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The goals of this paper are to describe some characteristics of the pedagogical project of the Carbopous software and some programming solutions that were found during the computational implementation of this software. Relative to the first goal, some pedagogical features that are considered necessary to developing computerized learning materials for scientific education are analyzed. To that end, the design of scenarios is presented as a way of linking learning strategies, such as simulation, problem solving, and play. Related to the second goal, there is a brief description of some potential that JAVA technology holds for the computational implementation of pedagogical projects with such features. The context of the inclusion of the computational implementation using free software is also shown. Eventually, the programming solutions developed using a graphical interface, scenario mapping, data storage, bookmarking, notepad, browser (developed specifically for Carbopolis), and the software installation are described. In addition, some information obtained in two contexts of the pedagogical project evaluation is presented: one context attempted to evaluate conceptual learning; the second attempted to show the software usability in different school settings.
The Pedagogical Project
The pedagogical project, synonymous with design in this paper, is the kernel of learning materials. Through the pedagogical project, teaching strategies are developed and learning sessions are planned. It is within the general guidelines of the design that students' features of interaction and evaluation are decided (El-Tigi and Branch, 1997).
Thus, during the development of computerized learning materials, the most common errors are related to the decisions of the designer who plans the activity. These errors often happen because the main intention was only to update the instruction material and not to widen its usefulness (Carroll, 2000). For example, even if computers make the use of the highest instruction levels possible, in order to increase the student's control over her/his learning (such as the strategies of simulation and problem solving), they can also be used for mundane drill and practice (training and repetition). This means that the environment does not dictate the design (Starr, 1997). This is why the quality of the learning resources currently available on the Internet is quite variable, ranging from excellent to extremely poor (El-Tigi and Branch, 1997).
Several kinds of knowledge provide opportunity for guiding the...