Purpose: This one-group pretest–posttest, designed within a subject study, looks to compare the effects of an outdoor nature walk (ONW) to those of a virtual nature walk (VRW) on memory and cognitive function. Implications are discussed for education as well as for the world of virtual reality. Methods: Sixty-four healthy university students were asked to complete an ONW and a VRW, which was created using 3D video of the same nature trail used for the ONW. The VRW condition involved a five-minute walk on a treadmill, while wearing a virtual reality mask (Oculus, San Francisco, USA) that projected a previously recorded three-dimensional capture of the same nature walk they experienced outdoors. Both experimental conditions lasted approximately 5 min and were counterbalanced between participants. A Digit Span Test (Digit) for working memory and a Trail Test (TMT) for executive function were administered to all study participants, immediately before and after each type of walk. Results: For executive function testing (Trail Making Test), our results demonstrate that both the ONW and VRW condition improved the TMT time, when compared to a baseline (ONW 37.06 ± 1.31 s vs. 31.75 ± 1.07 s, p < 0.01 and VRW 36.19 ± 1.18 s vs. 30.69 ± 1.11 s, p < 0.01). There was no significant difference between the ONW and VRW groups. Similarly, for the Digit memory task, both conditions improved compared to the baseline (ONW 54.30 ± 3.01 vs. 68.4 ± 2.66, p < 0.01 and VRW 58.1 ± 3.10 vs. 67.4 ± 2.72, p < 0.01). There was a difference at the baseline between the ONW and VRW conditions (54.3 ± 3.01 vs. 58.1 ± 3.10, p < 0.01), but this baseline difference in memory performance was no longer significant post exercise, between groups at follow-up (68.4 ± 2.66 vs. 67.4 ± 2.72, p < 0.08). Conclusions: Our results suggest that both a virtual reality protocol and a nature walk can have positive outcomes on memory and executive function in younger adults.

Although there is a common result in recent research and practice that digital skills are important for every educated citizen, little is known of how these skills are evolving over a long period of time. Our study looks into the development and use of digital skills in former middle school students who had an individual access to the laptops a decade ago and are now entering the workforce. Using a qualitative approach, we look at results from an earlier study on one-to-one laptop use in middle school students, as well as results from follow-up interviews with three students from that cohort. More specifically, we present narrative stories offering a rich description of the personal experience of digital skill acquisition through information and communication technology (ICT)-assisted learning and the sustainability of these skills later in adulthood. Our findings indicate three specific types of digital skills, namely, technological resourcefulness, digital self-efficacy or empowerment, and open-mindedness toward technology, that emerge as key elements of the participants' perception of postsecondary academic and eventual further career success. The results of this study can be used to better understand how ICT skills are acquired and how they evolve over time in young people who grew up (or are growing up) in a digital world and how this process can be enhanced by educational institutions and workplaces. (Keywords: digital literacy, ICT, middle school, one-to-one laptop programs)

In Morocco, the project was aimed at reducing plastic pollution and increasing the local craftwomen’s income. Design thinking and Facebook were used to support craftswomen in the search for solutions. The research question was: What is the relevance of the craftswomen’s solutions, when they are supported with design thinking and Facebook? A total of 37 evaluators analyzed the participants’ prototypes with creativity criteria. The craftswomen created innovative manufacturing techniques: stuffing objects with plastic scraps, assembling compact discs to make decorations, etc. Several prototypes contributed to reduce the plastics thrown into the Sea. The adaptation criterion was given a good score. The criteria of novelty and originality were fairly reached. The elaboration criterion received a lower score.

RésuméCette étude de méthodologie mixte cherche à mieux comprendre le choix des nouveaux enseignants au Nouveau-Brunswick francophone d’intégrer l’ordinateur et d’autres technologies dès leur première année en pratique professionnelle. Les résultats de notre analyse de régression linéaire semblent confirmer les conclusions d’autres études en ce qui a trait à l’intégration pédagogique des TIC dans la pratique enseignante. Plus précisément, nous rapportons que la décision d’intégrer l’ordinateur et d’autres TIC à sa pratique enseignante peut être expliquée, en partie, par une combinaison des attitudes chez l’enseignant en formation et ses sentiments d’auto-efficacité envers les TIC comme outils pédagogiques. Enfin, un regard qualitatif sur l’intégration pédagogique des TIC chez quelques-uns de nos participants en première année d’enseignement révèle certains défis dans la pratique.Mots clés : Technologies en éducation, attitudes et TIC, application pédagogique des technologies, formation enseignante