Title of Project:

Information Technologies in the Service of
Science Education

Gianfranco Vidali, Edward Lipson, Simon Catterall,  Alan Middleton,
and Geoffrey Fox

Funded by the National Science Foundation  - Division of Undergraduate Education,
Course and Curriculum Development Program

Summary of Sponsored Project

We propose to develop a set of educational units that use computer and
network-based resources to teach science topics in an integrated way
to non-science majors . These modules will consist of hypertext
documents combining text, still images, video, and sound using
state-of-the-art technology.  Two prototype units covering topics of a
successful new two-semester course taught at Syracuse University
called Science for the 21st Century have already been tested in
the classroom.  We plan to improve these modules based on the
experience gained in these trials, and by introducing advanced
information-transfer technology such as video-on-demand,
simulation-on-demand, and Java applets (applications written in the
platform-independent language Java) to increase active student
involvement.  The two prototypes, Search for Extraterrestrial
Intelligence and Mind and Machine, will be revised and expanded; a new
unit on States of Matter will be developed. The three modules will
constitute an introduction to science for non-science
undergraduates. Each module is self-contained and easily expandable;
it will be portable, since it will be delivered mostly through the
Internet. There will be three phases of this project: a) design and
development of modules, b) implementation, testing, and assessment of
modules in our course, and c) dissemination of our products and
training of teachers. Through this pioneering project, we hope to
contribute to the process through which revolutionary information
technology connects with improvements in our ability to educate our
citizenry.