Evolution is at the center of the biological sciences and is therefore a required topic for virtually every college biology student. Over the past year, the authors have been building a new simulation software package called EvoBeaker to teach college-level evolutionary biology through simulated experiments. They have built both micro and…

This case study investigated the impact of a spreadsheet (EXCEL) exploration on the understanding of statistical graphs among twenty Singapore secondary school students of average ability. Four EXCEL templates were constructed to allow students to explore four aspects of statistical graphs: zero in scale, effect of different scales, size…

In this article, the author relates the big role of computers in his life as a writer. The author narrates that he has been using a computer for nearly twenty years now. He relates that computers has set his writing free. When he started writing, he was just using an electric typewriter. He also relates that his romance with computers is also a…

In this article, the author investigates effective teaching and learning of geometrical concepts using dynamic geometry software (DGS). Based from her students' reactions to her project, the author found that her students' understanding of the concepts was better than if they had learned geometry through paper-based tasks. However, mixing computer…

Given the recent spate of library system vendor acquisitions and consolidations, integrated library system (ILS) migrations have become a hot topic again. Although ILS migrations happen all the time, they tend to be cyclical in nature. Today, people are thinking broadly about what options might be available to them. These include changing vendors,…

Background: Based on analyses of the difficulties encountered during the process of integrating technology into instruction and the efforts made by researchers to overcome barriers to such integration, we propose that the efforts made to date (e.g., increasing the availability of computer equipment and enhancing computer literacy, support, and…

Kinetics constitutes a core topic in both the lecture and laboratory components of lower- level chemistry courses. While textbook examples can ignore issues of time, temperature and safety, the laboratory can not. Reactions must occur slowly enough to be detected by students, occur rapidly enough for data collection in the few hours assigned to a…

E-portfolios are online spaces for teachers and students to communicate, share, reflect, and collaborate inside and outside of the classroom. They have created exciting opportunities for teaching and learning worldwide. This article discusses three key factors to the popularity and wide adoption of e-portfolios: easy access, low cost, and high…

The past 15 years have seen a significant increase in the use of technology in higher education. In fact, professors now find it difficult to imagine teaching without the Internet, course-management systems, Microsoft Office, e-mail, and other technological applications. Course-management systems allow faculty members to deliver materials to their…

This study investigated the effects of augmenting and deleting elaborations in an existing self-instructional text for a micro-computer database application, "Microsoft Works User's Manual." A total of 60 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to the original, elaborated, or unelaborated text versions. The elaborated version…

This book examines the "think aloud method," which asks people to think aloud while solving a problem so that the resulting protocol can then be analyzed to answer questions about problem solving behavior. The method is presented in detail in the book, along with examples. The book finds that the method is useful both for psychological…

This paper details a study of knowledge-building activities in the domain of computer software. Thirty-six adults--evenly split among beginning, intermediate, and advanced knowledge levels--were videotaped while they attempted to learn a common spreadsheet package. Subjects were asked to think aloud while learning. Each knowledge building activity…

The visual image is so information-rich that describing its content fully can be very problematic. Trying to codify or analyze the content in any systematic way often proves even more difficult. Nevertheless, reducing certain aspects of visual data to a set of numbers can be useful because it exposes characteristics of the message that might be…

This paper describes how electronic presentations are currently used by business people. Business people in the United States and Sweden were surveyed to determine how they are using the medium. A questionnaire was mailed to 506 business people in the United States (201 returned) and to 80 business people in Sweden (76 returned). Results are…

The purpose of this brochure, which was produced as a service to the academic community, is to provide a brief outline of what can and cannot be done legally with software, and to clarify the implications and restrictions of the U.S. Copyright Law. Relevant facts concerning copying software precede the EDUCOM statement of principle on intellectual…