Overview

In this course, participants will explore the use of online data sources to enhance inquiry-based teaching and learning in the science curriculum. The National Weather Service and NASA are just two of the organizations now providing K-12 educators with both historical and real-time data from around the world. By using the Internet as a link to the data, students can participate in building meaningful models that will assist them in gaining a better grasp of both local and worldwide science issues. In many cases, students become part of a worldwide network of investigators by adding their local findings to a larger database.

The National Science Education Standards emphasize the use of these types of technologies in Content Standard A, which reads, "Scientists rely on technology to enhance the gathering and manipulation of data. New techniques and tools provide new evidence to guide inquiry and new methods to gather data, thereby contributing to the advance of science. The accuracy and precision of the data, and therefore the quality of the exploration, depends on the technology used."

Goals and Products

This course will enable participants to:

• Learn about classroom activities that have been enriched by the use of Internet-based data
• Learn about sources of project ideas that are available on the Web to support inquiry in the science classroom
• Develop a personal collection of web-based resources for curricular use
• Develop insight into the consequences to public health, and other social costs, when water and wastewater infrastructure fails
• Learn how to assess inquiry-based projects
• Develop preliminary plans for a lesson plan that includes an activity that uses an Internet-based data source

As a final project, participants will develop plans for a lesson plan that uses an Internet-based data source.

Format and Requirements

This course is divided into six one-week sessions that include readings, an activity, and an online discussion among course participants. Each session is designed to take approximately two to four hours to complete.

The outline for the course is as follows:

In the first two sessions, participants will learn how technology and Internet-based data is being used to teach science and will evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of projects that use technology and Internet-based data to teach science. In Session Three, participants will learn about sources of Internet-based sensing data, and how Internet-based sensing data can be used to promote inquiry in the science classroom. In Sessions Four and Five, participants will learn about an online collaborative activity that uses student-collected data to foster inquiry in the science classroom and develop plans for a classroom project that uses Internet data. Finally, in Session Six, participants will learn about strategies to assess student learning in inquiry projects and complete a lesson plan for classroom use.

Prerequisites

This course is for teachers, technology specialists, curriculum specialists, professional development specialists, or other school personnel. Participants are expected to have regular access to computers. In addition, participants should be proficient with using email, browsing the Internet, and navigating to computer files.

Content and Technology Standards

This course, Inquiry in the Science Classroom Using Internet-based Data Sources, will help participants meet the ISTE Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for All Teachers, especially Standards II, III and IV.