Integrating the Electronic Desktop into the Natural Science Curriculum

该项目的策略是利用先进工作站技术的力量来改善多元文化大学的科学教学方式。项目活动将由来自生物、化学和地球科学的四名教员合作开发三门新的跨学科课程，编写29个交互式科学可视化课件应用程序，修改教学交付，准备可在其他机构使用的各种教学材料，将互联网资源整合到课堂中，并在课堂上进行演示。并创建一类新的教学应用程序，这些应用程序可以使用万维网协议在互联网上远程执行。该项目每年将涉及约200名理工科学生和500名通识教育学生。其目标是提高专业的保留率和非专业学生的科学素养。课程将在一个高度可视化的、用户友好的、基于计算机的学习环境中提供，这种环境是互动的、强大的和直观的。在使用图片、动画、声音、图表、文字和数字的互动环境中，语言障碍不是一个问题，在这种环境中，科学可以被看到、听到和探索。更充分地让学生参与思考和解决问题将使他们学得更好。此外，那些过于昂贵、危险或不适合传统教学模式的技术、概念和示范，尽管存在教学障碍，也可以教授。项目成果将通过出版物、专业报告传播，并通过互联网在全国范围内提供。

This project's strategy is to use the power of advanced workstation technology to improve the way science is taught and learned in a multicultural university. Project activities will have four faculty persons from biology, chemistry and the earth sciences collaborating to develop three new interdisciplinary courses, write 29 interactive science visualization courseware applications, revise instructional delivery, prepare a variety of instructional materials that can be used at other institutions, integrate Internet resources into the classroom, and create a new class of instructional applications that can be executed remotely over the Internet using the World-Wide-Web protocol. This project will annually involve about 200 students who are science majors and 500 general education students. The goals are to increase retention of majors and the scientific literacy of non-majors. Courses will be offered in a highly visual, user-friendly, computer-based learning environment that is interactive, powerful and intuitive. Language barriers are less of a problem in an interactive environment utilizing pictures, animations, sounds, graphs, words and numbers where science can be seen, heard and explored. More fully engaging students in thinking and problem solving will allow them to learn better. Also, techniques, concepts and demonstrations which are too expensive, dangerous or do not lend themselves to traditional modes of instruction can be taught despite pedagogical obstacles. Project results will be disseminated through publication, professional presentations, and be made available nationally over the Internet.