This article describes the development and deployment of Physics Toolbox Play, a gamified component of the "Android Physics Toolbox Sensor Suite" app, that can introduce young children through adults to fundamental physics principles. The app was used successfully in a variety of contexts, including STEM fairs with primary and secondary…

Social media are a highly visible factor in the daily lives of our students. Why should teachers not take advantage of this and develop teaching and learning materials that use the designs found in such media to contextualise science learning? This article suggests some ideas for creating lab instructions using social media design as an innovative…

As state boards of education and other state policymakers consider the future of schools, sorting fad technology from technology that accelerates learning is key. Virtual reality (VR) is one such technology with promise that seems unlikely to fizzle. Hailed as potentially transformative for education and still in the early stages of application,…

New technology devices such as iPads and iPods have become very popular and widely used in special education settings to teach students with disabilities. The 20 selected single-case design studies published by November 2015 were comprehensively reviewed to examine the effects of using iPads and iPods on academic performance and engagement of…

Describes the innovative uses of Apple microcomputers in elementary and secondary school classrooms. They include: (1) helping students understand geometric relationships using LOGO; (2) computer-based science workstations; (3) using word processing; and (4) other projects. (JN)

Outlines strategies adopted in producing a software package called SCRIBE and procedures through which tests can be produced, student responses marked, and reports generated. A brief summary of the reactions of teachers to the package is also included. (JN)

Provided are several perspectives on technology, addressing changes in learners related to technology, changes in contemporary life related to technology, and changes in subject areas related to technology (indicating that technology has created such new tools for inquiry as computer programming, word processing, online database searches, and…

Graphing is a common and powerful symbol system for representing concrete data. Yet research has shown that students often have graphical misconceptions about how graphs are related to the concrete event. Currently, the Technical Education Research Center (TERC) is developing microcomputer-based laboratories (MBL) science units that use probes to…

Seven styles of software which may significantly improve mathematics and science learning are discussed. These include microworlds, educational games, microcomputer-based instrumentation, databases, tools, languages, and simulations. Opportunities and need for new software are also discussed, suggesting such items as a scientific text processing…

Discusses uses of microcomputers as: a tutor (drill and practice, course review, and others); a tool (drawing, statistical analyses, word processing, and others); and a tutee. Also addresses major problems and issues in science education, noting how microcomputers may help in resolving the problems. Problems and issues include teaching science in…

Discusses the use of microcomputers and software as problem-solving tools, including comments on "TK! Solver," automatic problem-solving program (reviewed in detail on pp.84-86 in this same issue). Also discusses problem-solving approaches to bridge the disciplines, such as music/physics, junior high science/mathematics (genetics),…

Presents abstracts of selected papers dealing with: (1) enhancing computer skills of Brazilian science teachers; (2) course integration; (3) evaluating student performance using microcomputers; (4) a computer-assisted reading and mathematics program; (5) an interactive computer graphics system for teaching geometry, and (6) computer dialogs for…

Research reports typically focus on the findings of research and pay scant attention to the methodological issues--both practical and theoretical--which arise while carrying out the research. These are the proceedings of a symposium that attempted to address this situation by focusing on the practical and theoretical aspects of a range of research…

Topics in this paper include: sources of computer programs, public domain software, copyright violations, purposes of computers in classrooms (drill/practice and interactive learning), computer assisted instruction, flow charts, and computer clubs (such as App-le-kations in Charlotte, North Carolina). A complete listing of two computer programs…

Points out that the effectiveness of microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) activities will be examined. Also indicates that a study is being conducted to assess children's and college students' mental models of heat and temperature and to determine how these models change when students learn about heat through MBLs. (JN)