PASCO Technologies: Igniting 21st Century Science Education
At school I studied in the class of Physics and Mathematics and liked it very much; the previous article mentions pasco.com, online educational resource for science, engineering and earth environment. Together, school background and innovations in this field became an area of my interest; therefore, I decided to study it in-depth.
PASCO's technologies are widely used all over the world and keep developing from year to year. Let's look at the structure of its website. There are three main directions: subject areas, products and educator resources.
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SUBJECT AREAS
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PRODUCTS
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EDUCATOR RESOURCES
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Physics In High
School
Physics At
University
Biology
Chemistry
Earth/Environment
General Science
Middle/Primary
Engineering
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Probeware
Software
Curriculum
Lab Equipment
Labware And
Supplies
Replacement Parts
What’s New
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Training And Events
Experiments
More Educator
Resources
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I would like to focus on products. The category What's New provides the following novelties:
Let's study on PASCO Capstone Software and the 850 Universal Interface. It is updated software for data acquisition, display and analysis and destined to be the new standard in physics and engineering labs. It was not created on the basis of other software; it is absolutely independant, powerful and flexible option available on educational market.
While it was designed in conjuction with the new 850 Universal Interface, Capstone is completely compatible with all PASCO USB Interfaces - the 850, Xplorer GLX, SPARKlink, SPARK, USB link and even older interfaces such as the SCience WOrkshop 750 or 500.
PASCO Capstone is available now for the PC. A Mac version will be released Spring 2013.
Overview
This screenshot illustrates the main page of Capstone Software and the mentioned 850 Interface. It tools include: hardware setup, data summary, calculator, signal, generator, photogate timer, setup and more. Sampling bar givea an opportunity to set sample rates for each sensor, record, playback and delete runs. Display palette can be clicked and dragged onto graph. Displays available are Graph, Oscilloscope, FFT, Digits, Meter, Table, Picture and Video. Finally, this software can create multiple pages or customize each page to the tasks performed.
Licenses
There are two licenses to be acquired: Capstone Single User License (UI-5401) - to install on a single computer for classroom demostrations, or individual activities, and Capstone Site License (UI-5400) - to install on all computers on a K-12 campus or in a college/university department.
References
www.pasco.com
Hi Aliya,
ReplyDeletePASCO capstone software seems to be a new notion to students from developing countries as they seldom have a chance to approach modern technological devices. Specifically, I did not have opportunity to work with such devices so this piece of information from your blog is really useful. As what I understood, a lab equipment usually has its own data acquisition and software as the mentioned system - PASCO capstone software and 850 Universal Interface . As known, researchers are not always satisfied with existing basic devices and software to conduct their research. For this reason, they attempt to modify or use other software like Labview to obtain their purpose. Labview is a well-known software for simulation in laboratory and can be integrated with several lab equipment. I just wonder whether PASCO capstone software and 850 Universal Interface are compatible with other softwares or devices?
ReplyDeleteHi Phuong,
Thank you for your question. I try to answer as clear as possible, but if you have more questions, you can visit pasco.com for more details (the answer to your question can be found by the following steps: pasco.com >>> products >>> SPARKscience).
PASCO technologies work on the basis of SPARKscience platform, integrated learning platform including SPARKvue touch screen capable media easily adapting to classroom technology, SPARKlink interface to use it on Macs & PCs, interactive white boards, netbooks, even iPads or iPod Touches.