Educational institutions have rushed to put their academic resources and services online, beginning the global community onto a common platform and awakening the interest of investors. Despite continuing technical challenges, online education shows great promise. Open source software offers one approach to addressing the technical problems in…

Educational data mining is a very novel research area, offering fertile ground for many interesting data mining applications. Educational data mining can extract useful information from educational activities for better understanding and assessment of the student learning process. In this way, it is possible to explore how students learn topics in…

Students in a 200-level Psychology course were enrolled in either a traditionally taught section or a web-enhanced section taught by the same instructor. Both sections were identical in content and format except for the addition of a learning management software package (PageOut[C]; McGraw-Hill Companies, 2002) in the web-enhanced section. PageOut…

We discuss the introduction and teaching of partial differential equations (heat and wave equations) via modeling physical phenomena, using a new approach that encompasses constructing difference equations and implementing these in a spreadsheet, numerically solving the partial differential equations using the numerical differential equation…

This correlational study examined the relationship between gender and the students' attitude and prior knowledge of using one of the mathematical software programs (MATLAB). Participants were selected from one community college, one state university and one private college. Students were volunteers from three Calculus I classrooms (one class from…

This study documents problem solving approaches that high school students develop as a result of using systematically Cabri-Geometry software. Results show that the use of the software becomes an important tool for students to construct dynamic representations of the problems that were used to identify and examine different mathematical relations.…

We analyse the stability of the spring inverted pendulum with the vertical oscillations of the suspension point. An important factor in the stability analysis is the interaction between radial and oscillating modes. In addition to the small oscillations near the upper position, the nonlinearity of the problem leads to the appearance of limit-cycle…

Catawba Valley Community College has introduced digital storytelling (DS), an innovative instructional method that has produced extraordinary results. Digital storytelling uses affordable software to craft powerful multimedia presentations of student writing. Students create 3-to-4-minute movies with images, voiceovers, and music. This project…

The form factors of handheld computers make them increasingly popular among K-12 educators. Although some compelling examples of educational software for handhelds exist, we believe that the potential of this platform are just being discovered. This paper reviews innovative applications for mobile computing for both education and entertainment…

Integrating supportive design features and technology into the home are excellent ways to plan to make a home "age-friendly." When an immediate need occurs for eliminating barriers in an existing home, supportive design features and technology will most often need to be examined, and some form of implementation will need to take place. While…

Since the very first introduction of a Commodore Pet, TRS 80, and the Apple II microcomputers beginning in 1977, billions of dollars have been spent chasing a dream about the effect of technology on teaching and learning. Now, educators face the second decade of the 21st Century with seemingly unlimited ways technology can influence what people…

This article reports on selected aspects of a larger study on the use of electronic tools in the context of the management and marking of assignments. The study comprised a literature review, interviews and a review of e-tools. The article briefly summarises the findings from the literature on what comprises quality in assignment marking. The…

This article examines the potential of mobile computing and Web 2.0 technology to support knowledge building in formal and informal settings. Desktop-based knowledge building tools have limited affordances of supporting one-to-one access, learning "in situ," and seamless integration in and out of school environments. In this initial…

Computer-Assisted Argument Mapping (CAAM) is a new way of understanding arguments. While still embryonic in its development and application, CAAM is being used increasingly as a training and development tool in the professions and government. Inroads are also being made in its application within education. CAAM claims to be helpful in an…

Technology has given people more ways to communicate, but contacting people seems to be harder than ever. Although most districts purchase a software to tell parents, students, and staff about inclement weather or to broadcast school announcements, new applications for informing and enlightening are still being discovered. Iredell-Statesville…