Before the advent of microcomputer-based labware (MBL), "time-of-flight" measurements for the speed of a transverse pulse on a string required elegant apparatus. This paper describes how to use an off-the-shelf MBL force sensor and a computer to perform the measurement. The data shown in this paper were collected using Vernier Software's wireless…

Biology is well suited for mathematical description, from the perfect geometry of viruses, to equations that describe the flux of ions across cellular membranes, to computationally intensive models for protein folding. For this short Web review, however, the author focuses on how mathematics helps biologists sort, evaluate, and draw conclusions…

Affect control theory is a theory of interaction that takes into account cultural meanings. Affect control research has previously considered interaction with technology, but there remains a lack of theorizing about inclusion of technology within the theory. This paper lays a foundation for an affect control theory of technology by addressing key…

Exhibition is an important part of the artistic process for students as well as professional artists, but finding enough good places to exhibit can be as difficult for student artists as for adult artists. Venues that are accessible, display art attractively, and provide adequate space for many artists are usually in short supply. There is an…

Communicating evidence-based practices to the providers and users of health services can enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of these services. However, this knowledge is not consistently conveyed to either cohort. To address this issue, this paper identifies didactic methods that facilitate knowledge transfer to providers and users of health…

This article considers the significance of YouTube as a pedagogical space from which young people can play participatory roles as theorists in their own constructions as popular cultural subjects. Drawing upon the public profile of "KevJumba," a teenager who makes videos of himself on YouTube, the article suggests that representational practices…

Many classes of differential equations are shown to be open to solution through a method involving a combination of a direct integration approach with suitably modified Picard iterative procedures. The classes of differential equations considered include typical initial value, boundary value and eigenvalue problems arising in physics and…

Neogeography provides a link between the science of geography and digital art. The carriers of this link are geospatial technologies (global navigational satellite systems such as the global positioning system, Geographical Information System [GIS] and satellite imagery) along with ubiquitous information and communication technologies (such as…

WebQuests and the 5E learning cycle are titans of the science classroom. These popular inquiry-based strategies are most often used as separate entities, but the author has discovered that using a combined WebQuest and 5E learning cycle format taps into the inherent power and potential of both strategies. In the lesson, "Clash of the Titans,"…

Decades of research into which instructional strategies are successful in K-12 history and social studies conclude that having students write is extremely important. Effective writing assignments--whether a 3- to 5-paragraph essay, a longer term-paper-style assignment, or even a fictional short story based on a historical period or event--require…

For several years we have included discussions about insect vision in the optics units of our introductory physics courses. This topic is a natural extension of demonstrations involving Brewster's reflection and Rayleigh scattering of polarized light because many insects heavily rely on optical polarization for navigation and communication.…

This study examined the reasons why students choose to take laptop computers into college classes. The model involved the individual student choice involving opportunity, ability and motivation. The resulting model demonstrated how some (primary) factors, such as effective learning, directly impact the laptop usage choice, and other factors…

K-12 education research has become increasingly concerned with technology's impact on students' attention in the classroom, particularly with regard to laptop computers and other mobile devices (Gay & Hembrooke, 2004; Jackson, 2008; Mann, 2008; Kraushaar & Novak, 2010). While this classroom technology has created many positive implications…

Research shows that extensive reading (ER) has many benefits for language acquisition. The challenge today is making ER appealing to the digital generation. For a possible solution, it is pertinent to look to the social media embraced by today's youths. This study was conducted to explore the use of the blog as a space for sharing peer-selected…

The main purpose of this study is to introduce a check list for evaluating persuasive features of mathematics courseware. Since mathematics is a source of anxiety among students (Zeidner & Matthews, 2010), this research is an attempt to employ persuasive features that can be used in mathematics courseware. Specifically, we sought to determine…