Discussion of the use of advanced modeling and simulation technologies in training focuses on the Specialized Undergraduate Pilot Training program developed by the Air Force. Training challenges and needs are described and technology solutions are explained, including visual displays, computer-assisted instruction, instructional simulations, and…

To provide college students with a conceptual model of how their network connects to the Internet, and enable them to understand the principles of sending e-mail and using other telecomputing resources, signs were created using a graphics program with different icons representing each network component. The signs were then attached to students who…

Interpersonal and mass communication are aspects of the same basic discipline, but unnecessary divisions have evolved between the two. Through application of visual analysis concepts, encouragement is given toward reconnections between the two fields of study. Preconditions and assumptions that frame any communicating act are related to the…

Based on his interactive visualization Web site, the author explores the Web as a tool to build better metaphors for students and emphasizes the pedagogical power of the medium, which, he asserts, remains largely untapped. Discussion includes the use of temporal, special, and parametric process models to increase the pedagogical value of teaching…

Describes a graphic modeling, natural language processing system, VerbalImage, which mimics features of human shape reasoning. Subjects read the same text description and were able to recognize the image generated by the computer from among a series of other computer-generated images. Performance on task was as good as for a control group…

Examines barriers to technology adoption based on the literature and on data from two studies (one with K-12 teachers and one with higher education faculty). A product of this examination is a visual model of the interaction/interdependence of elements that contribute to construction of barriers to technology adoption and serve as an aid to…

We describe an easy and fun project using water rockets to demonstrate applications of single variable calculus concepts. We provide procedures and a supplies list for launching and videotaping a water rocket flight to provide the experimental data. Because of factors such as fuel expulsion and wind effects, the water rocket does not follow the…

Graduate students often have difficulty understanding the concepts behind the various models of instructional design (ID). In order to help students in an introductory ID course come to a better understanding of the similarities and differences between various instructional models, the models were developed into dynamic computer graphics to use…

Reports results of a study testing a selective attentional model which predicted that textbook study questions adjunct to a flow diagram will focus students' attention more upon questioned information and less upon nonquestioned information. A picture-word diagram describing biogeochemical cycles to high school biology students (N=176) was used.…

Hypertext can be a valuable instructional tool, but too often teachers assemble screen-projected hypermedia presentations overencumbered with their own navigational aids. This technique leaves students disoriented and disinterested. A hypertext prototype is proposed that maximizes the teacher's ability to control delivery while keeping students…

Research on minimal groups demonstrates that arbitrarily creating 2 groups leads to the development of in-group favoritism. Experiments using the minimal groups paradigm show students how easily in-group biases can be created simply by categorizing others. This article describes an in-class activity that demonstrates the power of categorization.…

Virtual reality is a newly emerging tool for scientific visualization that makes possible multisensory, three-dimensional modeling of scientific data. While the emphasis is on visualization, the other senses are added to enhance what the scientist can visualize. Researchers are working to extend the sensory range of what can be perceived in…

Equable climates with mild winters and summers are more likely to maintain snow or ice cover in high latitudes than extreme climates having colder winters and hotter summers. A simplified version of the Milankovitch cycles can be used to develop a model instructors can use in their classes to illustrate the orbital variations producing either…

Procedures for constructing an inexpensive, hands-on working model of DNA are provided, as well as suggestions for using the model in a high school or college biology class. (DC)

A Particulate Nature of Matter Evaluation Tests was used to explore the effect of computer animations depicting the particulate nature of matter on (n=400) college students' mental models and comprehension of chemical phenomena. Treatment groups received significantly higher conceptual understanding scores than did the control group. (30…