The notion of the lesson "hiccup", defined as the perturbation experienced by a teacher during teaching that has been triggered by the use of mathematical technology, was first proposed in Clark-Wilson. Hiccups which are both unanticipated and unplanned, emerged from a study that sought to make sense of the process of secondary…

The relationship between the structure and function of proteins is an important area in biochemistry. Pupils studying A-level Biology are introduced to the four levels of protein structure (primary, secondary, tertiary and quaternary) and how these can be used to describe the progressive folding of a chain of amino acid residues to a final,…

Examples of the use of various kinds of mobile information technology are explained for use in the classroom or laboratory. Individual or group work can make use of such devices, avoiding the need to move the class to a computer room or wait for a turn to use a computer in the laboratory. Many different applications are available. This article…

This paper introduces blended learning as a pedagogical approach, which was explored through the European project InnoEd and the way InnoEd undertook by using the on-line InnoEd VRLE. European educators in the InnoEd project have utilised a range of learning activities to help to improve Innovation Education. A mixture of lectures, visual…

This paper describes an empirical study of fun, usability, and learning in educational software. Twenty five children aged 7 and 8 from an English primary school participated. The study involved three software products that were designed to prepare children for government initiated science tests. Pre and post tests were used to measure the…