This article discusses the change in the notion of scaffolding from a description of the interactions between a tutor and a student to the design of tools to support student learning in project-based and design-based classrooms. The notion of scaffolding is now increasingly being used to describe various forms of support provided by software…

This great tool for younger students from SparkSpace gives students a mapping tool to organize their ideas and convert to a text document ? all with a click of the mouse.

After the first observation of life under the microscope, it took two centuries of research before the "cell theory" was established. Luckily, today's teachers can take advantage of computer technology and speed up the discovery process in their classrooms. This article describes how computer-based instructional programs can be used to engage…

It is suggested that molecular theory should be taught earlier in the inorganic chemistry curriculum even in the introductory chemistry course in order to integrate molecular orbital arguments more effectively throughout the curriculum. The method of teaching relies on having access to molecular modeling software as having access to such software…

Many students view mathematics as a collection of theorems and facts that were discovered by intelligent mathematicians and all they have left to do is to study them carefully. Some believe it is important to help students change this view (Lavy & Shriki, 2003). One possible way is to enable students to modify the attributes of a given situation,…

Topics such as linear and nonlinear equations and inequalities, compound inequalities, linear and nonlinear absolute value equations and inequalities, rational equations and inequality are commonly found in college algebra and precalculus textbooks. What is common about these topics is the fact that their solutions and graphs lie in the real line…

Macromedia Flash is a powerful and robust development tool. Because of its graphical, sound, and animation capabilities (and ubiquitous browser plug-in), major companies employ it in their website development (see www.nike.com or www.espn.com). These same features also make Flash a valuable environment for building multi-representational "movies"…

In this paper are presented the views of Al Haytham and his predecessors on the shadows, the rectilinear propagation of rays and the images produced by pinholes. Al Haytham had given erroneous views on the distribution of light in the shadows. Educational applications of these are presented. These applications concern: (a) Simple experiments (b)…

This article presents the author's response to Timothy Patrick Moran's article "The Sociology of Teaching Graduate Statistics." Since 1972, the author has taught the required graduate-level social statistics course in three different departments. During this time, he has seen the truth of the concerns that Moran expresses at the beginning of his…

WordArt is a wizard feature in MS Word that changes text into a graphic object. It is located in the MS Word menu bar: Insert, Picture, WordArt. Text can be edited to create a multitude of special effects--all with very little, if any, graphic arts training. WordArt is perfect for word processing writing, allowing even primary students to create…

While technology has become an integral part of introductory statistics courses, the programs typically employed are professional packages designed primarily for data analysis rather than for learning. Findings from several studies suggest that use of such software in the introductory statistics classroom may not be very effective in helping…

Recent advances in electronic data collection have opened broad new possibilities for educational assessment. Potentially significant savings in time, money, and effort make Web-based and e-mail-based surveys more and more attractive as alternatives to mail surveys and face-to-face interviews. Yet, as with any major change, questions and obstacles…

What better way to clarify a topic and allow it to come alive than to provide students with a way to actually see it? Images, diagrams, and flowcharts can draw students in. In this article, the author reviews "Roche Genetics: Education Program" CD-ROM version 4.0. The program is organized using a theme park analogy. An information booth leads to a…

Purpose: The aim of this work is to implement bootstrapping methods into software tools, based on Java. Design/methodology/approach: This paper presents a category of software e-tools aimed at simulating laboratory works and experiments. Findings: Both students and teaching staff use traditional statistical methods to infer the truth from sample…

Educators in today's classroom face increasing challenges which include the changing complexities of student needs, the intricacies of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the demands of high stakes standardized state assessments and the continuous and often widely publicized issues associated with budget constraints. With all of these challenges,…