Showing papers by "Laura Monica Gorghiu published in 2009"

Related Aspects to the Pedagogical Use of Virtual Experiments

Abstract: Even the existence of virtual experiments is not a novelty in the technical world, their introduction in the educational process is quite recent. In this sense, trying to asses the pedagogical use of virtual experiments, this work presents the results collected from 24 Romanian in-service teachers involved in teaching activities in Dambovita County (Romania), who attended the “Virtual Instrumentation in Science Education” training modules, organised in the frame of the three years Socrates Comenius 2.1 European Project VccSSe Virtual Community Collaborating Space for Science Education (http://vccsse.ssai.valahia.ro, project nr. 128989-CP-12006-1-RO-COMENIUS-C21) coordinated by Valahia University of Targoviste, Romania. The paper emphasises also on the main aspects of introduction of the virtual experiments in the Science lessons with the view to increase the quality of the educational process.

Aspects related to the usefulness of a distance training course having Moodle as course management system support

Abstract: The citizens benefit of technological progress in an equitable and non-discriminatory way in the Knowledge Society. Being part of the long-term governmental strategy, the permanent upgrading of the access to information and expanding of the Internet represent the main pillars of the actions developed in the field of education. In this direction, the implementation of ICT in the teaching process led to the change of the educational perspectives and instruments. As example, the concept of e-learning brings together modern methods of interaction by using ICTs. Many educational projects have promoted and introduced e-learning as an alternative to traditional education. Even for teachers, the on-line training programs represent a good option to increase their knowledge in their related areas. In this respect, the European Socrates Comenius 2.1 Project "VccSSe - Virtual Community Collaborating Space for Science Education" (128989-CP-1-2006-1-RO-COMENIUS-C21) promoted the use of virtual instrumentation and experiments as new teaching methods for the Mathematics and Science teachers. As the training sessions were developed under the Moodle course management system, this paper presents some aspects related to the training process made in the frame of the project and other considerations regarding the usefulness of the distance course, taking into consideration the participants' opinions.

Analysis of 1000 Days of Collaborative Activities in Two Multinational Educational Projects

Abstract: Effective and efficient communication and collaboration is a prerequisite for the success of a project. This paper presents the numerical data which relieve the amount of the collaborative activity developed through collaborative platforms in the frame of two European educational projects during around one thousand days of these projects life-time. The paper extends the research presented in (7) by including the data of the last four months of the two projects considered. The aim of this paper is to show how much a collaborative platform can be used during a three years educational project life-time and what types of project activities requests a more intense use, in terms of quantity, of these platforms. For this evaluation, it is proposed a method which has as basis the processing of the statistical data from the log files generated by the web server which hosts the collaborative platforms.

Antioxidant Effect of Some Flavonoids on Organic Substrate

Abstract: This investigation concerns the evaluation of the protection activity of natural antioxidants. Ethanol extracts form dry five plants (Salvia Officinalis, Rosmarinus Officinalis, Rhus Typhia, Origanum Vulgaris and Ocimum Basilicum) were prepared at room temperature. The types of flavonoids acting as antioxidant compounds were identified for establishing the structural correlation between functional substituents and protection efficiency. The isothermal chemiluminescence determinations allowed the calculation of kinetic parameters of stabilizing process. The mechanism steps of stabilization are proposed.

Rates on collaborative platforms activity in multinational educational projects

Abstract: Although the e-mail is the most used technology for remote collaboration, the team work within multinational projects involves collaborative activities that only the e-mail cannot support. The aim of the paper is to evaluate the activity amount that a multinational team has on a collaborative platform used to support the team work. The paper presents two examples of collaborative platforms usage for communication and for collaborative work within European educational projects.

Considerations Regarding the Advisability of the Training Modules "Virtual Instrumentation in Science Education" Organized in the Frame of the VccSSe European Project

Abstract: Nowadays, it is an evidence considering the Knowledge Society as a result of advances in Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) where people from all over the world have many benefits from the technological progress. In this sense, it is clear that the introduction of ICT in education has changed the traditional way of teaching and learning and forced the teachers and students to adapt their technical abilities and knowledge of ICT. Generally, the ICT support can be retrieved in teacher training programmes, education management and information systems, educational content, distance learning, education policy, media outreach and assistance for equipment and related facilities. But the implementation of ICT in the teaching/learning process mainly conducted to the change of the educational perspectives and instruments. One of the best examples is given by the e-learning technology which promotes modern methods of interaction by using ICTs. E-learning technology is also proposed as an educational technolog y in many educational projects where initial and in-service teachers are the main actors who work inside different e-platforms. Courses, training modules, tasks and homework, surveys and assessment forms have been proposed together with other solutions that enhance the participation of teachers for working in a collaborative way. In this respect, the three years European Socrates Comenius 2.1 Project "VccSSe - Virtual Community Collaborating Space for Science Education" (128989-CP-1-2006-1-RO-COMENIUS-C21) tried to promote the use of virtual instrumentation and virtual experiments in educational environment, like new and modern teaching methods for the Mathematics and Science teachers. Taking also into consideration that the training sessions were developed using the Moodle course management system, the paper illustrates some considerations related to the training process made in the frame of the mentioned project and other aspects regarding the advisability of the training modules "Virtual Instrumentation in Science Education", on the basis of the participants' opinions emphasized in the project web-assessment forms.

Exploring virtual experiments in secondary school sciences lessons

Abstract: Science experiments can be simulated easily using the proper software applications. The simulated experiments provide to pupils / students the opportunity to run experiments many times and at convenient time. On the other hand, the teachers can use the simulations for specific demonstrations during the theoretical lessons. Science experiments can be also presented as educational video-clips. In many Physics and Chemistry courses, real experiments are represented as digital video demonstrations. Taking into consideration the mentioned ideas, this paper emphasizes some results on developing related learning objects that include platform collaboration in two Socrates-Comenius 2.1. European projects: "FISTE - A Future Way for In-Service Teacher Training across Europe" (Project no. 118766-CP-1-2004-1-RO- COMENIUS-C21) and "VccSSe - Virtual Community Collaborating Space for Science Education" (Project no. 128989-CP-1-2006-1-RO-COMENIUS-C21). More, the experiences gained in the Socrates-Comenius 2.1. projects are useful for developing various skills for teaching in the m- Learning era during the Leonardo da Vinci project "MENUET - Mobile E-Novative Use of E-learning Technologies" (Project no. LLP-2008-1-RO1-LEO05-00813).