Technology-Based Inquiry for Middle School: An NSTA Press Journals Collection

Learn the ABCs of working with contemporary tools that will help you integrate technology-based inquiry into your classroom practices. Activities featured in this new compendium, a collection of 26 articles published in Science Scope, NSTA's member journal for middle school teachers, will show you how. Technology-Based Inquiry offers fresh approaches that you and your students can use to explore physical science, Earth and space science, life science, and more. It covers the necessary skills to get hands-on experience with graphing calculators, calculator- based labs (CBLs), personal digital assistants (PDAs), global positioning systems (GPSs), graphical information systems (GISs), and other emerging technologies. Each chapter provides a list of online resources, including where to purchase the devices, where to download programs (often at no cost), and where students can go to conduct further research. And there’s an important bonus feature: Because technology changes so quickly, Editor Edwin Christmann has developed a related website with updated chapter reviews, outlines, sample test questions, and activities. It even includes a PowerPoint presentation you can download as a supplement for teaching the text. But never fear--you won't need a PhD in IT to use this book. The articles are written in a non-threatening style and translate technology-based instructional processes into simple classroom applications. The practical tone makes this collection beneficial to inservice science teachers as well as pre-professionals taking methods courses. Technology-Based Inquiry will give you the confidence that comes with deeper understanding of how to use the latest technology to increase science learning.