Simulation software has experienced growing interest in chemical engineering curriculums for its usage in commercial engineering practices. This article describes the ASPEN Plus® version 10 (V10) simulations and a student teach students approach to integrate ASPEN in the chemical engineering curriculum at the University of Kansas (KU). Videos,…

The author describes how high school students can use Google Tour Builder to track the impact of local Civil War veterans by conducting research with primary and secondary sources. In the article, there is a description of an example from Larned, Kansas where more than one hundred Civil War veterans settled a community on the plains. Digitized…

Interactive website charts can be used to engage stakeholders and help them understand and apply relevant data. We explain methods we used to create and implement interactive charts for online outreach so that other Extension personnel can use similar interactive tools with their clientele. We describe step by step and in detail how we made…

One goal of Extension is to provide practical information that makes a difference to producers. Cow Herd Appraisal Performance Software (CHAPS) has provided beef producers with production benchmarks for 30 years, creating a large historical data set. Many such large data sets contain useful information but are underutilized. Our goal was to create…

Calculus, perhaps more than other areas of mathematics, has a reputation for being steeped with procedures. In fact, through the years, it has been noticed of many students getting caught in the trap of trying to memorize algorithms and rules without developing associated concept knowledge. Specifically, students often struggle with the…

Where does privacy belong in the college/university ecosystem, and what should its relationship be with security and compliance? Are the three areas best kept separate and distinct? Should there be some overlap? Or would a single office, officer, and/or reporting line enable a big picture of the whole? This article examines several of the campus…

Our country has been trying to address the graduation crisis in many ways. We are seeing the impact of the efforts to improve graduation rates over the past twenty years including agreement among states to implement a common cohort-based graduation rate, research-based efforts to improve the transition to 9th grade, increased academic and social…

Non-traditional student enrollment, especially at community colleges, has markedly risen in the last ten years due to national unemployment rates, the current economic climate, and employer demand for computer-literate employees. While university instructors struggle to constantly adapt their course materials to incorporate updates in software…

This article showcases a virtual interactive participatory design activity for building a digital entomology lab. Conceptualized as a virtual complement to a general entomology course at Kansas State University, the lab would allow learners to explore morphological aspects of insects--their various forms and functions--in order to understand…

In March 2009, Kansas State University successfully implemented the ELATEwiki website to encourage a public exchange of e-learning and teaching resources. ELATEwiki, the Electronic Learning and Teaching Exchange, facilitates the creation and documentation of innovative teaching approaches used by individuals and organizations interested in…

A major motorcycle vendor, based in the U.S. Midwest, is the world's largest custom V-Twin motorcycle manufacturer and domestically the second largest motorcycle manufacturer behind Harley-Davidson. This project describes the process used used by a K-State undergraduate distance learning student to design and develop the initial version of a…

In this article, the author, a technology consultant for the Northeast Kansas Library System (NEKLS), shares the story of how the Kansas Library on the Web (KLOW) program was created. KLOW's story begins with the initial startup fund finding and the enthusiasm of the six pilot libraries. The middle of the story has to do with building a flexible,…

Programs in geographic information systems (GIS) and related areas (e.g., GPS, remote sensing) have become important additions to the curriculum at colleges and universities of all sizes and types, including tribal colleges and universities (TCUs) such as Haskell Indian Nations University. This article discusses the recent development of a GIS…

The topic of this month's department is writing macros in Excel. The examples given are of use to teachers who maintain their grade books in Excel, and show, for example, how to drop the lowest or choose the highest scores from a student's record. The Surfing Note cites a collection of online tools and resources for professional development…

Stand-alone, single-user software programs for classroom use can be prohibitively expensive, compared to information-sharing network systems. Based on a Kansas district's experience, this article explains three types of networks (device-sharing, operating-system-based, and client-server-based) and discusses network protocols, software choices,…