7 Real experiments and virtual enhancements
Teachers should use digital technologies to support and enhance practical experience, but not to replace it.
Practical science consists of a range of activities that can be enhanced by the effective use of digital technologies both inside and outside the classroom. These technologies can provide access to a wide range of data gathered from locations or over time scales that are not feasible in school science lessons to supplement students own data collection. Digital tools can be used to speed up the analysis and presentation of data, whilst increasingly, technology is promoting collaboration between students and providing effective ways for students to explain and communicate their findings.
Virtual environments and simulated experiments have a positive role to play in science education but should not be used to replace a good quality, hands-on practical
Digital technologies are rapidly evolving and teachers should have access to evidence about what works, and training in their use, before implementing them in their science lessons
The following examples of how digital technologies have been used to enhance practical science illustrate different ways that technology can enhance learning
Collecting Data
Give students further insight into random sampling, measuring populations and the recording of complex data sets.
Using QR codes to enhance practical science by providing reminders of how to assemble apparatus, carry out a procedure or to remind users of hazards and how to minimise risks.
Using wireless sensors with software apps for a cost-effective and accessible method of collecting data.
Video analysis as an alternative to traditional methods of investigating motion in the classroom.
Digital technology can provide simple and inexpensive tools for developing an understanding of waves as a means of transferring energy.
Using a mobile device to photograph an image through a microscope can be used as a stepping stone to becoming an independent and confident microscope user.
Good practical science should include a variety of types of investigation and locations. Digital technology can support activities that involve outdoor work and observations over time, without being disruptive to school routines.
Use time lapse photography to record changes and then analyse the speeded-up film rather than direct observations.
Handling data
Annotate photographs to ensure important details are not forgotten or overlooked.
There are a wide range of commercial lab book software solutions available, but at school level a simple note taking app is sufficient.
Google forms provides a simple means of collating a large number of sets of data, speedily and without some of the problems encountered when students each transcribe their own data onto a display board.
There is no longer a need for clipboards and pencils in the field, as digital technology can record details of observations, times, location and images within a single app
Broadening the context
Providing access to a published database of results can provide a richer learning experience for students as they can place their findings in a wider context.
Some topics are difficult to teach and may benefit from providing additional contexts, so helping students make links between the topic and the wider picture.
Using virtual reality technology, it is possible to supplement a field trip with observations from other sites, to broaden the context studied.
In a school context, IoT can be used in school science to compare data from across the world.
Communicating Findings
A sequence of recorded images displayed as a collage, with annotations added, is a simple and quick way to communicate procedures and findings to others. It
Using a digital record rather than paper based record allows the automation of certain functions, such as date stamping or text searching, and also enables data processing and reporting to be completed more effectively.
Animations require students to make models that explain how a process takes place.
Using digital technology to record and then provide access to verbal feedback saves the teacher valuable lesson time and can be replayed by the student at will.
