eXtensible Markup Language (XML) is a new technology that is currently being extolled by many industry experts and software vendors. Potentially it represents a platform independent language for sharing information over networks in a way that is much more seamless than with previous technologies. It is extensible in that XML serves as a "meta"…

An Excel add-in--XSEOS--that implements several excess Gibbs free energy models and equations of state has been developed for educational use. Several traditional and modern thermodynamic models are available in the package with a user-friendly interface. XSEOS has open code, is freely available, and should be useful for instructors and students…

The [Co(4-pyrimidinolate)[subscript 2](H[subscript 2]O)[subscript n]] species, which can be easily and selectively prepared by simple addition of aqueous solutions of the 4-pyrimidinolate organic ligand to Co(II) acetate (or nitrate) aqueous solutions (n = 4, 6) or by controlled heating of the hydrated phases (n = 0), proved to be versatile…

This article presents a list of this year's best practices from America's classrooms. This list was compiled by the staff of the Tech&Learning magazine. These best practices include: (1) video programs produced by the Horry County in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina; (2) a gaming design course introduced at Phoebus High School, Hampton City Schools,…

We appropriate Rogoff's ("Apprenticeship in thinking: Cognitive development in social context," 1991; in: Wertsch et al. (eds.) "Sociocultural studies of mind," 1993) notion of guided participation to demonstrate, through abbreviated case studies, our strategy for integrating mobile technology-based learning experiences in higher education. Guided…

While most high school juniors in Howard County, Maryland, were quietly studying in their classrooms, students enrolled in the Energy, Power and Transportation Academy (EPT) of the Applications and Research Lab (ARL), in Ellicott City, were making a lot of noise, welding and cutting away to build an all-terrain wheelchair. The author was a part of…

College student notes were analysed with respect to the amount of words copied directly, omitted and added to the teacher's overheads or PowerPoint slides in order to understand the effect of teacher scaffolds on student generative learning during initial encoding. Scores on quizzes taken at the end of classes from which notes were collected were…

Cross-faculty and cross-disciplinary collaborations within higher education are rare, no doubt largely due to the location of academics within discipline- and faculty-based structures. When collaborations do occur, they are frequently problematic, even when the collaborators stem from closely related disciplines. However, collaborations are…

Not that many years back, portals were nothing more than splash pages from which users could click on links to navigate a school's web-based resources. Today, however, they are much more: single sign-on gateways that easily enable users to do everything from pay tuition and view transcripts, to purchase parking permits, and sell used books. Still,…

In this article, the author provides technology-based techniques for prewriting invention and drafting that offer students new ways to look at and think about writing topics and tasks. Rather than creating electronic versions of existing paper-and-pencil invention strategies, the author suggests strategies using commonly owned and used computer…

The "quantum efficiency" (QE) is an important property of a light detector. This quantity can be determined in the undergraduate physics laboratory. The experimentally determined QE of a silicon photodiode appeared to be in reasonable agreement with expected values. The experiment confirms the quantum properties of light and seems to be a useful…

The aim of this paper and the one which follows is to explore how the potential of computer games may be taken up in schools to support learning engagement among students. It is not the intention of the papers to dismiss existing classroom practices or overlook accounts of innovative practices in schools; the papers' aim is to provide educators…

For decades, training has been one of the most common interventions used by organizations to improve the performance of their employees and teach them new ideas and skills. But owing to the cost of developing and delivering training, organizations have adopted alternative ways to enable employee performance while reducing the cost and minimizing…

Web-based sites such as WebCT/Blackboard are useful for faculty and generally appreciated by students. This article describes the results in a hybrid course of the addition of specialized Web-based software. The intent was to enhance student skills in analysis and critique. Highly structured assignments were graded with Waypoint software,…

Two experimental studies test the effect of group mirrors upon quantitative and qualitative aspects of participation in collaborative problem solving. Mirroring tools consist of a graphical representation of the group's actions which is dynamically updated and displayed to the collaborators. In addition, metacognitive tools display a standard for…