Unlike most program assessment systems, Program Assessment using Specified Solutions (PASS), evaluates student C programs by assessing the way a problem was solved by performing a comparison of the submitted program with a solution plan. This article describes PASS, its use of instructor specified solution plans, assessment and feedback systems,…

Describes XML (extensible markup language), a new language classification submitted to the World Wide Web Consortium that is defined in terms of both SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language) and HTML (Hypertext Markup Language), specifically designed for the Internet. Limitations of PDF (Portable Document Format) files for electronic journals…

Examines GTE (Generic Tutoring Environment) from an authoring perspective, describes how GTE may be used to create courseware, and reviews potential difficulties that authors face when using such a tool. Summarizes two studies that investigated how authors used GTE and concludes that GTE designs are difficult for authors to test and evaluate.…

Describes expert systems and discusses their use in libraries. Highlights include parts of an expert system; expert system shells; an example of how to build an expert system; a bibliography of 34 sources of information on expert systems in libraries; and a list of 10 expert system shells used in libraries. (Contains five references.) (LRW)

Describes a visual tutoring system for programming distributive-memory multiprocessor networks. Highlights include difficulties of parallel programming, and three instructional modes in the system, including a hypertext-like lecture, a question-answer mode, and an expert aid mode. (Author/LRW)

In this article we describe a programming framework called Pyro, which provides a set of abstractions that allows students to write platform-independent robot programs. This project is unique because of its focus on the pedagogical implications of teaching mobile robotics via a top-down approach. We describe the background of the project, its…

In this paper, we present our experiences in using two automatic assessment tools, TRAKLA and TRAKLA2, in a second course of programming. In this course, 500-700 students have been enrolled annually during the period 1993-2004. The tools are specifically designed for assessing algorithm simulation exercises in which students simulate the working…

Robots make a wonderful context for teaching students about many concepts important to technological literacy. They can provide an authentic context and produce high levels of motivation. According to Standards for Technological Literacy: Content for the Study of Technology (STL) (ITEA, 2000, 2002), there are six core concepts that should be…

For the general public, the field of cryptography has recently become famous as the method used to uncover secrets in Dan Brown's fictional bestseller, The Da Vinci Code. But the science of cryptography has been popular for centuries--secret hieroglyphics discovered in Egypt suggest that code-making dates back almost 4,000 years. In today's…

It seems that everyone is talking about Web 2.0. This new vision of the Web enables greater interactivity, more user control of information, radical personalization, the development of online communities, and more democratic management of information. Supporting technologies include blogs, wikis, RSS, podcasts, tagging, XML, and Web services.…

From time to time developers of (database) applications will encounter, explicitly or implicitly, structures such as trees, graphs, and networks. Such applications can, for instance, relate to bills of material, organization charts, networks of (rail)roads, networks of conduit pipes (e.g., plumbing, electricity), telecom networks, and data…

In this article, the author talks about an internal content management system that they have created at Calvin College. It is a hybrid of CMS and intranet that organizes Web site content and a variety of internal tools to help librarians complete their daily tasks. Hobbes is a Web-based tool that uses Common Gateway Interface (CGI) scripts written…

This paper shows how World Wide Web-based technology using VRML (Virtual Reality Modeling Language) can be applied in an industrial education and training context. Following an introduction to the importance of lifelong learning and training in industry, the state of the art of VRML is discussed, including its features and integration into the Web…

It is important for students to develop critical thinking and other higher-order thinking skills during their tertiary studies. Along with the ability to think critically comes the need to develop students' meta-cognitive skills. These abilities work together to enable students to control, monitor, and regulate their own cognitive processes and…

This paper reports on a novel approach taken by the author to the teaching of an Internet programming course targeted at final year diploma and second year degree students. The uniqueness of engineers and their identity is discussed, as is the self-constructed world and ways of knowing in which humankind operates. The novel approach to teaching a…