PASCO Launches Mobile Science Apps
•By Evan Tassistro
•06/29/10
PASCO Scientific introduced two applications for Apple mobile devices at ISTE 2010 in Denver: SPARKvue 1.1 for iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad; and MatchGraph for the iPhone 4. Both are available for download from Apple's App Store.
SPARKvue records data from the built-in device accelerometer or PASCO sensors, which can be connected via a Pasport Airlink2 wireless Bluetooth interface. Results are then displayed as graphs or statistics or can be shown in other forms. The application is offered for free, but Pasport Airlink 2 and sensors are sold separately. New in version 1.1 are improved data display and landscape and portrait mode optimizations for the iPad, plus four sample acceleration experiments using the internal accelerometer.
The MatchGraph game, a $0.99 App Store download through iTunes, uses the iPhone 4's gyroscope to sense rotations over a 10 second period and plot them to a graph. Players try to match one of four difficulty-scaled plots as closely as possible and are scored on the results. High scores require proper analysis of the provided graph.
About the Author
Evan Tassistro is a freelance writer based in San Diego, CA.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Tuesday, September 27, 2011
Challenge Based Learning in action.
Wednesday, October 19 2011 10:00AM to 11:30AM Pacific Challenge Based Learning allows students to connect more deeply with content by addressing real-world issues. Using a Mac, iPad, iPod touch, and easy-to-use software from Apple, students can engage, create and collaborate in the classroom and beyond.
In this webcast, our panel of experts will report on a five-month global Challenge Based Learning project at K12 and HiEd institutions. And reveal key findings, such as the 12 skill areas 90% of teachers felt were significantly improved by Challenge Based Learning.
You’ll also get highlights from select case studies. And you’ll hear from guest speakers—including study participants—who’ll demonstrate the resources and possibilities for schools interested in implementing this groundbreaking framework.
This event is intended for both K12 and HiED faculty, site or department level administrators, curriculum directors, deans, department chairs, curriculum and instructional technology departments, and faculty and staff from career and technical education programs.
https://edseminars.apple.com/event/IB94o-913OJ
In this webcast, our panel of experts will report on a five-month global Challenge Based Learning project at K12 and HiEd institutions. And reveal key findings, such as the 12 skill areas 90% of teachers felt were significantly improved by Challenge Based Learning.
You’ll also get highlights from select case studies. And you’ll hear from guest speakers—including study participants—who’ll demonstrate the resources and possibilities for schools interested in implementing this groundbreaking framework.
This event is intended for both K12 and HiED faculty, site or department level administrators, curriculum directors, deans, department chairs, curriculum and instructional technology departments, and faculty and staff from career and technical education programs.
https://edseminars.apple.com/event/IB94o-913OJ
Thursday, September 15, 2011
Effectiveness of Reading and Math Software Products
http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20094041/pdf/20094042.pdf
A report was released in April 2007 presenting study findings for the 2004-2005 school year (Dynarski et al. 2007). The findings indicated that, after one school year, differences in student test scores were not statistically significant between classrooms that were randomly assigned to use products and those that were randomly assigned not to use products. School and teacher characteristics generally were not related to whether products were effective.
The study also collected test scores and other data in the 2005-2006 school year, in which teachers who continued with the study had a new cohort of students and a year of experience using software products. Data from the second cohort enable the study to address the question of whether software products are more effective in raising test scores after teachers have a year of experience using them.
The first-year report presented average effects of four groups of products on student test scores, which supported assessing whether products were effective in general. School districts and educators purchase individual products, however, and knowing whether individual products are effective is important for making decisions supported by evidence. This report presents findings on the effects of 10 products on student test scores.
A report was released in April 2007 presenting study findings for the 2004-2005 school year (Dynarski et al. 2007). The findings indicated that, after one school year, differences in student test scores were not statistically significant between classrooms that were randomly assigned to use products and those that were randomly assigned not to use products. School and teacher characteristics generally were not related to whether products were effective.
The study also collected test scores and other data in the 2005-2006 school year, in which teachers who continued with the study had a new cohort of students and a year of experience using software products. Data from the second cohort enable the study to address the question of whether software products are more effective in raising test scores after teachers have a year of experience using them.
The first-year report presented average effects of four groups of products on student test scores, which supported assessing whether products were effective in general. School districts and educators purchase individual products, however, and knowing whether individual products are effective is important for making decisions supported by evidence. This report presents findings on the effects of 10 products on student test scores.
The Unmet Promise of Education Technology
By Robert Slavin on September 14, 2011
In the mid-2000s, the U.S. Department of Education commissioned a large, randomized evaluation of the most widely used computer-assisted instruction (CAI) programs in elementary reading and middle and high school math. Schools were randomly assigned to use one of several CAI programs. The results (published here and here) were dismal. In both subjects and all grade levels, achievement levels were virtually identical for the students who experienced CAI and those who did not. This finding was consistent with the conclusions of recent reviews of research on CAI in reading and math, which find that the higher the quality of the research (e.g. random assignment of large samples), the lower the estimate of CAI effects.
In the mid-2000s, the U.S. Department of Education commissioned a large, randomized evaluation of the most widely used computer-assisted instruction (CAI) programs in elementary reading and middle and high school math. Schools were randomly assigned to use one of several CAI programs. The results (published here and here) were dismal. In both subjects and all grade levels, achievement levels were virtually identical for the students who experienced CAI and those who did not. This finding was consistent with the conclusions of recent reviews of research on CAI in reading and math, which find that the higher the quality of the research (e.g. random assignment of large samples), the lower the estimate of CAI effects.
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