SBIR Phase I: Digital Microscopy with Collaborative Learning

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目计划使用数字显微镜，让学生在互联网上无缝集成数字图像收集、存储、分析和共享，将数字显微镜的功能与协作学习的力量相结合。Digital Blue将通过共享数字工具、统一的微观技术和探索周围无形世界的共同目标，促进学生虚拟学习社区的发展。这些探索将与美国科学促进会、美国国家科学研究委员会和国家地球科学与生物学教育标准相结合。通过建立四个教学单元来研究：(1)水、土壤和矿物；(2)微生物;(3)植物生长；(4)看不见的动物特征，该项目将促进在正式教室和家庭环境中实现经济实惠且精确的数字显微镜科学探索。该项目将建立一个允许学生个人和课堂参与的基础设施。基础设施的基石将是一个带有支持虚拟学习社区的工具的网站。网站设计包括协作工作空间，允许班级提出并发起调查。每个项目都将得到Tapestry数据库的支持，可以方便地上传存储的数字图像，并补充学生的评论。该数据库允许识别独特的不寻常的观察，这些观察提出了挑战，提出了问题，激发了进一步的调查和分析，模仿了真正科学的调查性质。除了广泛认可的协作学习带来的更广泛的教育效益外，该项目还具有开创教育技术创新新领域的潜力；也就是网络增强设备。

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project plans to use digital microscopy to allow students seamless integration between digital image collection, storage, analysis, and sharing over the Internet, combining features of digital microscopy with the power of collaborative learning. Digital Blue will foster development of students' virtual learning communities with shared digital tools, uniformed microscopic techniques, and common goals to explore the invisible world around them. Such explorations will be integrated with AAAS, NRC and state education standards for Earth Science and Biology. By developing four instructional units on the study of: (1) water, soil and minerals; (2) microorganisms; (3) plant growth; and (4) invisible animal features, the project will foster implementation of affordable, yet accurate digital microscopy into science exploration in both formal classrooms and home settings. The project will build an infrastructure allowing individual student and classroom participation. The cornerstone of the infrastructure will be a web site with tools to support the virtual learning community. The web site design includes collaborative workspaces allowing a class to propose and launch an investigation. Each project will be supported by the Tapestry database, allowing easy uploading of an inlay of stored digital images supplemented with student commentaries. The database allows the recognition of unique unusual observations that pose a challenge questioning, motivating further investigations and analysis, mimicking the investigative nature of real science.In additional to the broader educational benefits widely recognized to accrue to collaborative learning, this project has the potential to initiate a new realm of innovation in educational technology; namely, web-enhanced devices.