Purpose: Keeping track of users' communication activities in web-based environments has always been considered a complex task. It requires tracking systems that are capable of efficiently tracking users' activities and producing tracking data that can be useful to various users. The objectives of this paper are two-fold: to present an approach for…

Purpose: This paper aims to sketch the emerging notion of auto-adaptive software when applied to e-learning software. Design/methodology/approach: The study and the implementation of the auto-adaptive architecture are based on the operational framework "ActiveTutor" that is used for teaching the topic of computer science programming in first-grade…

This article presents the results of a mixed-methods study of the Adult Literacy Education Wiki. Two research questions framed the study: (1) What do participants report they have learned by contributing to the wiki? and (2) What is the nature of participation and collaboration in the wiki? A key finding of the study is that the wiki does not…

The Mechanical Equivalent of Heat Apparatus from PASCO scientific provides the means for doing a simple experiment to determine the mechanical equivalent of heat, "J." A necessary step of this experiment is to determine the temperature of an aluminum cylinder. By measuring the resistance of a thermistor embedded in the cylinder, one is able to…

Most homes in developed countries have a sophisticated data acquisition board, namely the PC sound board. Designed to be able to reproduce CD-quality stereo sound, it must have a sampling rate of at least 44 kHz and have very accurate timing between the two stereo channels. With a very simple adaptation of a pair of regular PC microphones, a…

"Mashup" is a new technology term used to describe a web application that combines data or technology from several different sources. You can apply this concept in your classroom by having students create their own mashup maps. Google Maps provides you with the simple tools, map databases, and online help you'll need to quickly master this…

Formative computer assisted assessment has become increasingly attractive in Higher Education where providing useful feedback to large numbers of students can be difficult. However, the nature of such assessments has often been limited to objective questions such as multiple-choice. This paper reports on the development and initial trialling of a…

While students are increasing their use of emerging technologies such as text messaging, wikis, social networks, and other Web 2.0 applications, this is not the case with many university faculty. The purpose of this study was to assess faculty's awareness of the benefits of Web 2.0 to supplement in-class learning and better understand faculty's…

The efficiency of teaching algorithms can be highly improved by utilizing the senses as educational aids. The authors have developed a new didactical method and a software tool which exemplifies, for the case of simple algorithms, how the involvement of eyesight, hearing and the kinaesthesia can help in the teaching and learning process. This…

For many years, researchers have searched for the factors affecting the use of computers in the classroom. In studying the antecedents of educational computer use, many studies adopt a rather limited view because only technology-related variables, such as attitudes to computers and computer experience were taken into account. The present study…

An Excel add-in--XSEOS--that implements several excess Gibbs free energy models and equations of state has been developed for educational use. Several traditional and modern thermodynamic models are available in the package with a user-friendly interface. XSEOS has open code, is freely available, and should be useful for instructors and students…

The purpose of the study reported on in this paper was to gain insight into how instructional designers conceptualise learning objects (LOs) and their attributes. It aimed to identify the range and types of conceptualisations of LO attributes held by a group of designers. Data were collected during two phases of semi-structured phone interviews…

Previous attempts to typify the field of computer-assisted language learning (CALL) have focused explicitly on technology or on trends in language pedagogy. This article offers a practical reexamination of CALL's development, as well as its moniker, and its fundamental best practices. The expression, CALL, is deemed inadequate to describe our…

Last year, the Centennial Ave. Elementary School in Roosevelt, New York received a new shipment of the New York State Science 21 kits. The new science program from the previous year was out, and the new science program for this year was in. As consulting university professors, the authors' task was to help the third grade teachers bring Science 21…

This article attempts to provide a review of literature pertaining to computer technology use in education. The authors discuss the benefits of learning with technology tools when integrated into teaching. The argument that introducing computer technology into schools will neither improve nor change the quality of classroom instruction unless…