Doctor of Education, Ashland University, 2009, College of Education

Technology has become increasingly saturated into the very fabric of students' daily lives. They are exposed to and use technology in every facet of their lives, including their schoolwork. With millions of dollars being spent by school districts on technology and its infrastructure, this study used an on-line survey to gather data on how teachers in one school district assessed their use of technology in their classrooms. Teachers also submitted detailed lesson plans as examples of best practices using technology integration. The study found that there were several barriers to the full integration of technology into teachers' classrooms, and that teachers rated themselves much higher on the on-line survey in terms of technology integration than what their lesson plans indicated they were doing.

Committee: Carla Edlefson PhD (Committee Chair); Howard Walters Ed.D. (Other); James Van Keuren Ed.D. (Other) Subjects: Computer Science; Education; Educational Evaluation; Educational Software; Technology

Master of Science, Miami University, 2021, Computer Science and Software Engineering

Domain-specific modeling languages abstractly represent domain knowledge in a way such that non-technical users can understand the information presented in the model. These languages can be created for any domain, provided the necessary knowledge is available. This thesis uses the domain of educational game design as a demonstration of the ability of domain-specific modeling. Games are useful tools in supplementing the traditional education of students. While games are an effective learning aid, educators often do not possess the design or technical skills to develop a game for their own use. MOLEGA (the Modeling Language for Educational Games) is a domain-specific modeling language that enables guided model design and code generation. Using MOLEGA, users can create abstract models inspired by UML class diagrams to represent card games of two selected variants. User models are then used to generate executable source code for a mobile compatible, browser-based game that can be deployed on a server by following provided instructions. MOLEGA is evaluated for validity and correctness using a suite of example models.

Committee: Eric J. Rapos PhD (Advisor); Matthew Stephan PhD (Committee Member); Karen C. Davis PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Science

Master of Computing and Information Systems, Youngstown State University, 2012, Department of Computer Science and Information Systems

The purpose of this study was twofold. The first purpose was to describe a prototype for an online taskbased language learning (OTBLL) tool designed and developed for Turkish as a foreign language. The second purpose was to investigate the effectiveness of the OTBLL tool with respect to negotiation of meaning. More specifically, the experimental study examined the role of teaching approach in foreign language acquisition by comparing task-based instruction through the online task-based language learning tool to multimedia-based form-focused tool on the amount of negotiation of meaning. Two intermediate-level Turkish classes consisting of 28 high school students participated in this experiment. The classes were randomly assigned to two treatment groups: a control group with multimedia-based form-focused foreign language instruction and an experimental group with online task-based foreign language instructions. Instruction lasted for 10 days. The dependent variable was the amount of negotiation of meaning sequences in Turkish language produced by students in two conditions. Statistical analyses revealed that students with the online task-based instructions produced significantly more negotiation of meaning sequences than students with multimedia-based form-focused instructions. Based on those results, it was concluded that online task-based foreign language learning was more effective than multimedia-based form-focused instruction in increasing the amount of negotiation of meaning students produced.

Committee: Abdurrahman Arslanyilmaz PhD (Committee Chair); John Sullins PhD (Committee Member); Suzan Harper MS (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Science; Educational Software; Educational Technology; Information Technology; Language

Master of Science (MS), Ohio University, 2008, Computer Science (Engineering and Technology)

Does the type of user interface affect how a student learns from playing an educational video game? The exploratory research in this thesis discusses the development of an educational video game that tests this question. The video game,Physical Science Fun, has three different input devices that can control the game. The research seeks to determine the relative benefits of each type of user interface. The three input devices are the mouse, the keyboard, and the Nintendo Wiimote. This paper describes the design choices and development process of Physical Science Fun. Over 130 students participated in the experiment. During the quasi-experiment, three groups of students played Physical Science Fun, one time each with a different interface. The groups of students were from a convenient sample within two schools, selected randomly to use one of the three interfaces. The thesis explains the experimental methodology, the data collection and analysis, and the results of the data. The results show the Wiimote interface enables the greatest learning for students.

Committee: David M. Chelberg PhD (Advisor); Teresa Franklin PhD (Committee Member); Jundong Liu PhD (Committee Member); Cynthia Marling PhD (Committee Member) Subjects: Computer Science; Education

Master of Education (MEd), Bowling Green State University, 2006, Career and Technology Education/Technology

Public education in the United States is in a notable state of transition regarding its use of computer technology as a tool to help educate K-12 students, but usage in the classrooms of American public schools is inconsistent and far from reaching its full potential, according to a report issued in 2003 by the National Research Council. Advocates who endorse interactive multimedia as part of computer based instruction believe that it can enhance teaching and learning because it can combine the benefits of visual and audio media with sophisticated programming to offer useful feedback during instruction. If interactive multimedia truly has the potential to enhance teaching and learning, then it should be studied. This descriptive study explored the use of interactive multimedia as an instructional resource in middle schools located throughout northwest Ohio. The research method for this study was a survey sent to middle school teachers. The sample was a stratified convenience sample of schools selected from urban, suburban, and rural communities throughout northwest Ohio. Teachers were asked if they used interactive multimedia in their classrooms, and were also asked what subject matter they taught, how many years they had been teaching, and what their gender was. A slightly larger majority of the teachers that responded to the survey indicated that they do use interactive multimedia as part of their classroom instruction, but responses were different between the strata, and it became apparent that most teachers still used interactive rarely during the school year. It was also discovered that a majority of teachers who indicated that they do not use interactive multimedia listed reasons that seemed more circumstantial in nature, rather than due to choice or personal preference not to use it. Lack of computers and lack of training emerged as the two most common deterrents as to why those teachers were not using interactive multimedia as part of their instruction. The (open full item for complete abstract)

Committee: Gene Poor (Advisor) Subjects: Education, Technology