India has seen its economic fortunes take off in recent years. Last year, its gross domestic product rose 8 percent over 2004 in response to an expanded manufacturing sector. The country's large English-speaking population is leading India's transition into a world leader in the software services industry. American universities have taken notice,…

The expression of genes in cells of various tissue types varies considerably and is correlated with the function of a particular organ. The pattern of gene expression changes in diseased tissues, in response to therapy or infection and exposure to environmental mutagens, chemicals, ultraviolet light, and ionizing radiation. To better understand…

Item response theory (IRT) has become one of the most popular scoring frameworks for measurement data. IRT models are used frequently in computerized adaptive testing, cognitively diagnostic assessment, and test equating. This article reviews two of the most popular software packages for IRT model estimation, BILOG-MG (Zimowski, Muraki, Mislevy, &…

This article presents technology tips and ideas for music educators. To keep current with music technology, you will need to spend time with it regularly, just like you would practice a musical instrument or voice. Basic office software programs can help you with administrative tasks and duties. Your computers are important tools for your program,…

The use of Symbolic Mathematics Engines (SMEs) in chemical education as a part of the Division of Computers in Chemistry was discussed by a panel of educators at the Symbolic Calculation in Chemistry symposium in Philadelphia in 2004. The panelists agreed that many more topics in chemistry are amenable to SME's exploration and that symbolic…

With the strong link between programming and the underlying technology, the incorporation of computer technology into the teaching of a programming language course should be a natural progression. However, the abstract nature of programming can make such integration a difficult prospect to achieve. As a result, the main development tool, the…

Modern communication technologies continue to spawn new and transformed genres, but in the digital realm, distinctions between form, content, and medium are blurred. Confounding this issue is the fact that genres are usually specific to a particular discourse community of users with learned social and cultural expectations. In the domain of higher…

Educators are faced with developing performance indicators for reporting to state and national agencies on pre-service teacher candidates' ability to teach using innovative pedagogy as well as content- specific standards. Portfolio assessment has gained momentum as a standard in assessing student-learning outcomes. This paper is a discussion of…

Tablet PCs and graphics tablets employ digital ink technology. In this paper the author introduces the reader to digital ink technology with the aim of promoting its use in various instructional or training settings, with the goal of improving instructor-learner dialogue and student learning. The potential of digital ink for improved instructional…

Teachers and students use multimedia software to create interactive presentations and content projects. Popular multimedia programs include: Microsoft's PowerPoint[R], Knowledge Adventure's HyperStudio[R], and Macromedia's Director MX 2004[R]. Creating multimedia projects engage students in active learning and thinking as they complete projects…

A Delphi method was used to determine the extent to which current educational software was meeting the needs of teachers; as well as what changes needed to occur in educational software to make it more effective. Five overarching themes emerged: (a) instructional design issues, (b) curriculum, (c) materials, (d) cost, and (e) meeting specific…

Integrating ICT and primary science appears to be a "tall order." Imposing it, or merely suggesting it to teachers as an approach to teaching science in school, can induce feelings of apprehension, reluctance or, indeed, doubt. In this article, the author describes an innovative approach that may dispel some of these fears, and suggests a…

The advent of cheaper SLR digital cameras and associated software has allowed the rapid creation of digital images. We explain three simple techniques that allow the generation of micrographs. A further technique is described that allows the production of an image from a full section of the microscope slide. Class sets of micrographs greatly…

A pendulum "engine" with dynamic parameters can be created and pendulum functions manipulated and analyzed using interactive elements in Flash. The effects of changing the damping (convergence) properties, initial release angle and initial velocity conditions can be explored. The motions then can be digitized using the Flash Digitizer 1.1,…

Early adolescence, classified from 10-14 years, is an important stage of development where thinking, planning and reasoning skills are evolving. Middle School is an educational context which focuses on the provision of support for students in this age group through the transitional period, from primary school to high school. Integrating a graphic…