The title of this post is taken from an almost 12-year old  paper by Heather Kirkpatrick and Larry Cuban [1]. In this paper the authors asserted that the common sense wisdom that computers make kids smarter  was unwarranted. Based on the paper, in 1998 there was no sufficient reliable empirical evidence to claim that investing […]

I just read an excellent paper about the validity of what we know about the Learning Styles Hypothesis and I strongly recommend it to others (Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2009). Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), 105-119.) The reason I think the paper is […]

The ComPADRE Digital Library is a network of free online resource collections supporting faculty, students, and teachers in Physics and Astronomy Education. Each of our collections contain materials designed for a specific community. Browse below to find a collection right for you. http://www.compadre.org/index.cfm A few words about comPADRE and the impact on WWW on improving […]

As we are discussing the implications of technology on science teaching, I would like to describe briefly my experiences with using data collection and analysis technology, such as LoggerPro in my classes (www.vernier.com). This technology can help you change how you teach science and what you students learn in your science classes. I started using […]

Yesterday in my ETEC 533 Course we had an interesting discussion about using tablets in science teaching. I know that today tablets are not very common in high schools and universities, yet only recently we could not even imagine that computers would become ubiquitous, while today many students have their own laptops. So I am […]

I mentioned TPACK in my previous post. Here is a useful link: http://www.tpack.org/tpck/index.php?title=Main_Page

As the first day of classes is coming to an end and I keep reading the e-mails from my online students (who are mathematics, general science, biology, chemistry and health science teachers, as well as other professionals), I keep thinking of how technology can help us bridge the gap between these fields. In other words, […]

I guess, the title of this post speaks for itself. It is always exciting to think of the first day of classes. However, for me, this time around it is going to be a very special first day. I will not be entering a real classroom and meeting my students face-to-face. Tomorrow, I will officially […]

I think anybody interested in the use of computers in education might find it interesting to watch a video clip of Dr. Alan Kay who is one of the founding “fathers” of the computer applications in education and who has been researching how humans interact with computers for more than thirty years now. Take a […]

In this blog I will use SMET to denote Science, Mathematics, Engineering and Technology disciplines.