effectively.

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abstract: Multimedia educational technologies have increased their presence in traditional and online classrooms over the course of the previous decade. These tools hold value and can promote positive learning outcomes but are reliant on students’ degree of cognitive engagement and self-regulation. When students are not cognitively engaged or have low self-regulation capabilities, their interaction with the technology becomes less impactful because of decreased learning outcomes. Building or altering technologies to cognitively engage students is costly and timely; the present study investigates if introducing higher agency roles, to change the role of the student, increases learning outcomes. Specifically, this study investigates if higher agency roles of a designer or teacher enhances cognitive engagement and improves learning when compared to the conventional role of a learner. Improved learning outcomes were observed from the pretest to posttest for the learner, designer, and teacher role. Participants engaged with higher agency roles did not demonstrate more growth from pretest to posttest when compared to the control group, but participants in the teacher role outperformed those in the designer role. Additionally, reading ability did not impact learning gains across groups. While students who engaged with higher agency roles did not achieve greater learning outcomes than students in the control group, results indicate a learning effect across groups. Results of this study suggest that it was underpowered. Further research is needed to determine the extent of the impact that higher agency roles have on learning outcomes. / Dissertation/Thesis / Masters Thesis Human Systems Engineering 2018

This study examines mass-market applications for some of the many theories of eLearning and blended learning, focusing most closely on a period from 2000-2010. It establishes a state of the union for K-12 immersive eLearning environments by using in-depth cases studies of five major mass-market, educational, and community-education based products—Gaia Online, Poptropica, Quest Atlantis, Dimenxian/Dimension U, and Folkvine. Investigating these models calls into play not only the voices of traditional academic and usability research, but also the ad hoc voices of the players, commentators, developers, and bloggers. These are the people who speak to the community of these sites, and their lived experiences fall somewhere in the interstices between in-site play, beta development, and external commentary (both academic and informal.) The works of experimental academic theorists play an acknowledged and fundamental role in this study, including those of Ulmer, Barab, Gee, and McLuhan. These visionary voices of academia are balanced with a consideration of both the political and financial constraints surrounding immersive educational game development. This secondary level of analysis focuses on how issues around equity of access, delivery platforms, and target disciplines can and should inform strategic goals. While this dissertation alone is unlikely to solve issues of access, emergent groups including the OLPC hold exciting promises for worldwide connectivity. My conclusion forms a synthesis of all these competing forces and proposes a pragmatic and conceptual rule-set for the development of a forward-looking and immersive educational MMORPG

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<p> Scenario-based instructional design is ideal for workplace training, as it promotes practical and performance-based learning through the use of realistic situations. The research problem is a need for well-defined heuristics, what Gibbons (2014) called operational principles and what York and Ertmer (2011) called rules of thumb, being basic guidelines that promote and characterize expertise, in the area of scenario-based online instruction. The purpose of this Delphi study was to gather expert feedback on ideas in the form of a set of best practices for scenario-based online instructional design for the workplace. The research questions break down the topic into four basic areas: identifying a learning problem, discovering scaffolds or learning resources, maintaining project momentum, and essential concerns for instructional development. Experts in workplace scenario-based instructional design, with particular emphasis on professionals with an online or academic presence, were recruited as subjects. A detailed review of the literature gathered forty-two original statements that were organized into five categories. Per Delphi methodology, the study was conducted as a three round iterative online instrument. Subjects were asked to rate each statement and to provide additional statements to clarify and expand on their best practices based on their experience. Twenty-nine subjects completed all three rounds of the research study. While the statements express a wide variety of best practices for the field, recommendations for further research generally focused on thoughtful consideration of the learner, the instructional development team, and a focus on the integrity or realistic authenticity of the learning scenario, throughout the instructional experience.</p>

<p> The demand for innovation in nursing education has increased the use of technology and expanded growth in online courses (Hoffman &amp; Dudjak, 2012; Sword, 2012; Valiga, 2012). Many faculty embrace online learning while others perceive knowledge and skills associated with navigating online learning as a barrier to education (Hoffmann &amp; Dudiak, 2012). A lack of research exist related to faculty efficacy in the use of technology for teaching in the online environment (Chang et al., 2011; Petit Dit Dariel et al., 2013; Sword, 2012). The purpose of the descriptive correlational pilot study was to investigate educational technology competencies and efficacy in teaching online. Additionally, the relationship was explored between educational technologies and online teaching efficacy. Bandura&rsquo;s self-efficacy theory served as the conceptual framework for the study. Two instruments were used to collect data: the Michigan Nurse Educator&rsquo;s Sense of Efficacy for Online Teaching Scale (MNESEOTS) and the Duke University School of Nursing Self-Assessment of Educational Technology Competencies Scale (DUSAETCS). The sample consisted of 64 nurse educators teaching at least 51% of course content online within a baccalaureate or graduate level program. A significant relationship was found between self-assessed competency in the use of educational technologies and nurse educators&rsquo; sense of online teaching efficacy (r = .56, p &lt; .001). Additionally, findings from the study revealed that nurse educators reported a sense of efficacy for online teaching from &ldquo;some&rdquo; to &ldquo;quite a bit&rdquo; on subscales addressing student engagement, instructional strategies, classroom management, and uses of computers with a mean of 28.94 on the total scale with a range of scores from 19-35. Participants indicated that they were &ldquo;somewhat competent&rdquo; to &ldquo;very competent&rdquo; in the use of educational technologies based upon responses on subscales addressing: competency, helping students achieve, implementing principles of good teaching, and creating learning experiences with a mean of 145.40 on the total scale ranging from 100-174. An OLS regression was run with predictor variables including online teaching efficacy, online teaching experience, faculty mentoring, instructional design support, and technology competence total score. Technological competency was the only significant variable predicting online teaching efficacy (b = 0.112; p &lt; 0.001) with 36.8% of the variance in online teaching efficacy explained by technological competence. Nurse educators with high online teaching efficacy beliefs value instructional designer support, preparatory course, and peer or mentor support. Additional research is needed to establish reliability and validity for the use of the DUSAETCS tool. Replication of this study is suggested using a larger sample size of online nurse educators to verify variables affecting faculty self-efficacy in the online teaching environment. With additional supporting evidence strategies can be developed to enhance self-efficacy and technological competencies of nurse educators.</p>