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Rationale Until recently, there were no dedicated computers, computer projectors, or other digital equipment in this core biology laboratory course. In an anonymous evaluation of the preexisting course, students expressed a strong desire for an upgrade in the instructional equipment used. Many students indicated that they did not enjoy participating in the labs, did not gain practical skills, and did not feel prepared for upper level biology courses. The educational technology provided by the HP TFT package has great potential to improve upon these aspects of the course. The redesigned, computer-augmented labs promise to engage students as they participate in exciting exercises, and to improve their analytical thinking skills and conceptual understanding of course materials. Furthermore, it allows faculty to initiate an instructional approach that incorporates modern technologies, procedures, and analyses.
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Implementation (technology) This core introductory lab course will be significantly altered to integrate the HP product package. Laboratory exercises will incorporate the use of Tablet PCs in the classroom. For example, students will use carbon dioxide gas probes connected to their computers to examine the effect of ambient temperature on ectothermic animal respiration. Also, during the laboratory sessions, students will participate in simulated exercises on the PCs that would be difficult or impossible to perform in the lab (e.g., experiments dealing with certain aspects of molecular genetics and biotechnology). In addition, faculty will teach the students how to enter, statistically analyze, and plot their data using software such as Excel, by using the presentation Tablet PC and digital projector.
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Impact on Student Learning To empirically evaluate the impact of this educational technology on student learning, we developed pre- and post-tests that will be administered to all students taking the course. The pre-test will be given during the first week of the semester and the post-test during the last week of the semester, for each of the semesters during which the project is evaluated. Student improvement on these exams (expressed as a percent change) will be statistically compared between those classes using the technology and those not using the technology. These tests will be content-driven (i.e., focused on biology, not technology) and will include questions about the basic biological vocabulary, concepts, techniques, and applications that are taught in the course. Examples of test questions are presented below: What effect does the concentration of a dye have on its diffusion rate?
a) a higher concentration increases the diffusion rate
b) a higher concentration decreases the diffusion rate
c) a higher concentration has no effect on the diffusion rate Paper chromatography is used to:
a) move DNA from one species into another species.
b) print out the data collected in an experiment.
c) separate different types of photosynthetic pigments. In gel electrophoresis, which nucleic acid fragment should move the farthest?
a) a small-sized fragment
b) a medium-sized fragment
c) a large-sized fragment
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Pryor's class: Harley, Goings, Peoples, and Walker using the Tablet PC
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The Tablet PCs promise to enliven the learning environment and improve student performance. The responses from our students after one semester of implementation have been overwhelmingly positive. Principal Investigator Greg Pryor, Assistant Professor of Biology at FMU.
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Quick Facts Dept: Biology Course Impacted: BIO 105L (A core introductory biology lab course) # Students Impacted: Approx. 600 per year # Faculty Involved: Approx. 15 laboratory instructors per year This project is funded in part by an HP Technology for Teaching grant.
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Overview: http://acsweb.fmarion.edu/Pryor/TFT.htm Slideshow: http://acsweb.fmarion.edu/Pryor/slideshow_table3.html Sample: http://acsweb.fmarion.edu/Pryor/lab4_diffusion_mol_wt.swf
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