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The various possibilities that social media offers to language learners and teachers have long been recognized by researchers within the field of language instruction, and many studies have been carried out in an attempt to address and unpack its potential contributions. This paper aims to review such research on the use of mainstream social media in language teaching and learning published in "Computer Assisted Language Learning," a top tier (i.e., Q1) journal indexed in major citation index systems (e.g., Arts & Humanities Citation Index, the Social Sciences Citation Index and Scopus), between the years 2016-2020 inclusive. For the purposes of the study, a total of 23 articles that meet the selection criteria is reviewed and presented in five sections. The first section deals with the majority of the articles, which are found to be on the use of social networking in language teaching and learning. In the following sections, studies on the use of videoconferencing, wikis, blogging and forums are discussed. Collectively, the studies reviewed in this paper outline a critical role for the use of social media in language instruction and the study aims to provide valuable insights for researchers, teachers and learners.

This study examined the effectiveness of guided data-driven learning (DDL) activities on helping technological university students with a lower-intermediate proficiency level to learn grammar and vocabulary topics for the TOEIC test. The question of whether inductive learners make more progress than deductive learners was also addressed. A total of fifty-one non-English majors in a freshman English class participated in the study. Five computer-based and four paper-based DDL lessons were developed to increase students' awareness of the usage of particular grammar items and the distinction between three sets of synonyms. In order to determine the effects of the treatments, all the participants took pre-tests and immediate posttests. The results showed that there was a statistically significant difference between pre- and post-tests on grammar and vocabulary. However, inductive learners did not outperform deductive learners. As for students' perception of the treatments, it is noteworthy that they tended to take a neutral to less than positive attitude towards this DDL experience even though such an experience helped them significantly improve. The results suggested the existence of a gap between students' perceived satisfaction and their actual achievement. Pedagogical implications of these findings were discussed to improve the efficacy of DDL in Taiwan's EFL context.

This paper aimed to explore the effect of using YouTube as a supplementary material with EFL college students. The research intended to reveal the improvement of the students' listening comprehension after the 5-week treatments--students participating in this study are all Taiwanese, age from 18-20, with a high intermediate level of proficiency in English. They were all in the same class and were exposed under the multimedia (YouTube) learning environment. However, students were obliged to finish the pre-test and post-tests. Moreover, the questionnaire was offered to them in order to know the perceptions and reflections of students with integrating YouTube into courses as well. In this research, paired T-Test was used to find out if there was a significant difference that exists before and after the treatments, also validate the pre-specified result. It was suggested that after training in the combination of the computer-assisted learning technique and traditional pedagogy, students performed better on the listening comprehension test than without the treatment before.

Despite the large amount of research that has taken place with mobile devices for language learning over the years, there are still limited conclusions that can be reached as to what contributes to sustained task engagement. A common problem that has long been seen in the CALL literature is that many tasks and activities that are reported are small scale studies taking place in a single environment with a limited number of subjects, often as a result of teachers investigating the outcomes of their own teaching (see Warschauer, 1997; Hubbard, 2005). Given the nature of the environments in which many teachers find themselves, it is in some way inevitable that studies tend to be of a smaller scale and often undertaken within a single class. It is possible to gain deeper insights into the tasks used through replication studies (Porte, 2012). This paper discusses the potential insights gained from replicating approximately the same basic language learning tasks in varied contexts. Research on vocabulary and listening tasks was carried out in Japan over an 8-year period from 2010 through 2017 for Japanese learners of English. In addition, the same tasks were adapted for Australian learners of Japanese in 2012 and Taiwanese learners of English in 2013, with a total of 420 participants. Data were collected through post-treatment surveys, semi-structured interviews and server logs recording the times spent on the tasks, the scores achieved, and the devices used to engage in the tasks. The same methods of data collection were used in each of the studies, using primarily the same tasks apart from adaptations made for developments in technology and for the different language learning contexts. Carrying out the same tasks in subsequent years with increasingly newer technologies and with teachers and learners from different cultural backgrounds provided insights into the effect of the context, the technology, and role of both teachers and learners in successfully implementing the tasks.

Purpose: This paper aims to present a comprehensive review of the present state and trends of smart education research. It addresses the need to have a systematic review of smart education to depict its research landscape in view of the growing volume of related publications. Design/methodology/approach: A bibliometric analysis of publications on smart education published in 2011 to 2020 was conducted, covering their patterns and trends in terms of collaboration, key publications, major topics and trends. A total of 1,317 publications with 29,317 cited references were collected from the Web of Science and Scopus for the bibliometric analysis. Findings: Research on smart education has been widely published in various sources. The most frequently cited references are all theoretical or discussion articles. Researchers in the USA, China, South Korea, India and Russia have been most active in research collaborations. However, international collaborations have remained infrequent except for those involving the USA. The research on smart education broadly covered smart technologies as well as teaching and learning. The emerging topics have addressed areas such as the Internet of Things, big data, flipped learning and gamification. Originality/value: This study depicts the intellectual landscape of smart education research, and illustrated the evolution and emerging trends in the field. The results highlight its latest developments and research needs, and suggest future work related to research collaborations on a larger scale and more studies on smart pedagogies.

This study investigated the effectiveness of using Google Docs in collaborative concept mapping (CCM) by comparing it with a paper-and-pencil approach. A quasi-experimental study was conducted in a physics course. The control group drew concept maps using the paper-and-pencil method and face-to-face discussion, whereas the experimental group employed Google Docs to create concept maps and used Google Chat for discussion. Learning achievements, physics concept representation, attitudes toward science, and attitudes toward CCM were examined to identify the differences between the two groups and the effectiveness of Google Docs. The results suggested that the use of Google Docs did not significantly affect physics achievement. However, Google Docs fostered physics concept representation and enhanced attitudes toward science. Moreover, the Google Docs group tended to learn more collaboratively. The students in this group also agreed with the superiority of observation and modification functions provided by the real-time co-editing mechanism and revision history.

This paper describes a structured attempt to integrate flip teaching into language classrooms using a WebQuest active learning strategy. The purpose of this study is to examine the possible impacts of flipping the classroom on English language learners' academic performance, learning attitudes, and participation levels. Adopting a quasi-experimental design, three different formats for flip teaching were developed in this study. The results indicate that the structured and semi-structured flip lessons were more effective instructional designs than the non-flip lessons. With a varying extent, both the structured and semi-structured flip lessons helped the students attain better learning outcomes, develop better attitudes toward their learning experiences, and devote more effort in the learning process. Given the positive results, this paper concludes with a call for more research into this promising pedagogy to contribute to its knowledge base across disciplines.

This study illustrates a teaching model that utilizes a Blackboard (Bb) course management system (CMS) to support English writing instruction. It was implemented in a blended English research paper (RP) writing course, with specific learning resources and activities offered inside and outside the Bb CMS. A quasi-experimental study in which the results of two academic years were analysed is presented. The results showed that the experimental group significantly outperformed the control group in their final drafts. The research methodology included the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) to evaluate the course. The results of the survey showed that most students displayed positive learning outcomes, indicating that the instruction model could contribute to the effectiveness of learning English writing. Major factors influencing the improvement of writing performance included technical support, perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and attitude; however, the influence of writing activities on the Bb was limited in comparison to the other variables.

Although teacher training programs can deliver knowledge of ways to integrate technology into English as a Foreign Language (EFL) lessons, teachers may not achieve sustainable improvement in their Computer Assisted Language Learning (CALL) professional knowledge as they cannot not reflect on the effectiveness of their lessons through actual practice. This study contributes to the literature by illustrating how the integration of the ADDIE model with teachers' lesson design influenced their CALL professional knowledge. Six EFL teachers participated in an 18-week course in which they designed, delivered, and revised a CALL lesson based on the ADDIE model. Results showed that the teachers demonstrated significant improvement in their CALL professional knowledge. The contextual analysis facilitated the teachers' development of pedagogical knowledge by re-examining the current English teaching and learning issues. Through lesson design, the teachers reported that they could move away from traditional printed textbook instruction and paper-and-pencil tests to the computer-assisted language instruction, thus sharpening their online searching skills using open educational resource tools for English teaching. The implementation and evaluation of the lessons was valuable for teachers to evaluate their lessons by observing students' learning behaviors and performance, which elevated teachers' confidence in the use of computer-assisted language instruction for English teaching.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relative effectiveness of two different learning modes; namely, a computer animation self-directed learning approach and a paper version of the self-directed learning approach, to 5th-graders' number sense development. Two 5th-grade classes, 30 students each, were selected from a public elementary school in southern Taiwan and randomly assigned to the computer animation experimental group [CAEG] and the paper-version group [PAG]. The major finding indicated that students in the CAEG group had better performance on number sense and showed more frequent uses of number sense than students in the PAG group. Implications for the uses of computer animation self-directed learning activities are discussed.

As a nearly global language, English as a Foreign Language (EFL) programs are essential for people wishing to learn English. Researchers have noted that extensive reading is an effective way to improve a person's command of English. Choosing suitable articles in accordance with a learner's needs, interests and ability using an e-learning system requires precise learner profiles. This paper proposes a personalized English article recommending system, which uses accumulated learner profiles to choose appropriate English articles for a learner. It employs fuzzy inference mechanisms, memory cycle updates, learner preferences and analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to help learners improve their English ability in an extensive reading environment. By using fuzzy inferences and personal memory cycle updates, it is possible to find an article best suited for both a learner's ability and her/his need to review vocabulary. After reading an article, a test is immediately provided to enhance a learner's memory for the words newly learned in the article. The responses of tests can be used to explicitly update memory cycles of the newly-learned vocabulary. In addition, this paper proposes a methodology that also implicitly modifies memory cycles of words that were learned before. By intensively reading articles recommended through the proposed approach, learners comprehend new words quickly and review words that they knew implicitly as well, thereby efficiently improving their vocabulary volume. Analyses of learner achievements and questionnaires have confirmed that the adaptive learning method presented in this study not only enhances the English ability of learners but also helps maintaining their learning interest. (Contains 7 tables and 10 figures.)

This paper proposes a multimedia English learning (MEL) system, based on Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) and mastery theory strategy, for teaching students with the aim of enhancing their English phonetic awareness and pronunciation. It can analyze phonetic structures, identify and capture pronunciation errors to provide students with targeted advice in pronunciation, intonation, rhythm and volume. In addition, the paper also applies the mastery learning to effectively help students practice pronunciation of English words and sentences. Finally, this paper adopts a quasi-experimental design and lasting for 12 weeks and 120 third-graders, aged 9-10 years, from an elementary school in Yunlin County in Taiwan. These students were recruited and randomly assigned as the experimental group and the control group, respectively. The former used the MEL system, while the latter received the conventional English teaching. Research data were collected through the Phonemic Awareness Test and the English Achievement Test. The results showed that the experimental group with low phonemic awareness performed significantly better than the control group in the English Achievement Test. (Contains 11 figures and 6 tables.)

A ubiquitous learning environment provides an interoperable, pervasive, and seamless learning architecture to connect, integrate, and share three major dimensions of learning resources: learning collaborators, learning contents, and learning services. Ubiquitous learning is characterized by providing intuitive ways for identifying right learning collaborators, right learning contents and right learning services in the right place at the right time. Our context aware ubiquitous learning environment consists of three systems, namely peer-to-peer content access and adaptation system, personalized annotation management system, and multimedia real-time group discussion system. Since the effectiveness and efficiency of ubiquitous learning heavily relies on learners' surrounding context, in this paper, we will address a context model and context acquisition mechanism for collecting contextual information at run time. We have built a context aware ubiquitous learning environment and in this paper we will address how this newly designed environment can fully support the needs of peer-to-peer collaborative learning. (Contains 12 figures and 1 table.)

With the evolution of the surrounding world market, engineers have to propose innovations in products and processes. Industrial innovation frequently results from an improved understanding of basic physics. In this paper, an approach to accelerate inventive preliminary design is presented. This method combines the main advantages of CBR (Case Based Reasoning) and TRIZ (Russian acronym for Theory of Solving Inventive Problem) to transfer physics to industrial technology. Based on this synergy, interactive web-based environments are developed. These systems are intended not only to enhance students to become familiar with basic physics, but also to support students in building meaningful links between basic physics and industrial technologies. The evaluation was conducted in a "Special Project Design" course requiring students to design a robot that could carry out several functions. Robotics, an interdisciplinary engineering subject, has been a recurring theme in engineering education. Project-based learning provides opportunities for interdisciplinary learning. With project-based learning approaches, planning activities and investigations play a critical role in the project process. Through the web-based environments, students can explore the essence of basic physics, design technologies, and the integration of mechatronics. Further, web-based reasoning and meaningful learning modules are developed to scaffold creative design and to enhance student participation, motivation, and learning effectiveness. Quantitative and qualitative methods such as questionnaires and interviews were used to evaluate the effects of the developed system. Findings showed that inquiry modules were able to facilitate investigation and planning activities in product design stages. The responses obtained were very encouraging. Students in the course were appreciative of these on-going changes and indicated that these were indeed helping them to develop their engineering thinking and design skills, increasing their motivation to study. (Contains 3 tables and 3 figures.)

Contextualised mobile assisted language learning (MALL) has been known for its potential in language learning rooted in social constructivism theories. However, a consistent approach to constituents of contextualised MALL, in addition to a quantitative tool to evaluate it, is missing in reported case studies. The present research, drawing upon literature context definitions, presents a research framework for analysing, designing and evaluating contextualised MALL. Real world and real life context variables were analysed and the potential influence of the country (target and non-target) and the mobile activities language learning orientation (generic/dedicated) on contextualised MALL was suggested. Empirical data collected from 53 L2 Chinese students in Taiwan and Israel, encompassing 296 types of MALL activities performed by students, was used to develop the contextualised MALL model as well as an index for measuring real world and real life context learning. This measuring index was subsequently established in a combined top-down and bottom-up process, using pre-defined context literature augmented with students' stories. At the end of the research procedure a quantitatively operative evaluation tool was developed. Real world was measured by the amount of content activity in relation to the place, typical or non-typical objects of the place and typical situations at the place. Real life was measured by the degree to which other tools assisted in other core activities whose purpose was not learning. The paper presents the research framework, the developed model and index with examples illustrating their application. They are offered for the research and practice community to use.

This paper describes a narrative-based design framework that organizes three narrative elements (i.e., storyline, character, and quest) to support a contextual game-based environment for language learning. Using this design framework, a PlanetAdventure system was developed to examine its feasibility and its effects on student language learning. A case study with 61 college students who used the game-based system to learn English vocabulary words was conducted. The findings revealed that their learning achievement was enhanced after using the system. The majority of the students favored the game-based learning experience. Based on these data and behavior logs, the students can be sorted into three clusters with different learning patterns. The findings and implications of developing contextual game-based learning environments are also discussed.

This paper describes the development of an educational game, named My-Pet-Shop, to enhance young children's learning of English vocabulary. The educational game is underpinned by an application-driven model, which consists of three components: application scenario, subject learning, and learning regulation. An empirical study is further conducted with 30 fourth-grade students to examine its influence on the aspects of performance, flow, self-regulation, and behavior related to learning. The results demonstrated that the system contributed to enhanced flow experience and better learning self-regulation when compared to using a quiz game system without the support of the application-driven model. In addition, behavior analysis revealed that the component of learning regulation played a critical role. Some implications about the application-driven model and its future development are also discussed.

In this study, a system was developed to offer adaptive remedial instruction materials to learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL). The Chinese Listening and Speaking Diagnosis and Remedial Instruction (CLSDRI) system integrated computerized diagnostic tests and remedial instruction materials to diagnose errors made in listening comprehension and speaking. To test the CLSDRI system, 65 CFL students were recruited from the Mandarin Training Center at National Taiwan Normal University to participate in an experiment. The results indicated that the CLSDRI system made a greater positive impact on the experimental group (EG) participants' listening comprehension and oral language proficiency compared with the control group's (CG) use of computerized diagnostic tests combined with paper-based remedial instruction materials. Moreover, the experiment revealed two interesting findings related to the effectiveness of the CLSDRI system: (1) immediate and adaptive remedial instruction materials improved the EG participants' proficiency in listening comprehension and speaking and (2) there were fewer differences in listening comprehension and speaking abilities between the Sinosphere participants who resided in a Chinese population and were influenced by Chinese culture and the non-Sinosphere participants. These findings support the effectiveness of computer-assisted language learning.

This study demonstrated an e-learning system, MyEVA, based on a mixed-modality vocabulary strategy in assisting learners of English as a second language (L2 learners) to improve their vocabulary. To explore the learning effectiveness of MyEVA, the study compared four vocabulary-learning techniques, MyEVA in preference mode, MyEVA in basic mode, an Internet dictionary, and a traditional paper-based dictionary. The findings indicate that the mixed-modality with preference-mode setting stimulated the greatest vocabulary acquisition and the best retention for L2 students. The more proficient students in the study selected a preferred strategy that they employed consistently. Less proficient students did not select a preferred strategy and improved less than their more proficient fellow students. Researchers also provided recommendations for language teachers, curriculum designers, and in particular, the developers of English e-learning systems.

Few studies have investigated how metacognitive processes foster the application of genre knowledge to students' academic writing. This is largely due to its internal and unobservable characteristics. To bridge this gap, an online writing system based on metacognition, involving the stages of planning, monitoring, evaluating, and revising, was developed to investigate how such a system contributed to the understanding and application of genre knowledge to students' academic writing. The data included three different versions of each student's written research proposal, action logs, discussion transcripts in discussion forums, and an open-ended questionnaire. Descriptive statistics, a typical case sampling, and the constant comparison method were used to analyze the data. The results suggested that the students made greater improvements in academic writing performance after experiencing metacognitive processes. Particularly, collaborative efforts throughout the metacognitive processes were important in supporting students to understand the academic genre, recognize the problems of unstructured academic papers, and apply genre knowledge to academic writing. The online writing system features, designed to nurture students' metacognitive processes, served as useful cognitive stimuli to raise students' metacognitive awareness. The system's functions overcame the limitations of observing students' metacognitive processes described in previous studies, and enabled teachers to provide follow-up instruction. Implications and recommendations are also addressed.

Animated agents are virtual characters who demonstrate facial expressions, gestures, movements, and speech to facilitate students' engagement in the learning environment. Our research developed a courseware that supports a XML-based markup language and an authoring tool for teachers to script animated pedagogical agents in teaching materials. The design of the markup language refers to Mayer's segmenting principle that is efficient for assisting a teacher to edit teaching contents into a set of segments and further organize the segments in a given lesson in class. This paper details a case study of applying the proposed courseware for elementary students in English education, and further investigates how the instructional materials scripted using the courseware affect the learning achievement of students. Two groups of participants from an elementary school in Taiwan enrolled in this experiment. The experimental group used animated agent-based instructional materials in their English classroom, whereas the control group participated in a traditional curriculum. Post-test results revealed that the experimental group outperformed the control group. Our experiment demonstrated that the developed courseware provides an opportunity for scripting animated pedagogical agents as appropriate instructional tools in a computer-assisted language learning environment to foster elementary students' English learning.

Competition has been prevalent in all types of childhood activities including playing, learning, and living. Studies have shown that a well-designed competitive activity can motivate students to perform at an increased level. However, there have been few research studies on the relationship between learners' preferences and performance in relation to the level of competition in activities, especially in a computer-assisted learning environment. In this study, different levels of group and individual competitions were designed and implemented through an innovative multiple-mice learning system. Sixty 7th grade students were involved to interact with their own group members and compete with other groups to complete English vocabulary tasks. The preferences of students, of different levels of achievement, toward various competition activities were investigated upon finishing the tasks. This paper presents the potential of integrating the multiple-mice learning system into English learning tasks, and most importantly, it reveals the preferences of students regarding activities at various levels of competition in a computer-assisted learning environment.

This paper investigates the impact of combining self explaining (SE) with computer architecture diagrams to help novice students learn assembly language programming. Pre- and post-test scores for the experimental and control groups were compared and subjected to covariance (ANCOVA) statistical analysis. Results indicate that the SE-plus-diagram approach had a significant effect on student achievement and improved novice students' learning experience by increasing their interest and participation in the course and helping them to develop assembly programming skills. (Contains 3 figures and 3 tables.)

Purpose: The author redesigned a course titled "Applied Information Technology: Networking" and applied online collaborative learning (CL) with initiation and self-regulated learning (SRL) to improve students' involvement in this course in an environment that is full of free online games, shopping websites, and social networking websites. The purpose of this paper is to explore the potential effects of online CL with initiation and SRL on students' involvement. Design/methodology/approach: This study designed an intervention of online CL with initiation and SRL to improve students' involvement and their learning in a blended course. It is believed that this article is important to the computing field and could provide insight for teachers to design their online courses and teaching methods. Findings: The author in this study adopted SRL in the implementation of online CL with initiation, and explored their effects on improving students' involvement. The results of this empirical study report that the effects of online CL with initiation and SRL were positive, and led to the best involvement in the blended course among the three classes. Research limitations/implications: The effects of online CL with initiation and SRL in this study were positive; however, problems of experimental validity may result from students in the comparison group being incidentally exposed to the treatment condition, having more enthusiastic teaching, being more motivated than students in the control group, etc. (Gribbons and Herman). Besides, some other contextual factors and individual behaviours might influence students' online learning effects. For example, students' adaptability to the online learning environments and their readiness for self-directed learning may result in the differences of the effects among the three groups (Shen, Lee and Tsai). Practical implications: The internet has enabled a shift from contiguous learning groups to asynchronous distributed learning groups utilizing computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) environments (Kreijns, Kirschner and Jochems). It is expected that the interventions of online teaching methods, course design, and learning activities in this study may provide a reference for teachers, particularly for blended learning computing courses. Social implications: The results of this study report that the effects of online CL with initiation and SRL were positive, and contributed to the best involvement in the blended course among the three classes. The author further discusses the implications for schools and teachers who plan to provide online or blended learning for their students. Originality/value: First, this study provides a scenario about how to help students collaborate and learn regularly, and improve their involvement in a blended course through online CL and SRL, particularly for computing courses. Second, this study specifies how teachers can provide initiation to help students climb the learning curve and overcome the bottlenecks typically encountered in the implementation of online CL. Third, this study is one of the first attempts to explore and demonstrate the effects of online CL with initiation and SRL in a blended course simultaneously. (Contains 4 tables.)

Assuring e-learning quality is of interest worldwide. This paper introduces the methods of e-learning courseware quality assurance (a quality certification system) adopted by the eLQSC (e-Learning Quality Service Centre) in Taiwan. A sequential/explanatory design with a mixed methodology was used to gather research data and conduct data analyses. Sixty-seven e-learning courseware applications were evaluated using the e-Learning Courseware Quality Checklist (eLCQC). Analyses of item difficulty, item discrimination and generalizability indicated that the eLCQC provides high-quality evaluations. After participating in the certification process, the e-learning producers reported having more confidence in enhancing e-learning courseware quality. The certification experience also helped the producers to change their previous design concepts about e-learning courseware and to develop new concepts; further, their increased confidence about courseware design also enhanced their confidence in marketing courseware. (Contains 7 tables and 2 figures.)

The need for professional programmers in embedded applications has become critical for industry growth. This need has increased the popularity of embedded software design courses, which are resource-intensive and space-limited in traditional real lab-based instruction. To overcome geographic and time barriers in enhancing practical skills that students require for embedded software design, this paper presents a remote multiuser platform designed to allow students to experiment with embedded systems "anytime" and "anywhere" through the "always open" lab (3A). The open 3A Multiuser Lab (3AML) integrates open source and network address translation (NAT) service techniques to offer a low-cost and efficient experimental environment for students. The current study achieves the educational goals of training students to apply and integrate embedded software programming by combining teaching methodology and the proposed open 3AML aids. In addition to describing the various experimental stations of the open platform and the students' project achievements, this work also discusses the campus-wide teaching assessment results and the satisfaction survey of the learning platform with students. (Contains 2 tables and 6 figures.)

As robot technologies develop, many researchers have tried to use robots to support education. Studies have shown that robots can help students develop problem-solving abilities and learn computer programming, mathematics, and science. However, few studies discuss the use of robots to facilitate the teaching of second languages. We discuss whether language teaching needs robot support, whether robots present an appropriate medium for language instruction, and what challenges must be overcome. In order to explore the possibility of using robots as an instructional tool for teaching a second language, this paper reviews prior studies concerning educational robots and analyzes the characteristics of robots and instructional media. Furthermore, we report on the design and testing of five instruction scenarios for teaching second language. Based on our empirical experience, we provide suggestions for future research directions in the realm of robots for language education. (Contains 3 figures.)

This paper reports our implementation and evaluation of a wireless handheld learning environment used to support a clinical nursing practicum course. The learning environment was designed so that nursing students could use handhelds for recording information, organizing ideas, assessing patients, and also for interaction and collaboration with peers during an on-site clinical practicum. Our wireless handheld learning environment was field tested during a three-week practicum session. Analysis of data showed that both the instructor and the student benefited from using the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) environment. The handhelds not only provided students with scaffolds to enhance learning but also facilitated peer cooperation and interaction with the instructor. Issues resulted from our implementation included things like the capacity of handhelds, network access, and participants' preconceptions on using PC-based systems. (Contains 1 table and 9 figures.)

The ability to apply existing knowledge in new situations and settings is clearly a vital skill that all students need to develop. Nowhere is this truer than in the rapidly developing world of Web-based learning, which is characterized by non-sequential courses and the absence of an effective cross-subject guidance system. As a result, questions have arisen about how to best explore and stimulate the transfer of learning from one subject to another in electronically mediated courses of study. In this study, we argue that online learners would benefit from guidance along applicable group-learning paths. This paper proposes use of the learning sequence recommendation system (LSRS) to help learners achieve effective Web-based learning transfer using recommendations based on group-learning paths. We begin with a Markov chain model, which is a probability transition model, to accumulate transition probabilities among learning objects in a course of study. We further employ an entropy-based approach to assist this model in discovering one or more recommended learning paths through the course material. Statistical results showed that the proposed approach can provide students with dependable paths leading to higher achievement levels, both in terms of knowledge acquisition and integration, than those typically attained in more traditional learning environments. Our study also identified benefits for teachers, providing them with ideas and tools needed to design better online courses. Thus, our study points the way to a Web-based learning transfer model that enables teachers to refine the quality of their instruction and equips students with the tools to enhance the breadth and depth of their education. (Contains 9 figures and 9 tables.)