Motivating students to master the basics in any field is a demanding task. In technical education, while the direct benefit--almost certain, well-paying employment--is obvious, the challenge is to keep students' interest high. Absent that, the technical workforce lacks skilled replenishment, and the possibility of being overtaken by competition…

The development and use of computer assisted learning (CAL) materials in the life sciences is well established and, in the UK at least, significant resources have been provided to enable this. Some years on from when the major investments took place teachers are facing the problem that the technologies used to develop and deliver the CAL programs…

Advanced approaches to the construction of software systems can present difficulties to learners. This is true for multi-agent systems (MAS) which exhibit concurrency, non-determinacy of structure and composition and sometimes emergent behavior characteristics. Additional barriers exist for learners because mainstream MAS technology is young and…

This article presents a study that aims at constructing a teaching framework for software development methods in higher education. The research field is a capstone project-based course, offered by the Technion's Department of Computer Science, in which Extreme Programming is introduced. The research paradigm is an Action Research that involves…

To help students understand the real-world applications of calculus, our calculus students all take part in a lab. This is not another "computer lab" but a lab where the students perform experiments and then collect and analyze the data. The students are able to verify for themselves many of physical claims that are left as theory in…

"Wiki", the Hawaiian word for quick, can refer to either a Web site or the software that runs it. Ward Cunningham, a Portland, OR, programmer, invented and named the wiki in 1995. He wanted to help a virtual community of programmers communicate efficiently. Teachers and librarians nationwide have begun to explore the role of wikis in…

This paper investigates the use of a generic piece of software, the "Copernic Summarizer" (www.copernic.com) as a language learning tool and considers two discrete pedagogical approaches used as part of its integration within the context of teaching and learning a foreign language. Firstly, this paper will present a brief overview on the emerging…

In the first 24 months of the project, KP-Lab members were highly dedicated to dissemination and were engaged in various dissemination activities that contributed to the prime objective of the KP-Lab dissemination efforts which is "to make the project widely known to a variety of prospective users and, at a later stage, to promote the…

In this paper we propose an architecture of e-learning systems characterized by the use of Web services and a suitable middleware component. These technical infrastructures allow us to extend the system with new services as well as to integrate and reuse heterogeneous software e-learning components. Moreover, they let us better support the…

Teaching programming to novices has proved challenging for both learner and lecturer due to the abstraction and complexity of the subject matter. The work described in this paper is part of an EU funded Minerva project called TUPULO (Teaching Undergraduate Programming Using Learning Objects) which aims to address the challenges faced by novice…

Goal: The use of an online game for learning in higher education aims to make complex theoretical knowledge more approachable. Permanent repetition will lead to a more in-depth learning. Objective: To gain insight into whether and to what extent, online games have the potential to contribute to student learning in higher education. Experimental…

Five eighth grade science classes of students in at a middle school were assigned to three treatment groups: those who individually concept mapped, those who collaboratively concept mapped, and those who independently used their study time. The findings revealed that individually generating concept maps on computers during study time positively…

The purpose of this study is to investigate the integration of a cognitive apprenticeship model into an educational technology Web-based course for pre-service primary through secondary teacher education. Specifically, this study presents an overview of methods, tools and media used to foster the integration of a cognitive apprenticeship model,…

This deliverable has been produced in the context of the Knowledge-Practice Laboratory (KP-Lab) project. KP-Lab focuses on innovative practices of working with knowledge in higher education, teacher training, and workplaces. Participants of WP10 are University of Helsinki, University of Oslo and Poyry Forest Industry representing both researchers…

The Association of Small Computer Users in Education (ASCUE) is a dynamic organization for people interested in small college technology issues. Its members include information technology professionals, instructional technologists, and faculty members from all over the world who use computers and technology to support teaching and learning. The…