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Interactive Science Simulations Fun, interactive, research-based simulations of physical phenomena from the PhET project at the University of Colorad

They don't replace handbooks - they support handbooks because they can do things that handbooks can't do.They don't replace handbooks - they support handbooks because they can do things that handbooks can't do.They: (1) are interactive; you get immediate feedback. (2) can show objects in 3D by rotating them on the screen. (3) are dynamic; you see things happening right in front of you. (4) make use of virtual objects with which you can do experiments and teachers and parents can do demonstrations. There is no age restriction - the younger, the better.There is no age restriction - the younger, the better.

Take the notion that children have specific learning styles, that some are “visual learners” and others are auditory; some are “left-brain” students, others “right-brain.” In a recent review of the relevant research, published in the journal Psychological Science in the Public Interest, a team of psychologists found almost zero support for such ideas.

We have yet to identify the common threads between teachers who create a constructive learning atmosphere

many study skills courses insist that students find a specific place, a study room or a quiet corner of the library, to take their work. The research finds just the opposite.

While it so obviously measures empathy that you could easily game it to make yourself look kinder and nicer, the fact that today's college students don't even feel compelled to do that suggests that the study is measuring something real. If young people don't even care about seeming uncaring, something is seriously wrong.

Though social media is an improvement on passive TV viewing and can sometimes aid real friendships, it is still less rich than face to face interaction. This is especially important for the youngest children whose brains are absorbing social information that will shape the way they connect for the rest of their lives.

Perhaps an even larger factor is the merging of the left's "do your own thing" individualism with the right's glorification of brutal competition and unfettered markets. You wind up with a society that teaches kids that "you're on your own" and that helping others is for suckers.