Challenging the paradigm of materialism - Jay Lakhani
Jay Lakhani, a Theoretical Physicist, explores the findings at the cutting edge of modern Physics and how they relate to the broader ideas of spirituality at the heart of Hindu tradition.
Solid State Physics II
As the second part of a two-semester-class, students will study the characteristics of semiconductors, metals, superconductors and magnetic substances among various solid forms.
Physics in Action: Barrel Crunch
Professor Ephraim Fischbach demonstrates barrel crunch in this video from Thinkwell's online Physics series. They began by heating water inside the barrel to create steam. They then capped the barrel to keep the steam inside and poured liquid nitrogen over it to make sure that the can cooled down quickly. The steam condensed and created a partial vacuum. The atmospheric pressure outside the can was stronger than the pressure inside, causing it to collapse. Run time 04:30.
A Bed of Nails
Professor Ephraim Fischbach demonstrates a bed of nails in this video from Thinkwell's online Physics series. In some physical situations, force is the more relevant concept but in other situations its the pressure. Pressure is the force divided by the area over which the force acts. Run time 06:03.
A Ball Caught in a Stream of Air - Bernoulli's Principal
Professor Ephraim Fischbach demonstrates and explains Bernoulli's principal with a beach ball caught in a stream of air and then a roll of toilet paper caught in the air stream. The video is from Thinkwell's online Physics series. Run time 05:36.
Understanding Weight vs Mass
In everyday language, the words "mass" and "weight" are used interchangably but they really are different things when it comes to physics. Professor Steven Pollock explains weight in this video from Thinkwell's online Physics series. The video uses lecture format, demonstration, and a whiteboard to aid in the explanation. Run time 09:16.
Arithmetic, Population, and Energy Part 4 of 8 Most people do not understand exponential growth, yet the concept is of fundamental importance. Lecture by Dr. Albert A.
Gap Analysis Report
The aim of this document is to: a) provide a description of the Gap Analysis framework and the methodology we have used in PROLEARN roadmap (section 1: Methods) and b) present the Gap analysis results (section 2: Implementations).,Research report of the ProLearn Network of Excellence (IST 507310), Deliverable 12.12
Lifelong learning for the Italian Public Administration: the MarchE-Learning Project
This paper describes a local experience for the development of a framework program to set up a Continuous Learning System for Public Administration employees of Marche Region, in Central Italy. Such program belongs to a greater national program, aimed at modernizing the Italian Public Administration by means of the application of ICTs. This program is also part of Italian participation in the European Unions Lisbon Strategy, aimed at turning Europe into one of the most competitive knowledge-ba
The Influence of Game Features on Collaborative Gaming: A Process-oriented approach
Game technology and design are creating powerful collaborative gaming experiences that can be exploited pedagogically. Building on a research trends from various fields, a process-oriented model is adopted to evaluate the instructional potential of games, considering both their surface and deep structure. Two experimental approaches are adopted. Through reflective evaluation the Neurocognitive skills employed, Perceived Competence Facilitation and Perceived usefulness of games are determ
Designing and application of E-portfolio for teacher training
Portfolio is not just a magic word but it is mandatory for everyone in today's free market. Some companies started their own portfolios for employee assessment. Other has them for optimization purposes or even education. Each of us first encounter portfolio in schools. Big books with grades and other useful data were in them. In the teacher education we also have portfolios and the most important is teacher training portfolio. Based on this portfolios employees decide who to hire or not. With th
Can learning from molar and modular worked examples be enhanced by providing instructional explanati
In two experiments we explored how learning from traditional molar worked-out examplesfocusing on problem categories and their associated overall solution proceduresas well as from more efficient modular worked-out exampleswhere intrinsic cognitive load is reduced by breaking down complex solutions into smaller meaningful solution elementscan be further enhanced. Instructional explanations or self-explanation prompts were administered to increase germane cognitive load. However, both int
Student Modeling and Machine Learning
After identifying essential student modeling issues and machine learning approaches, this paper examines how machine learning techniques have been used to automate the construction of student models as well as the background knowledge necessary for student modeling. In the process, the paper sheds light on the difficulty, suitability and potential of using machine learning for student modeling processes, and, to a lesser extent, the potential of using student modeling techniques in machine learn
The role of guidance in computer-based problem solving for the development of concepts of logic
The effect of two instructional variables, manipulation of objects and guidance, in learning to use the logical connective, conditional, was investigated. Instructions for 72 first- and second year social science students were varied in the computer-based learning environment Tarski's World, designed for teaching first-order logic (Barwise &Etchemendy, 1992). Guidance, which was operationalised by giving the learners problems that guided them to all different types of basic problem situations th
Towards Web 2.0 Schools: Rethinking the Teachers Professional Development
This paper aims at analyzing the Web 2.0 based distance education in the K-12 schools as an emerging phenomenon that catalyzes a new educational reform all over the world. Some pre-Web 2.0 best practice examples are analyzed in order to draw the main findings in the paper. The teachers professional qualification designed to meet the new challenges is considered as a key problem for a successful penetration of this phenomenon in the schools. It is emphasized on the importance of designing a lif
PRAXIS - Pervasive Rehabilitation of Aphasia with an eXtensible Interactive System
This thesis describes computer-assisted (CA) methods for the treatment of acquired language impairment in adult aphasics. A key design objective of this project was the elimination of the indirect manipulation of keyboard and mouse (in CA speech language therapy sessions) in favour of the direct manipulation of virtual and physical objects afforded by touchscreen display and radio frequency identification technology (RFID).
While computer-assisted treatment of aphasia has been used since the 196
Situational knowledge in physics: The case of electrodynamics
Major difficulties for a novice physics problem solver are how to interpret new problems and how to combine information given in the problem with information already known. A domain expert, by contrast, has the knowledge to take full advantage of problem features at a glance. It takes a long period of practice to acquire such situational knowledge, and it would be desirable for this to be taught more effectively. As a first step, this requires information on how situational knowledge differs acr
Physics learning with a computer Algebra systems: Towards a learning environment that promotes enhan
To become proficient problem-solvers, physics students need to form a coherent and flexible understanding of problem situations they are confronted with. This is important both for solving problems and for interpreting solutions. Still, many students have only a limited representation of the problems they are working on. Therefore, we devised an instructional approach to promote students' understanding of these problems, and to support them in forming associations between problem features and so
Co-Lab, design considerations for a collaborative inquiry learning environment
Co-Lab is a learning environment for collaborative inquiry learning in which learners can experiment, make models, consult background information and discuss their findings. The complex learning processes in such an environment need to be supported by appropriate features in the software. In this paper we report on how, based on existing literature and specific user and usability studies, we developed a set of design guidelines that were implemented in the software.
Contextualizing Discussions in Distance Learning Systems
In distance learning systems, communication tools are rarely integrated into learning activities, which does not encourage their use. The main goal of our work is to mitigate this lack of integration. Our aim is to bring the discussion activities closer to the learning activities, i.e. to situations to which the discussions must ideally relate to in order to promote learning between students. Thus, we suggest two models of forum which are contextual and based on a structuring of discussions resp
