This paper explores the potential use of Virtual Environments (VE) in design education. Recently, the way the designers form their mental concepts, develop and test their design is enhanced with the new computer technologies. Computer generated VE has a great potential to be used in the design process and collaborative studies because they enable manipulation of simulated products as well as in...

The extreme progress of information and communication technologies (ICT) and use of Internet is attracting huge number of learners and educators. Latest technologies have been extensively taken up by web users and various factors are influencing such a high adoption rate. Equally use of Web-Based Instructional systems (WBIs) is becoming very popular and demanding among the instructors and the l...

This paper examines the use of the C# programming language for a first course in computer programming in an engineering curriculum. C# is an object-oriented programming language that incorporates language features from C, C++, Java, and Delphi. The Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Waterloo has been using C# in its Introduction to Computing course for the pa...

We have augmented the Deep Thought logic tutor with a Hint Factory that generates data-driven, context-specific hints for an existing computer aided instructional tool. We investigate the impact of the Hint Factory’s automatically generated hints on educational outcomes in a switching replications experiment that shows that hints help students persist in a deductive logic proofs tutor. Three in...

Effective communication between instructors and students is a challenge regardless of the instructor-to-student ratio. Instructors of large classes, in particular, have resorted to various forms of Internet communication, such as mailing lists and newsgroups, to supplement class time and office hours. Mailing lists are closed discussions among subscribers who receive and send messages via an el...

Students’ emotions and attitudes are discernible in messages posted to online question and answer boards. Understanding student sentiment may help instructors identify students with potential course issues, optimize help-seeking, and potentially improve student achievement, as well as identify both positive and negative actions by instructors and provide them with valuable feedback. Towards thi...

Problem-based learning (PBL) refers to a student-centered pedagogy in which students collaborate with each other to solve complex problems. There are many benefits to this approach, such as improving student problem-solving skills, developing group-work skills and motivation. However, it is built upon low student-teacher ratios, which places increased demands on instructors, making traditional ...

In distance learning and self-paced instruction, student evaluation with prompt feedback has always been a critical issue. Instructors and teaching assistants are often confronted with scores of e-mail messages per day from students, the need to work night and day to grade exams, and heavy workloads late in the term. This paper describes the design of an automatic evaluation system that aims to...

Computer science students contemplating a career in graphics need to develop a visual sense, but traditional course topics do not meet this need. Visual analysis is a teaching technique developed for computer science instructors that helps impart this ability. Through the use of a few visual cues, students learn to visually identify surface algorithms, shaders and lighting techniques. An intera...

The need for computer forensics education continues to grow, as digital evidence is present in more crimes, whether the crimes directly involve computers or not. An essential component of training in computer forensics is hands-on, realistic laboratory assignments. Creating detailed, realistic lab assignments, however, is a difficult task. The “crime” must be played out on the machine, often in...