Project-Based Learning (PBL) is a great way to immerse students in a fun, rich, and challenging learning environment. Based on real-life learning simulations, PBL is appropriate for all ages and multiple intelligences. Critical thinking, goal setting, problem solving, and collaborative skills all come into play in PBL, helping to build the skill…

This article discusses the advantages of using interactive whiteboards in the classroom. Developed by Smart Technologies, the Smart Board is one of several interactive whiteboards on the market today. Through Smart Board, starters can write, erase, and perform mouse functions with their finger, a pen, or anything with a maneuverable, firm surface.…

In discussing the myth that technology has no benefit to the world of play, there seems to be little doubt that technology has made the task of assessing children's activity levels and identifying types of behaviors a simpler and more reliable process. There are three major approaches currently used to measure the amount of physical activity…

The importance and attention given to information systems are relatively new phenomena in the history of higher education. This chapter documents the ascendancy of information systems in the scheme of institutional priorities and considers the strengths and weaknesses associated with vended and homegrown systems.

This paper describes a CALL approach which integrates software for speaker independent continuous speech recognition with embodied virtual agents and virtual worlds to create an immersive environment in which learners can converse in the target language in contextualised scenarios. The result is a self-access learning package: SPELL (Spoken…

This article reviewed empirical studies published in the past 30 years that examined software piracy among college students. It focused on three areas of study: (a) major factors that affect college students' intentions, attitudes, and moral intensity regarding software piracy, (b) various decision-making processes that underlie software piracy…

In an extension of research examining student-centered pedagogy, the present case study examined how at-risk students used Alien Rescue, a problem-based learning (PBL) software program for middle school science. Twenty-nine participants were observed and interviewed over the twelve class days in which they were engaged in Alien Rescue. Students'…

In this article, the author introduces Birka, a strategic trading game for high school economics students in either regular or advanced placement classes. For the game, students assume the role of Vikings who have returned to the medieval outpost of Birka to trade the loot from villages they have plundered. Playing cards represent the loot:…

The experimental results of a collaborative problem solving and program development model that takes into consideration the cognitive and social activities that occur during software development is presented in this paper. This collaborative model is based on the Dual Common Model that focuses on individual cognitive aspects of problem solving and…

"Chronicle of Higher Education" presents an abundant source of news and information for college and university faculty members and administrators. This June 4, 2004 issue of "Chronicle of Higher Education" includes the following articles: (1) "What Has Happened to Historical Literacy?" (Rabb, Theodore K.); (2)…

A pilot study at a local school explores a virtual world during English lessons. The objective of applying a Vygotskian experimental design to the study is to investigate the potential of software, interaction and integration related to problem-solving defined as text composition in a foreign language. Focus of research and practices is on the…

Research in biotechnology is rapidly advancing; everyday, new and exciting discoveries are made. With this new technology there are also many safety and ethical questions, though, as well as the need for education. Alternative teaching methods may help to increase students' understanding of difficult concepts in all aspects of schooling, including…

This article describes the possibilities offered by the online assessment system Etude to achieve the benefits of formative assessment. In order to find out the way this works in practice, we carried out an experiment with the use of Etude for formative assessment in the course on collaborative report writing. Results show that online formative…

At the end of a lecturing period examinations are used to take a snapshot of the level of knowledge of a student. It is essential that this snapshot be taken at the right moment. Particularly when a student fails, it is important to make sure that it is because his level of knowledge is not adequate, not because, for example, he had a severe…

A bioprocess engineer should have at least a set of basic design skills. Bioprocess design is a complex cognitive skill, which should be trained in every year of an academic Bioprocess-Engineering curriculum. However, there is little existing learning material to support the initial training of design skills early in the curriculum. For this…