This paper presents a piece of educational software covering a comprehensive number of topics of chemical kinetics, which is available free of charge in Portuguese and English. The software was developed to support chemistry educators and students in the teaching-learning process of chemical kinetics by using animations, calculations, and…

The development of inquiry and project-based materials is challenging in many ways, not the least of which is the design of supports for teachers implementing such materials. We report on the design of educative and just-in-time teacher supports for an online project-based unit in ocean science. The teacher supports were visible as tabs on the…

Describes the development, use, and evaluation of the "Osmosis Program" as a teaching tool to elicit and challenge college students' understanding about diffusion and osmosis. Results showed students using the program performed better on a diffusion and osmosis assessment test than students not using the program. (Author/MKR)

Describes the powerful graphing ability of computer algebra systems (CAS) to create three-dimensional graphs or surface graphics of electric potentials. Provides equations along with examples of the printouts. Lists the programs Mathematica, Maple, Derive, Theorist, MathCad, and MATLAB as promising CAS systems. (MVL)

Despite a rise in the use of handheld computers in classrooms, meaningful learning with personal digital assistant (PDA) technology remains poorly studied. This article reports results from an evaluation of customized handheld data collection software, the BioKIDS Sequence, which was used during an 8-week biodiversity curriculum unit by 5th and…

Describes the "SemNet" software and some of its uses as an educational and research tool, with emphasis on the similarities and differences between concept mapping and semantic networking. (PR)

Reviews the limited research on computer software alternatives to actual dissection in biology instruction. Concludes that research should include larger more representative samples; higher priority on psychometrically sound instrumentation; a paper-based comparison group; a design that carefully considers attitude; and practical measures to…

A science classroom was used to study the effects of a shared intranet environment on students' problem-solving ability and metacognitive reflection skills through shared contextualization. Subjects were first-time 9th- and 10th-grade biology students from three public high schools. An evaluative analysis of the CourseInfo software (Blackboard,…