Science & Technology: A Workshop, Don Buckley

Science & Technology: A Workshop

By Don Buckley, September 15, 2003

Technology has never been a stranger to science. Think of Millikan's oil drop experiment or Newton's study on light. Even though the technology these scientists used was primitive, it was necessary. Thermometers, dissection kits, spectrophotometers, and similar specialized tools have played a vital role throughout modern times in helping scientists investigate everything from the human body to leaf structure to the nucleus of a cell.

The past 20 years have seen an unprecedented leap in technology. In fact, strides made in this short period of time far exceed the rate of technological advances of the entire 350-year span since Newton's time. And much of the potential and power of this technology lies in its accessibility to us all. In the classroom of 2003, there is nothing surprising in seeing students use a drag-and-drop software program to experiment with forming molecular compounds or generating their own animations to learn about collision theory and chemical reactions. As educators, wouldn't we be remiss in not harnessing the 21st century tools at our disposal to add rich new dimensions to our science curriculum? Indeed, we would.

Digital Microscopes
Digital microscopes are microscopes with a built-in video camera that can be used for display on a computer or LCD projector. These microscopes usually allow you to capture images, perform photo editing, record a video, measure objects, label structures, and superimpose or compare images side by side with the use of software. Where digital microscopes really score is when you want to show something live going on at cellular level (e.g., cells dividing). This tool can bypass much of the set-up and easily demonstrate the process by video. Check out "Resource Index" before you invest in a digital microscope. You might find a resource that exists online in a ready-to-use format.

Although there are numerous tools available — from hardware devices such as digital microscopes (see the "Digital Microscopes" sidebar) to graphing calculators, handheld computers, digital tablets, and more — we narrowed the field for a look at how some widely used and accessible software, Internet tools, and probeware can open up a whole new world of opportunities for students.

Subject-Specific Software

Software developed for a particular area within a particular subject might include a program on electricity in physics, molecular structure in chemistry, or genetics in biology. Either as networked or stand-alone offerings, these types of programs can augment off-computer learning by allowing students additional interactive, hands-on experiences in safe, controlled environments.

A program called Interactive Physics (MSC Software) is an example of software that models and simulates most mechanical experiments to give high school students a clear picture of concepts such as velocity or acceleration. Other kinds of software can give students access to activities formerly only possible with prohibitively expensive professional equipment. For example, 3-D molecular modeling programs allow students to model, animate, and render molecular compounds to illustrate chemical structures and reactions. One such program called ChemSite (ChemSW) features a simple toolbar from which students can drag and drop atoms onto a desktop where they can practice inquiry-based learning by manipulating elements to measure bond lengths and angles, form different compounds, and so forth.

Subject-specific software can also help students better understand science by demystifying abstract concepts such as electricity, magnetism, and optics phenomena. The software series EM Field (Physics Academic Software), for example, includes interactive tools that let grades 8-12 students explore electric and magnetic fields as well as see animated demonstrations of the properties of mirrors, lenses, reflection, refraction, and more. This program comes with ready-to-run simulations and experiments and also tools for creating your own.

These types of software programs give an extra boost to visual and hands-on learners by allowing them to manipulate a range of controls, parameters, objects, environments, and components (see "Science Workbook," Chapter 3).

Image Processing

When students use Photoshop or other graphics editing software, they are manipulating an image for visual effect. Image processing, on the other hand, refers to the study and manipulation of images for the purpose of extracting scientific information. For instance, scientists might use this technique to compare monthly average ozone concentrations over Antarctica, to analyze X rays of animal hands to compare their structures, to determine how the Law of Universal Gravitation applies to other solar systems, or to measure distance between atoms in a molecule.

NIH Image and ImageJ, respectively, are a software and Internet tool that target a vast range of specific scientific topics, including astronomy, chemistry, and biology. NIH Image and ImageJ can acquire, display, edit, enhance, analyze, and animate images. The programs can read and write various digital file formats, providing compatibility with many other applications, including programs for scanning, processing, editing, publishing, and analyzing images. They support many standard image processing functions, such as contrast enhancement, density profiling, and more.

NIH Image and ImageJ can also be used to measure area, mean, centroid, perimeter, and other dimensions of user-defined regions of interest. They can perform automated particle analysis and provide tools for measuring path lengths and angles. Spatial calibration is also supported to provide real-world area and length measurements. Density can be calibrated against radiation or optical density standards using user-specified units. The tool palette supports color and grayscale image editing and includes line, rectangle, and text rendering capabilities. All editing, filtering, and measurement functions operate at any level of magnification and are permanent. NIH Image and ImageJ are freeware. For details of where to find these programs and sample lessons, see the Web site for the Center for Image Processing in Education (www.cipe.com) and "Science Workbook," Lesson Plan 3.

Application Tools

Web- and CD-based application programs, such as word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, or Web authoring software, offer students the advantage of being able to create their own activities from scratch while also mastering technologies they can apply to other disciplines.

In science, for example, high school students can extend their traditional learning experiences by using a spreadsheet to graph the results of an experiment on water pollution, middle school students can create a PowerPoint presentation comparing climate data from different regions in the world, and elementary-level students can correspond via e-mail with astronomers in remote locations to ask questions about Mars.

From a cross-curricular angle, a student might use a spreadsheet to record temperatures over time in a heat of fusion experiment in science and to record the population of Europe between 1300-1400 ad to illustrate the number of deaths from the Black Plague in social studies. Web authoring tools, such as Dreamweaver, BBEdit, or FrontPage; animation tools, such as Adobe Image Ready or Flash; or video editing tools, such as iMovie or Final Cut Express, are additional examples of powerful cross-curricular applications. (To see samples of how students have used such Web tools in many subject areas, visit www.marymount.k12.ny.us/marynet/index03.html.)

A good example of a student-created project using an application tool is the Virtual Frog Dissection project created by middle school students in a New York independent school. Students used digital cameras and video editing tools to create short QuickTime movies and stills on a dissection technique. In the process, they learned to photograph, edit video, and process images. Through their research and project work, each student gained a deeper understanding of dissection techniques than might have been possible from a premade program. An example of the finished product can be seen at www.marymount.k12.ny.us/marynet/StudentWebwork01/frogdissection/index.htm.

Another example is an interactive periodic table of elements produced by students using Web authoring software. More on this activity (and similar ones), which are appropriate for middle or high school students, can be found in "Science Workbook," Lesson Plan 5.

Simulations

Simulations can demonstrate a plethora of scientific principles or experiments. They can show how light travels through different materials, the workings of the human heart, or a frog dissection. The word simulation is often interchanged with virtual experiment.

Teachers can produce their own simulations using programs, such as Interactive Physics, Model ChemLab, or Macromedia Flash or Director, or run ready-made simulations from the Internet. Ready-made simulations residing on the Internet (which usually means they function using Java applets or plug-ins such as Flash or Shockwave) can be useful for introducing or reviewing topics, and most are free. There are limitations, however, to the simulations found on the Internet. They may not be as versatile as the ones you or your students can produce, and your students may not fully understand the scientific concept behind the simulation. However, if you want to produce your own simulations, you may have to purchase software. Another point to consider is that just because simulations are on the computer does not necessarily mean they're easier — or more effective — than a traditional experiment or demo. A case in point is an experiment on reacting alkali metals (sodium) with water. A video or simulation of the results of sodium reacting with water pales in comparison to an on-site demonstration of the water and sodium forming a fireball that whizzes over the surface of the liquid. Of course, this must be done in a fume hood, but it's a sight students aren't likely to forget.

Sometimes the optimum approach is to have students perform both traditional and virtual experiments and compare the results. The following is a good method for doing so.

Introduce a simulation the same way you would any topic. Run a sample simulation using a computer and an LCD projector.
Perform a traditional version of an experiment with your students using lab materials — for example, on atoms reacting to form a compound.
Then have students participate in a computer simulation repeating the same experiment. This repetition helps reinforce their knowledge.
Give your students a choice of doing an experiment on another topic the traditional way or via a simulation. Students with different learning styles will gain more from one or the other.

On the Explore Science Web site (www.explorescience.com) you can find virtual simulations on topics as basic as additive color, which elementary-level students could tackle. This site also offers many simulation activities in life sciences, chemistry, astronomy, and physics topics for older students.

For more complex and in-depth simulations, those on polymers and liquid crystals at the Case Western University site (plc.cwru.edu) could be used as independent science elective courses for advanced students in grades 10-12.

Be sure to choose simulations that don't include a steep learning curve, that aren't prohibitively expensive, that enhance the learning experience or allow your students to do something not possible in a traditional science laboratory. For instance, students can see what goes on inside a nuclear reactor with the simulation described in Lesson Plan 6 of "Science Workbook."

Probeware

Laptops, handheld computing devices, graphing calculators, and other mobile technologies have opened up a whole new opportunity for students to have authentic learning experiences in the field. In this area, the software — probeware combination has proven a perfect fit for all grade levels.

If you want to collect data (e.g., temperature, pressure, motion, and more) from an external source and import the findings directly into a computer to manipulate, analyze, and evaluate, then you will need to use probeware sensors and interfaces. A sensor records the physical data, such as the temperature of air or water. The sensor plugs into an interface which converts the analog data into a digital format so the computer can process it. The interface then connects to the desktop, laptop, handheld computer, or graphing calculator so the data can be imported for analysis. There are more than 40 sensors on the market that will record anything from ions to decibels (see "Resource Index"), so it shouldn't be difficult to find one that's right for your classroom.

Collecting lots of data in real time and seeing the results graphed instantly engages students in the learning process and adds a new dimension to your science teaching. Younger students, especially visual and kinesthetic learners who have trouble understanding abstract concepts, will benefit from labs, such as the activity in Lesson Plan 7 of the "Science Workbook", in which they move in front of a motion detector to create velocity patterns on a graph. Older students learn to analyze collected data, construct knowledge about what they are learning, and make immediate connections between the data they are collecting and the science concepts they are learning.

NEXT: Chapter 1: Subject-Specific Software Simulations

Chapter 2: Application Tools

Chapter 3: Internet Simulations

Chapter 4: Probeware

Resource Index

Don Buckley, born in Ireland and educated there and in London, is now director of technology (former head of science) at Marymount School of New York.

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Lesson Plan 1: Energy Lab Simulation

Subject Area: Physics

Grades: 8-12

Objective: To investigate the force and distance involved in moving an object up an incline

Equipment needed: Computers and Interactive Physics program

Before: Before you set your students loose on the simulation, get them to solve the following problem. This will get them thinking about the situation they want to solve with their simulation.

A hill has three paths up its sides to a flat summit area D as shown below. The three path lengths AD, BD, and CD are all different, but the vertical height is the same. Not including the energy used to overcome the internal friction of the car, which path requires the most energy (gasoline) for a car driving up it?

After they solve this problem, they should be ready to go on to generate the simulation.

During: Get your students to create a simulation that proves that the same amount of energy or work is required to get from point A, B, or C to point D, independent of the pathway. They will be using the Circle, Rectangle, Anchor, and Force tools from the Interactive Physics program. If the students are really having difficulty, here are other suggestions to help them generate the simulation: create a ramp and set the ramp at four different angles (10, 30 , 45, and 60 degrees); the parameters needed are force, distance, time, and work.

After: Have the students create a multimedia report that includes the patterns or relationships between forces and distances as well as the simulation that you have generated.

Additional Resources:

The following sites provide more simulations and lesson plans:

Computer Experimenter's Guide
(ist-socrates.berkeley.edu:7521projects/IPPS/SimGuide.html)

Interactive Physics and Math with Java
(www.lightlink.com/sergey/java)

Interactive Physics: Simulation Library
(www.interactivephysics.com/simulations.html)

Lesson Plan 2: The Period of a Pendulum

Subject Area: Physics

Grades: 8-12

Objective: To design a lab that investigates what factors affect the period of a pendulum using the Interactive Physics program

Equipment needed: Computers and Interactive Physics program

Before: Review the following with your students:

The period of a pendulum is how long it takes to make one complete cycle, or to swing back and forth. Many clocks take advantage of the fact that a pendulum swings at regular intervals of time. But what factors affect the length of the interval?

Have students brainstorm with their classmates as to what factors they think might affect the pendulum swing.

During: Have students access the momentum simulation from the software's Simulation Library. This area will allow them to observe a series of instructional animations on Ballistic Pendulum, Conservation of Momentum, Elastic Equal Mass Collision, and so forth. After several trials of this experiment, students should average the results. Then have them create a data table for the results. Ask them if graphs are necessary for this experiment. Have them perform both virtual and real-world experiments and compare the results.

After: Have students write a lab report on their findings.

Lesson Plan 3: Measurement, Units, and Relative Size

Subject Area: General Science

Grades: 5-12

Objective: To use digital images to demonstrate measurement units and relative size

Equipment needed: Computers, NIH Image or ImageJ, and spreadsheet software

Before: Have students collect scientific images (the number of images may vary; two resources are listed below).

During: The images should be downloaded locally and imported into NIH Image or ImageJ. Your students should then conduct length, width, and volume measurements using different scales. The data collected should be tabulated in a spreadsheet format.

After: Students can write a report or produce a multimedia presentation on their findings.

Additional Activity: Introduce basic statistics and population sampling.

Visit the General Science and Biology Files (science.exeter.edu/jekstrom/Web/ij.html) and do the cell comparison activity or download NIH Image or ImageJ and do the cell comparison activity from the Web site.

Many more lesson plans on image processing are available from the CIPE Source book at www.evisual.org.

Additional Resources: The following sites provide program downloads, more simulations, and lesson plans:ImageJ for both Mac and PC (rsb.info.nih.gov/ij)

NIH Image for Mac only
(rsb.info.nih.gov/nih-image)

Scion Corporation for PC only
(www.scioncorp.com)

Image Resources:

Center for Image Processing
(www.cipe.com)

HIPR2 Image Library
(www.dai.ed.ac.uk/HIPR2/library.htm)

Go to next page: Chapter 2: Application Tools > > >

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Lesson Plan 4: The Virtual Frog Dissection

Subject Area: Biology

Grades: 5-8

Objective: To have students create their own virtual frog dissection Web site so that other students can learn from it and teachers can use it for demonstration purposes

Equipment needed: Dissection kits, digital still cameras, digital video cameras, image processing software (e.g., Photoshop), video editing software (e.g., iMovie), and Web authoring software (e.g., Dreamweaver)

Before: Students are assigned into groups (three or more students per group) and are given a body system to study.

During: Students perform the dissection and photograph the process. All digital footage is stored and edited in later sessions.

After: Students produce a virtual frog dissection, which can be used as a resource by other students. The completed edited footage is then made Web ready and inserted into a Web page.

Additional Resources:

Online frog dissections can be found at:

BioRobotics Laboratory at University of Washington
(brl.ee.washington.edu)

Virtual Frog Dissection Kit
(www.lbl.gov/ITG.hm.pg.docs/dissect/info.html)

The Whole Frog Project
(www-itg.lbl.gov/ITG.hm.pg.docs/Whole.Frog/Whole.Frog.html)

Stand-alone software:

Digital Frog 2 dissection software
(www.digitalfrog.com)

Lesson Plan 5: The HyperPeriodic Table

Subject Area: Chemistry

Grades: 5-8

Objective: To have students create an interactive periodic table

Equipment needed: Web authoring tool, Internet access, and image processing tool

Before: Have students research elements using the Internet or other resources of their choice (e.g., textbooks, CDs, DVDs). The information they gather should be collected in a folder (paper or electronic) that will be reviewed daily by the teacher.

During: After summarizing and analyzing the element information, students should use a Web authoring tool (e.g., Dreamweaver) to create separate Web pages for each element. Element information should fit on one Web page and should include physical traits, chemical traits, history/discovery, and uses of the element. Students' resources should also be listed on a separate Web page and be appropriately cited. When all of the students' element pages are completed, they should be placed in a folder with the student's name.

After: Students' Web pages will then be compiled by the teacher into an interactive periodic table that can be used as a resource by other students.

Additional Activity: Have students develop WebQuests on what they have learned and then exchange and complete. This will force students creating the WebQuests to assimilate the information they have learned and will ensure that all students learn new information.

Go to next page: Chapter 3: Internet Simulations > > >

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Authors Sergey Kiselev and Tanya Yanovsky-Kiselev have a great Web site (www.lightlink.com/sergey/java/index.html) containing Java applet simulations demonstrating physics principles, such as Kirchoff's rules and Image Formation of a Diverging Lens, to name a few. If you don't have a consistent or reliable Web connection in your classroom, you can download all these Java applets to run locally on your PC or Mac.

Biologica's Web labs (biologica.concord.org) are excellent examples of ready-to-use online simulations and virtual experiments. Another comprehensive online simulation site comes from the Plasma Physics Laboratory at Princeton (ippex.pppl.gov).

Lesson Plan 6: The ToKAMAK Reactor

Subject Area: Physics

Grades: 9-12

Objective: To illustrate the properties of nuclear fusion by conducting virtual experiments on simulations using the Virtual ToKAMAK and fusion data analysis at the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab

Equipment: Computers with Internet access and a Web browser

Before: Explore the various simulations at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory Web site (ippex.pppl.gov) and make sure you can run the simulations yourself before you assign them to your students. Before you have your students perform the simulation, be sure to introduce enough background material on the topic of nuclear fusion for them to perform the simulation with some success (e.g., radioactivity, plasma, confinement time, ToKAMAK).

During: Send your students to the site to run the simulation and allow them to navigate through the online tutorial on nuclear fusion so they will have a better understanding of this topic. This will give them good background for the ToKAMAK and fusion data sections of the simulation. After your students have completed the nuclear fusion section, have them perform experiments on the Virtual ToKAMAK. When the ToKAMAK section is completed, they can pursue the fusion data analysis sections.

After: Have your students write a report or a multimedia presentation on what they have learned, including a set of instructions on how to use the Virtual ToKAMAK.

Additional Activity: Go to the Princeton Plasma Physics Lab Web site and investigate the other simulations for further classroom use.

Additional Resources:

Biology Labs Online
(www.biologylab.awlonline.com)

Earth Kam Science Simulations
(www.ncsu.edu/sciencejunction/station/experiments/earthkam/simulation)

materialworlds
(www.materialworlds.com)

Science Simulations
(www.hal-pc.org/~clement/science.htm)

Go to next page: Chapter 4: Probeware > > >

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Lesson Plan 7: Kinematics

Subject Area: Physics

Grades: 5-12

Objective: To show what motion looks like on a distance-time graph and help students visualize motion

Equipment needed: Computers, motion detectors, and motion detector software

Before: Begin by showing your students the graphs below. They will be reproducing the same graphs on their computer screens using a motion detector and motion software.

During: Have the students walk back and forth in front of a motion detector until they trace a path exactly like the graphs. Some motion detector software will come with the graphs built into the program; you could have the students reproduce the graphs by tracing over them. Either way, your students will have a much greater and real understanding of motion after this experiment.

After: By using probeware, students should make immediate connections between the data they are collecting to the science concepts they are learning and become engaged in the data collection and analysis. After your students complete the kinematics experiment, have them present to each other what they have learned.

Additional Activity: Produce other motion graphs similar to the graphs provided. This will enable your students to understand more advanced topics in kinematics.

Lesson Plan 8: Exothermic and Endothermic Reactions

Subject Area: Chemistry

Grades: 5-10

Objective: To measure heat given out or taken in by reactions

Equipment needed: Computers, temperature probes, interface box, beakers, Styrofoam cups, and various chemical solutions

Before: Measuring heat given out or taken in by reactions is a classic lab experiment performed by middle and high school students. Traditionally, thermometers are used to determine whether the reactions are endothermic or exothermic. Much error can occur since students have to constantly lift the thermometer out of the container to take temperature readings. Temperature probes provide students with much more accurate readings, resulting in more accurate conclusions.

During: Have your students perform the temperature measurements for different combinations of chemical solutions and record temperature increases or decreases.

After: The results collected will automatically be placed in table format by the probeware software. The data can be analyzed in various ways from this point. Students can determine whether the reactions are endothermic or exothermic.

Additional Activities: How many experiments do you run in your class that involve temperature measurement? If you were to replace the thermometer with a temperature probe, how would you adapt one of your traditional experiments to one where you would be using the probeware?

Additional Resources: The resources below will give you ideas for probing experiments as well as places where you can purchase probeware.

CoachLab Probeware (www.harris-educational.com/Probeware)

Concord Consortium newsletter, Winter 2002 (www.concord.org/newsletter/2002winter/probeware.html)

ChemSense (chemsense.org/computer/probeware.html)

Pasco's probeware newsletter (www.pasco.com/newsletters)

Science Kit and Boreal Labs catalog (www.sciencekit.com/Products/Display.cfm?categoryid=293763)

Thinkstation Probeware System (www.teamlabs.com/catalog/whatis_probeware.asp)

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