Games have a long history of being used for instructional purposes. Games can be defined as playful activities, with or without a computer, that have some essential characteristics. Game characteristics can include competition and goals, game rules, challenging activities, choices, and fantasy elements. Games that take advantage of these…

This paper describes a computational exercise at undergraduate level that demonstrates the employment of Monte Carlo simulation to study the conformational statistics of flexible polymer chains, and to predict solution properties. Three simple chain models, including excluded volume interactions, have been implemented in a public-domain computer…

Soil texture is a fundamental soil property that impacts agricultural and engineering land-use. Comparing texture estimates-by-feel to laboratory-known values to calibrate fingers is a common practice. As educators, it is difficult to assess this field skill consistently and fairly. The instructor may give full credit for the correct texture class…

This author discusses the relationship between the use of presentation software and the maintenance of student interest in university lectures. The evidence of surveyed university students suggests that PowerPoint, used as a presentation tool in university lectures, is pedagogically effective only while it provides variety and stimulates interest…

Art and animation work is the most significant part of electronic game development, but is also found in television commercials, computer programs, the Internet, comic books, and in just about every visual media imaginable. It is the part of the project that makes an abstract design idea concrete and visible. Animators create the motion of life in…

Objective: A meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of solution-focused brief therapy (SFBT). Method: Hierarchical linear modeling software was used to synthesize the primary studies to calculate an overall effect size estimate and test for between-study variability. Results: Solution-focused brief therapy demonstrated small but…

A software program that searches for offensive content on college athletes' social-networking sites has drawn skeptical reactions from legal experts, who say it could threaten students' constitutional rights. Billed as a "social-network monitoring service" and marketed exclusively to college athletics departments, YouDiligence was on display at…

Integrated Learning Systems (ILS) can be used as instructional tools and to produce reports on student progress. Three different systems from Curriculum Computer Corporation (CCC), Ideal Learning, Inc., and Jostens Learning Corporation were piloted in three elementary school to evaluate ILS usefulness in reading/language arts and math. The pilot…

The comprehension of interdependent complex systems, which is part of state and national standards, is an enormous challenge for learners. In traditional physiology teaching materials, which structure the human body into decoupled subsystems (e.g., respiratory and cardiovascular) isolated in separate chapters, there is a ubiquitous absence of…

Software quality is perhaps one of the most sought-after attributes in product development, however; this goal is unattained. Problem factors in software development and how these have affected the maintainability of the delivered software systems requires a thorough investigation. It was, therefore, very important to understand software…

The purpose of this study was to investigate proper website and courseware for e-learning in higher education. Methods used in this study included the data collection, the analysis surveys, the experts' in-depth interview, and the experts' focus group. Results indicated that there were 16 components for website, as well as 16 components for…

There is a concern that the teaching of subjects is applied not only with support from a set of technological devices, but largely in the proper use of teaching and new technologies. Taking this idea, the authors develop a research and sustainable design that result in educational materials in solid content and technological innovation, also to…

This paper presents the results of writing processing among 260 high school senior students, their degree of satisfaction using the new trial version of the Computer Based University Entrance Examination in Spain and their degree of motivation towards written online test tasks. Currently, this is one of the closing studies to verify whether…

A study was conducted to propose a research-based model for a longitudinal data research system that addressed recommendations from a synthesis of literature related to: (1) needs reported by the U.S. Department of Education, (2) the twelve mandatory elements that define federally approved state longitudinal data systems (SLDS), (3) the…

Every so often, a technology will saturate the market to the extent that the name of the product becomes a stand-in for the technology itself. While it belongs to the broader genre of slideware, Microsoft PowerPoint is perhaps the best example of software that has achieved that level of ubiquity. Despite Apple's Keynote, the Presentation Editor…