Describes a system that stores course materials for computer-based training programs in a relational database called Of Course! Outlines the basic structure of the databases; explains distinctions between Of Course! and other authoring languages; and describes how data is retrieved from the database and presented to the student. (Author/LRW)

Generally, when recursion is introduced to students the concept is illustrated with a toy (Towers of Hanoi) and some abstract mathematical functions (factorial, power, Fibonacci). These illustrate recursion in the same sense that counting to 10 can be used to illustrate a for loop. These are all good illustrations, but do not represent serious…

There are two well-known methods for obtaining a guaranteed globally optimal solution to the problem of least-squares unidimensional scaling of a symmetric dissimilarity matrix: (a) dynamic programming, and (b) branch-and-bound. Dynamic programming is generally more efficient than branch-and-bound, but the former is limited to matrices with…

Caught by a fingerprint - or is it an animal track? This paper suggests investigating with these science projects for Earth Day. Students love spy mysteries, and the popularity of TV shows such as CSI and Unsolved Mysteries indicates the fascination is not only limited to our students. Why not capture this fascination for your science classroom.…

One of the most astonishing properties when studying numerical series is that the sum is not commutative, that is the sum may change when the order of its elements is altered. In this note an example is given of such a series. A well-known mathematical proof is given and a MATLAB[C] program used for different rearrangements of the series…

As more educators serve as "Web masters" of Web sites for courses, they soon discover that as a site grows it becomes increasingly inconsistent and more difficult to manage. The situation results, to some extent, from the fact that there is a lot learned along the way and the site represents a growing level of expertise. However, it also arises…

Student retention in Computer Science is becoming a serious concern among Educators in many colleges and universities. Most institutions currently face a significant drop in enrollment in Computer Science. A number of different tools and strategies have emerged to address this problem (e.g., BlueJ, Karel Robot, etc.). Although these tools help to…

Less than one half of one percent of all processors manufactured today end up in computers. The rest are embedded in other devices such as automobiles, airplanes, trains, satellites, and nearly every modern electronic device. Developing software for embedded systems requires a greater knowledge of hardware than developing for a typical desktop…

After becoming a podcasting convert, the author talked with other students at colleges and universities across North America about their iPod and MP3 use, their familiarity with podcasting, and how they see podcasting as part of the classroom. As more and more colleges and universities jump on board the podcasting bandwagon, it's vital that…

The application of psychology and technology are used in the learning process while we use programmed learning modules. In programmed learning we use the small steps of learning resulting in mastery. The modules helps to respond the learners activity and to give immediate feedback. The learners will get their own timing to go through the lessons…

Although pair programming has proved its usefulness in teaching and learning programming skills, it is difficult to assess the individual roles and abilities of students whilst programming in pairs. (Note that within this manuscript, the term assessment refers to evaluating individual student performance.) Assessing only the outcomes of a pair…

The purpose of this study is to incorporate adaptive ontology into ubiquitous learning grid to achieve seamless learning environment. Ubiquitous learning grid uses ubiquitous computing environment to infer and determine the most adaptive learning contents and procedures in anytime, any place and with any device. To achieve the goal, an…

Innovations in network and information technology have transformed traditional classroom lectures into new approaches that have given universities the opportunity to create a virtual laboratory. However, there is no systematic framework in existing approaches for the development of virtual laboratories. Further, developing a virtual laboratory…

This paper describes the achievements of an innovative eight-year research program first introduced in Mizoguchi and Bourdeau (2000), which was aimed at building a theory-aware authoring system by using ontological engineering. To date, we have proposed OMNIBUS, an ontology that comprehensively covers different learning/instructional theories and…

Speech technology--especially automatic speech recognition--has now advanced to a level where it can be of great benefit both to able-bodied people and those with various disabilities. In this paper we describe an application "TalkMaths" which, using the output from a commonly-used conventional automatic speech recognition system,…