The Psychometric Toolbox (PT) is a user-friendly, non-commercial package mainly intended to be used for instructional purposes in introductory courses of educational and psychological measurement, psychometrics and statistics. The PT package is organized in six separate modules or sub-programs: Data preprocessor (descriptive analyses and data…

During their middle and early high school years, students generally finalise their attitude towards mathematics and their perception of themselves as students of mathematics, in terms of aptitude, motivation, interest, and competence. Therefore, giving them varied opportunities to foster a positive and successful approach to the study of…

An interactive classroom demonstration that enhances students' knowledge of steady-state and Michaelis-Menten enzyme kinetics is described. The instructor uses a free version of professional-quality KinTek Explorer simulation software and student input to construct dynamic versions of three static hallmark images commonly used to introduce enzyme…

Desmos Battleship is an engaging activity in which students can improve their visualisation skills, and deepen their understanding of linear functions and circles by making connections between algebraic and graphical representations. The Desmos Battleship activity was used in a Saturday STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)…

Financial analysts generally create static formulas for the computation of NPV. When they do so, however, it is not readily apparent how sensitive the value of NPV is to changes in multiple interdependent and interrelated variables. It is the aim of this paper to analyze this variability by employing a dynamic, visually graphic presentation using…

Student engagement during the development of a three-dimensional visual aid or teaching model can vary for a number of reasons. Some students report that they are not "creative" or "good at art," often as an excuse to justify less professional outcomes. Student engagement can be low when using traditional methods to produce a…

Both, virtual and printed 3D crystal models can help students and teachers deal with chemical education topics such as symmetry and point groups. In the present paper, two freely downloadable tools (interactive PDF files and a mobile app) are presented as examples of the application of 3D design to study point-symmetry. The use of 3D printing to…

Most people who are attracted to STEM-related fields are drawn not by a desire to take mathematics tests but to create things. The opportunity to create an algebra drawing gives students a sense of ownership and adventure that taps into the same sort of energy that leads a young person to get lost in reading a good book, building with Legos®,…

Education is an active process in which instructors apply various devices to make the material to be taught more suitable for students' perception. As the capabilities of available devices improve, so should the methods of teaching make the best use of them. No tool can ever replace an instructor, but tools can enhance the efficiency of…

Discusses the importance of accurate graphic presentation and describes graphs available on "LabQuest" computer software. Highlights include graphing conventions; prerequisites for computer graphing; bar graphs; pie graphs; stacked bar graphs; line graphs; x/y graphs; scatter graphs; box plots; stem and leaf graphs; best fit graphs; and…

Present Educational Modelling Languages are used to formally specify abstract learning scenarios in a machine-interpretable format. Current tooling does not provide teachers/designers with some graphical facilities to help them in reusing existent scenarios. They need human-readable representations. This paper discusses the UML4LD experimental…

Relates experiences of an elementary school reading teacher and a group of fifth- and sixth-grade students in exploring the computer programing language Logo. Use of a tree-like figure as an illustration for the concept of recursion is described. Programing commands and graphic illustrations are included. (EJS)

The intent of this project was to develop a course for mathematics graduate students at Iowa State University. They would design and write computer programs for use by undergraduate mathematics students, and then offer the course and actually produce the software. Phase plane graphics for ordinary differential equations was selected as the topic.…

This description of existing hardware and software configurations for integrating computing into higher education instruction emphasizes practical applications for use in the classroom/laboratory setting. Three basic components of a "Computerized Instructional Materials Tool Kit" are discussed: (1) graphic and text generation; (2)…

Describes and compares two methods for developing multimedia courseware for use on the Internet: an authoring tool called Shockwave, and an object-oriented language called Java. Topics include vector graphics, browsers, interaction with network protocols, data security, multithreading, and computer languages versus development environments. (LRW)