The use of projectiles is a concept familiar to most students, whether it is a classic slingshot, bow and arrow, or even a spit wad through a straw. Perhaps the last thing a teacher wants is more projectiles in the classroom. However, the concept of projectiles is relevant to most students and may provide a means of bringing more authenticity into…

Have you ever bought a computer program that you thought would be great for your struggling students, only to find that it did not work on your school computers, or that your students found it difficult to use? Selecting science software for students with learning and other disabilities can be a challenge. This Idea Bank provides a list of…

Simulation software used for modeling has become as ubiquitous as computers themselves. Despite growing reliance on simulation in educational and workplace settings, users encounter frustration in using simulation software programs. The authors conducted a study with 26 engineering students and interviewed them about their experience learning the…

Improvement in instructional practices through dynamic means of delivery remains a central consideration to technology educators. To help accomplish this, one must constantly utilize contemporary and cutting-edge technological applications in attempts to provide a more beneficial learning experience for students. These technologies must…

This paper presents our recent experiences with the design of game-like applications in 3-D virtual environments as well as its impact on student motivation and learning. Therefore our paper starts with a brief analysis of the motivational aspects of videogames and virtual worlds (VWs). We then go on to explore the possible benefits of both in the…

The current research article is based on a simple and practical way of employing the computational power of widely available, versatile software MS Excel 2007 to perform interactive computer simulations for undergraduate/graduate students in biology, biochemistry, biophysics, microbiology, medicine in college and university classroom setting. To…

Communicating an understanding of the forces and factors that determine a protein's structure is an important goal of many biology and biochemistry courses at a variety of levels. Many educators use computer software that allows visualization of these complex molecules for this purpose. Although visualization is in wide use and has been associated…

"Textile Messages" focuses on the emerging field of electronic textiles, or e-textiles--computers that can be soft, colorful, approachable, and beautiful. E-textiles are articles of clothing, home furnishings, or architectures that include embedded computational and electronic elements. This book introduces a collection of tools that…

The Association Supporting Computer Users in Education (ASCUE) is a group of people interested in small college computing issues. It is a blend of people from all over the country who use computers in their teaching, academic support, and administrative support functions. Begun in 1968 as the College and University Eleven-Thirty Users' Group…

Radiology and radiologists are recognized as increasingly valuable resources for the teaching and learning of anatomy. State-of-the-art radiology department workstations with industry-standard software applications can provide exquisite demonstrations of anatomy, pathology, and more recently, physiology. Similar advances in personal computers and…

The book addresses the main issues concerned with the new development of learning processes, innovative pedagogical changes, the effects of new technologies on education, future learning content, which aims to gather the newest concepts, research and best practices on the frontiers of technology enhanced learning from the aspects of learning,…

The article presents a method of explaining the principles of 3D graphics through making a revolvable and sizable orthographic parallel projection of cuboid in Excel. No programming is used. The method was tried in fourteen 90 minute lessons with 181 participants, which were Informatics teachers, undergraduates of Applied Informatics and gymnasium…

In schools, learning spatial geometry is usually dependent upon a student's ability to visualize three dimensional geometric configurations from two dimensional drawings. Such a process, however, often creates visual obstacles which are unique to spatial geometry. Useful software programs which realistically depict three dimensional geometric…

This article showcases a virtual interactive participatory design activity for building a digital entomology lab. Conceptualized as a virtual complement to a general entomology course at Kansas State University, the lab would allow learners to explore morphological aspects of insects--their various forms and functions--in order to understand…

In this paper, a pedagogical software for the design and analysis of loudspeaker systems is presented, with emphasis on training students in the interaction between system parameters. Loudspeakers are complex electromechanical system, whose behavior is neither intuitive nor easy to understand by inexperienced students. Although commercial…