Use of a computer simulation to develop mental simulations for understanding relative motion concepts

Think aloud interview protocols from three high school post-physics students who interacted with a relative motion computer simulation presented in a predict-observe-explain format are analysed. Evidence is presented for: qualitative and quantitative difficulties with apparently simple one-dimensional relative motion problems; students' spontaneous visualization of relative motion problems; the visualizations facilitating solution of these problems; and students' memory of the on-line simulation used as a framework for visualization of post-test problems solved off-line. Instances of successful and unsuccessful mapping of remembered simulation features onto target problems are presented. Evidence from hand motions and other indicators suggesting that the subjects were using dynamic imagery in mental simulations during the treatment and post-test is presented. On the basis of these observations, it is hypothesized that for successful students, dissonance between their incorrect predictions and simulations displayed by the computer initiated the construction of new ways of thinking about relative motion, and that the memory of certain simulations acted as an analogue 'framework for visualization' of target problems solved off-line after the intervention. In such cases we find that interaction with a computer simulation on-line can facilitate a student's appropriate mental simulations off-line in related target problems. Implications for design and use of educational computer simulations are discussed.     

基于STC89C52两位十进制加法器的设计

加法器是一种用作加法运算的电子产品,在人们生活中适用性比较广泛,本次设计是用单片机来设计的两位十进制加法器.该设计系统是以STC89C52为单片机,P1口作为输入端,外接3X4的键盘,通过键盘扫描来对输入数的控制,系统采用LED数码管作为显示器,软件程序采用均采用C语言编写,便于移植与升级.两位十进制加法器可以实现简单的两位数相加的运算.     

How Children Solve Environmental Problems: Using computer simulations to investigate systems thinking

Two computer simulations were developed and used to investigate systems thinking and environmental problem solving in children. Ninety-two primary school children (aged 8 years and 11 years) interacted with computer simulation of either a deforestation problem or a water depletion problem. The children's task was to manipulate the simulation thereby enabling it to run for as long as possible before resources—water or trees—were exhausted. This could be achieved via a number of strategies and their use by the two groups of children was compared. Through efficient use of resources and recycling strategies, the older children outperformed the younger children. Magical thinking was more prevalent among the 8-year-olds. The results also suggest that seemingly isomorphic environmental problems may not be interpreted as such.     

Aggressive Boys in the Classroom: Biased Attributions or Shared Perceptions?

This study of 32 aggressive (AG) and 32 nonaggressive (NA) boys applied a social information processing analysis to interactions between children and their teachers. In a cue reading task, AG and NA subjects estimated teacher anger in ambiguous situations where the targets of the teacher behavior were the subjects, NA peers, and AG peers. AG boys predicted that greater teacher anger would be directed toward themselves than did NA boys. However, this could not be interpreted as an attributional bias specific to AG boys, because both NA and AG boys predicted that greater hostility would be directed toward AG boys. Target status was the primary determinant of cue interpretation. AG boys were more likely than NA boys to choose aggressive solutions to problems involving teachers and to judge aggressive solutions to be competent. The results suggested that NA subjects were actually more effective than AG subjects in enacting an aggressive response.     

Classroom keyboard instruction improves kindergarten children’s spatial-temporal performance: A field experiment

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of classroom music instruction featuring the keyboard on the spatial-temporal reasoning of kindergarten children. Sixty-two kindergartners were assigned to one of two conditions, keyboard or no music. All children were pretested with two spatial-temporal tasks and one pictorial memory task. The keyboard group was provided with 20-min lessons two times per week in groups of approximately 10 children. Children were then retested at two 4-month intervals. The keyboard group scored significantly higher than the no music group on both spatial-temporal tasks after 4 months of lessons, a difference that was greater in magnitude after 8 months of lessons. Pictorial memory did not differ for the two groups after the lessons. These data support studies that found similar skills enhancements in preschool children, despite vast differences in the setting in which the instruction occurred. The results have strong implications for school administrators and educators.     

Gender comparisons of preschoolers' behavior and resource utilization in group problem solving

We tested the hypothesis that 4 - 5-year-old girls and boys in same-sex problem-solving groups would perform equally well when the group task required various cooperative and self-serving behaviors to obtain a resource. The hypothesis that girls and boys would employ different behaviors to obtain the resource was also tested. 20 same-sex, same-age groups of 4 children each (10 groups of girls and 10 groups of boys) were videotaped while solving a problem involving a cartoon movie as a resource. 1 child could view the movie provided 2 other children helped, 1 to turn a crank and 1 to push a light button; the fourth child was relegated to a bystander position. Results revealed that girls and boys were equally effective in achieving viewing time; gender variance in viewing time was significantly greater for girls than for boys; girls and boys did not differ in total behavioral output, but girls tended to use more verbal behavior than boys and boys engaged in significantly more physical behavior than girls; affect in boy groups was more positive than in girl groups; girls who achieved the most viewing time within their group differed behaviorally from girls who achieved the least viewing time, but did not differ behaviorally from boys; boys who achieved the most viewing time did not differ behaviorally from boys who achieved the least viewing time.     

Strategic Keyboard Training and Spelling Improvement among Children with Learning Disabilities and Mental Retardation

The aim of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of a strategic keyboard training program for improving the spelling performance of children with mild disabilities. The sample consisted of 36 mildly disabled students divided into two groups: 18 learning disabled students, and 18 educable mentally retarded students. The teachers used strategic procedures emphasising awareness of word structure and spelling strategies, combined with keyboard training, for a duration of three months (45‐minute sessions, twice weekly). The results demonstrated a significant decrease in spelling errors, as assessed through computer typing and handwriting. However, the comparisons between the group achievements of the learning disabled and mentally retarded children did not reveal significant differences in the development of the spelling performance. Analysis of the results, and of the four case‐studies, pin‐pointed attention onto the initial individual differences in the spelling performance, and onto the students’ individual learning style during training, emphasising the need for an individualised approach in remedial computerised spelling procedures.     

Constructing a Joint Story-Writing Space: The Dynamics of Young Children's Collaboration at Computers

This study explored kindergartners' and first graders' collaborative processes to understand the nature of peer collaboration and the learning opportunities afforded by peer discourse. Data were drawn from 6 dyads who participated in a computer writing project for 2 school semesters. Children's videotaped interactions were analyzed with the focus on understanding how children's collaborative roles and patterns changed over time. Examination of video data and children's computer products revealed that (a) children's interaction patterns changed from a more independent style toward a more integrative style, as shown in their distribution of control over mouse and keyboard and in the written outcomes of their collaboration; (b) a shift in role patterns emerged across repeated instances of peer collaboration so that children began alternating the roles of leader and observer, and less competent children began carrying out more important tasks; and (c) the computer served as an object of reference for children to sustain their interaction and stay on task.     

计算机键盘的重新排布

普通计算机键盘是为双手操作设计的，对于一些特别的使用者，比如只有一只手的操作者来讲使用起来很不方便。本文介绍了Windows在环境下通过键盘重新定义，使操作人可以使用部分按键模拟所有按键，使用者可以自由组合和定义出个性化的计算机操作按键，并实现单手操作。     

javascript的键控实现

获取键盘控制事件将大大加强你和电脑之间的交互性．通过对用户输入内容进行限制．减少非法输入所带来的麻烦，保护数据的完整性．     

An investigation on the effects of using interactive digital video in a physics classroom on student learning and attitudes

Interactive digital video provides students with control of computer visualization techniques and allows them to collect, analyze, and model two-dimensional motion data. Activities that use these techniques were developed for students to investigate the concept of frames of reference in various real-life situations. This investigation examines the effect on student learning and attitudes of using these materials in an introductory college physics course. The study measured students' computer attitudes and found improvement in students' feelings of comfort in using computers after completion of the activities. We found students' prior computer experience did not influence their perceptions of the activities. The majority of participants perceived discussion and the computer visualization techniques as being very effective in helping them learn, Students' understanding of the physics concepts were assessed and the participants' scores were compared with nonparticipants' scores. Although analysis of variance statistical procedures revealed no significant differences between the two groups, the results of this study indicate that sophisticated instructional video software can be perceived as easy to use and effective by students who are novices and experts in using computers. Thus, interactive digital video tools and activities have the potential to provide physics teachers with the latest technology to bring the active process of learning physics to their classroom. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 34: 467–489, 1997.     

The integration of computer simulation and learning support: An example from the physics domain of collisions

Discovery learning is generally seen as a promising but demanding mode of learning that, in most cases, can only be successful if students are guided in the discovery process. The present article discusses a study on discovery learning with a computer simulation environment in the physics domain of collisions. In the learning environment, which is called Collision, students learned about collisions where two particles move in the same direction and interact via a conservative force in such a way that the total mechanical energy is conserved. In the experiment we conducted with Collision, we evaluated the effects of adding two different ways to guide students: model progression, in which the model is presented in separate parts; and assignments, small exercises that the student can choose to do. The effect of providing assignments and model progression was evaluated by comparing the learning behavior and learning results over three experimental conditions in which different versions of the simulation environment were presented: pure simulation, simulation plus assignments, and simulation plus model progression and assignments. Students' use of the environment was logged, their subjectively experienced workload was measured on‐line, and their learning was assessed using a number of assessment procedures. Providing assignments with the simulation improved students' performance on one aspect of a so‐called intuitive knowledge test. Providing the students with model progression did not have an effect. A subjective workload measure indicated that expanding the simulation with assignments and model progression did not raise the workload experienced by the students. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 36: 597–615, 1999     

Fifty-one families with computers: A study of children's academic uses of microcomputers at home

This paper examines the extent to which children in a 51-family, qualitative study used their home microcomputers for learning school subjects such as reading, mathematics, science, and social studies. Logs and analytic documents gathered over two years were content analyzed. This analysis revealed that most of the children who used their home microcomputers were not using them for academic learning. The absence of home academic microcomputing by children was found to be associated with a set of factors which included the lack of parental pressure and support for home academic microcomputing, the schools' emphasis on programming and computer literacy, the unreceptivity of the children and their peers to home academic microcomputing, and the dearth of academic software in the homes. The implications of these findings for the fostering of home academic microcomputing are discussed.     

Response stability and variability induced in humans by different feedback contingencies

In two experiments, the behavioral effects of different response-feedback contingencies were examined with a task requiring human subjects to repeatedly type three-key sequences on a computer keyboard. In Experiment 1, the subjects first received positive feedback for response variability, followed by no feedback, or vice versa. In Experiment 2, the subjects first received positive feedback for response variability, followed by response-independent positive feedback, or vice versa. Response stability and variability were examined using different measures, such as percentage of trials meeting the variability criteria, frequency of use of the different response alternatives, and autocorrelations as an index of response randomness. The subjects’ behavior in the first phase in each condition came to reflect the current feedback contingency. Depending on the measure examined, responding after each contingency change was characterized by both response stability and decreases or increases in response variability. The collective results are discussed in the framework of previous animal and human studies on behavioral stability and variability.     

公交车语音报站器

设计采用SPCE061A单片机为控制核心,由键盘输入模块、显示电路模块等基本模块组成。通过1×8键盘手动控制来完成播报当前站名和下一站站名,并能播报音乐和显示当前的时间,具有实用性强,操作简单等特点。     

Using a computer simulation to compare expert/novice problem-solving subroutines

Hierarchical problem-solving strategies employed in solving exercise science problems were examined in this study, which also tested the validity of an educational computer simulation. Hypothesis testing was used as the theoretical base for the study of differences in problem-solving within the computer simulation. In a previous study two groups of undergraduate (novices) and graduate students were compared in their ability to solve exercise science problems. The present study added a group of faculty (experts) who were presented with the same simulation protocol as the other subjects. Protocol analysis and the Pitt coding system were used to analyse verbal data. Group differences were examined statistically. The faculty were superior in interpreting data and used the Basic Heuristic and Pattern Extraction strategies for the generation and use of algorithms. The problem-solving strategies varied for each group based on the perceived difficulty of the problem, the knowledge base available, and the similarity of the given problem to previous problems.     

Predicting Computer Literacy: how do the technological experiences of schoolchildren predict their computer‐based problem‐solving skills?

ABSTRACT

What is the effect of a technologically rich out‐of‐school environment upon the use of information technology in the classroom? This question was approached by observing the relationships between the exposure to home electronic technologies and classroom disposition and performance. Secondary school children (11–12 years old) were interviewed to determine their declarative knowledge of computers and computer use, the richness of their technological environment and their declared interest in working with computers. They then performed a computer‐based language task that required them to enter missing letters from a piece of text This task required linguistic problem‐solving skills as well as keyboard agility and yielded a number of performance scores. Successful performance correlated with declared out‐of‐school computer use. The richness of the technological environment also correlated positively with declared computer use. Out‐of‐school experience did not predict attitudes to classroom information technology and there were no gender effects in attitude or performance.     

Hearing Status, Language Modality, and Young Children's Communicative and Linguistic Behavior

This study examined early pragmatic skill development in a group of 38 children with severe or profound hearing loss between 1 and 4 years of age who were enrolled in a simultaneous communication (SC) approach to language learning. Both their use of intentionally communicative acts and their use of language were studied in an analysis of 30-min play sessions between a child and the primary caregiver. Results were compared with previously published data from two age-matched groups: 38 deaf children who were enrolled in oral communication (OC) programs and 84 normally hearing (NH) children. All groups showed a significant improvement with age in the communicative behaviors measured; therefore, the overall trend was toward growth-in all age groups-even when the rates of growth differed. By age 3 years, a pattern of communicative function use had emerged in all three groups. Patterns exhibited by deaf children in the SC and OC groups were similar to each other and to younger NH children but dissimilar to NH age mates. Although the use of signed input by normally hearing parents and teachers did not serve to ameliorate the profound effects of hearing loss on communication development in SC children, it did provide some early advantages. The children in SC groups did not exhibit an advantage over children in OC groups in their overall frequency of communication or the breadth of their vocabulary but they began using words earlier and used mature communicative functions significantly more often. Although children in the OC groups did not exhibit a significant advantage in the overall amount of speech used, they showed an advantage in the breadth of their spoken vocabulary in a conversational setting. Implications for early intervention programming are discussed.     

Computer-adapted PPVT-R: A comparison between standard and modified versions within an elementary school population

The PPVT-R was administered to 112 elementary school children in both computerautomated and standard formats. The comparability of test results was investigated. The automated format consisted of transparent plates placed in front of a computer screen with an Apple IIE computer and keyboard as the response medium. The correlations found between the standard and modified versions were positive, substantial, and acceptable for clinical use. The usefulness of adapted psychological testing with normal and response-limited individuals is discussed.