Peer Review

Quality of Content: (3) (4) = 3.5

• The material was accurate and depicts relationships well
  
  
• The applet appears to work soundly and depict the model
  accurately
  

• The descriptions are far too brief for a new user to be sure
  what parameters represent
  
  
• Vocabulary needs to be defined
  

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool: (4) (5) = 4.5

• It's already set up with a student assignment that aids in
  understanding concepts presented in the simulation.
  
  
• The questions asked promote discovery/experimentation
  
  
• It should be easy to write assignments for this simulation
  because of its "bare bones" nature.
  
  

• Needs to have a much more extensive explanation of the
  parameters and the theory behind the system.
  

Usability: (3) (4.2) = 3.6

• The simulation is fairly easy to use and responds quickly
  
  
• The parameters are easy to change and can be manipulated with
  little background knowledge.
  
  
• It is fast and stable
  

• The graphs are not labeled so one must study the simulation
  and parameters to figure out what is being demonstrated.
  
  
• Without ample instruction the user may not be sure what s/he
  is manipulating
  

Overall rating: (4) (4.4) = 4.2

Author's comments:

I would like to comment that although others might wish a computer
lab to be more self-explanatory, we don't want that. These labs are
used to apply lecture material. In general, it suits our pedagogic
goals to give the students just enough, but -never- too much or to do
too much for them. The student must supply brain, with assignment as
catalyst. :) I regret that choice affected our grading on Merlot.
However, the HTML reader files along the left-hand-side are
completely customizable for any class. More can be added, or what's there changed, with a simple text editor, to suit the course.