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134 AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE EFFICACY OF GAME AUGMENTATION LEARNING EFFECTS ON COMPUTER AIDED INSTRUCTION (CAI) OF PHYSICS SCIENCE TASKS Web-based online gaming and simulations have a great potential [...]

Computers are being used in the classrooms to administer tests and assignments that can interact with students. North Carolina State University professors have designed WebAssign, a program NC State uses for most quiz and homework tasks in the school's introductory math and science courses. Proponents of the new technology argue that by having computers do the repetitive labor of administering and grading quizzes and homework allows professors more time to teach. Textbook publishers are eager to cooperate in allowing WebAssign to use questions from their books if the students are asked to buy the books., New software allows professors to provide instant feedback to students RALEIGH, N.C. UP HERE on the second floor of Cox Hall at North Carolina State University, the students in Physics [...]

A microcomputer-based phase-change experiment can be used for university physics students to acquaint them with the use of computers to make measurements that would be tedious if made unaided. Students use a small beaker of Crisco heated in a microwave oven to about 60 degrees Celsius, at which temperature it is liquid. The beaker is clamped beneath a flashlight and above a Vernier light sensor, a photometer. A Vernier standard temperature probe is inserted into the liquid and the photometer and probe are connected through a Vernier universal lab interface (ULI) to a Macintosh computer. Students select data acquisition rates and durations.

The Internet has become a tremendous resource for teachers both for the sheer volume of information available and for opportunities to connect with each other. Educators can collaborate through virtual [...]

Individualized computer problems can be generated for each student in a large introductory physics course by using student ID numbers as the seed to generate numerical parameters. No two problems have identical results, requiring each student to participate. A teacher copy that prints and graphs the results for each ID number can help the grading process. Two examples of this technique are modeling statistical fluctuations with the ID numbers in a random number generator and modeling projectile motion subjected to drag with the ID numbers used for speed, initial height and the drag coefficient.

There are very many opportunities for us to be learning about technology and how to integrate it into our practice. For instance, I heard about a recent webinar designed to [...]

Titration is an important part of teaching chemistry but the data collection, plotting and calculations need to be done by hand only once to absorb the technique. However, automatic systems have been traditionally too expensive for most chemistry laboratories. A computer-controlled titration system can be constructed using inexpensive and readily available materials. Construction and calibration procedures are included.

A chemistry course designed to introduce undergraduate students to the use of microcomputers trains students to see computers as tools for every situation. Some basic introductions to disc care and computer use are necessary because not all students know about computers. The course teaches spreadsheets, model evaluation, report writing and data analysis among other topics to prepare students to use computers in other courses. Two basic experiments involve air's pressure-volume behavior and mass distribution of pennies.

A valuable introduction to the physics of sound can be performed using a mailing tube with a speaker in one end. Inserting a microphone in the other end will allow physics students to measure the speed of sound in air as well as measuring the frequency of sound and detecting resonances. If a computer is used to record the information, Fourier analysis and sound wave harmonics can also be taught. Experiment procedures and questions are included.