"Computer Simulations of Salt Solubility" by Victor M. S. Gil provides an animated, visual interpretation of the different solubilities of related salts based on simple entropy changes associated with dissolution such as configurational disorder and thermal disorder. This animation can help improve students' conceptual understanding of…

The torsional potential energy surface of a chemical compounds, the accessible conformations at a specified temperature and the transition states that connect these confirmations establishes many chemical properties such as dynamic behavior, reactivity and biological activity. A conformational search of n-pentane is presented using computational…

A simple Vernier software and Technology LabPro unit was used to interface a computer with a Durrum model 110 stopped-flow apparatus using the iron (III)--thiocyanate reaction. The software can readily be used to retrieve that data from the stopped-flow apparatus using one probe to measure the voltage and a second probe to trigger the data…

An IT decision maker gives an overview of public access PC software that's useful in controlling session length and scheduling, Internet access, print output, security, and the latest headaches: spyware and adware. In this article, the author describes a representative sample of software tools in several important categories such as setup…

Writing researchers have developed various methods for investigating the writing process since the 1970s. The early 1980s saw the occurrence of the real-time computer-aided study of the writing process that relies on the protocols generated by recording the computer screen activities as writers compose using the word processor. This article…

Many types of technology support caregiving: (1) Assistive devices include medicine dispensers, feeding and bathing machines, clothing with polypropylene fibers that stimulate muscles, intelligent ambulatory walkers for those with both vision and mobility impairment, medication reminders, and safety alarms; (2) Telecare devices ranging from…

This research effort compared and contrasted two conceptually different methods for the exploration of human anatomy in the first-year dissection laboratory by accomplished students: "physical" dissection using an embalmed cadaver and "digital" dissection using three-dimensional volume modeling of whole-body CT and MRI image sets acquired using…

For more than 20 years, two courses, History, Education, and Guidance of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing and Introduction to Instructional Methods for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing, have been taught at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania using a traditional lecture format. A state grant provided funding to explore the use of technology to teach online…

Academic libraries customize, support, and provide access to myriad information systems, each with complex graphical user interfaces. The number of possible information entry points on an academic library Web site is both daunting to the end-user and consistently challenging to library Web site designers. Faced with the challenges inherent in…

In the last issue, this journal asked a question on many librarians' minds, and it was pleased with the depth and variety of responses. As suggested by this journal editorial board member Oliver Pesch, readers were asked, "Many libraries have gone to federated searching to win users back from Google. Is it working?" Respondents approached the…

Data integration is one of the single most challenging tasks any district can face. Fortunately for school districts throughout the country with data scattered in disparate systems, an open specification known as the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) is mitigating that challenge. SIF has emerged as a cornerstone of K-12 data warehousing,…

The authors address the role of computer support for building conceptual self-awareness--that is, enabling students to think outside of concept boundaries in hope of enhancing creative potential. Based on meta-cognition theory, we developed an integrated concept mapping system (ICMSys) to improve users' conceptual self-awareness in addition to…

This work presents innovative cybernetics (feedback) techniques based on Bayesian statistics for drawing questions from an Item Bank towards personalized multi-student improvement. A novel software tool, namely "Module for Adaptive Assessment of Students" (or, "MAAS" for short), implements the proposed (feedback) techniques. In conclusion, a pilot…

Proving that technology works is not as simple as proving that a new vendor for art supplies is more cost effective. Technology effectiveness requires both the right software and the right implementation. Just having the software is not enough. Proper planning, training, leadership, support, pedagogy, and software use--along with many other…

PowerPoint and other visual technologies have become pervasive in schools. Adoption of these technologies is perceived as a necessary--or, at the very least, an educationally appropriate--innovation in UK schools, even though systematic examination of their use is relatively recent. On the basis of a wider ethnographic study of ICT use in one UK…