From: rpurman@nhgs.vak12ed.edu (Richard I. Purman)
Newsgroups: sci.physics
Subject: VIRTUAL PHYSICS LAB-need ideas please!
Date: 16 Dec 92 16:17:59 GMT
Organization: Virginia's Public Education Network (Hampton)

Dear fellow scientists and educators:

I represent an "unofficial" network of physics instructors in
the state of Virginia who are trying to develop
new innovative way(s) in which students would learn the concepts
of physics VIA computer networks and contact with research
facilities.

We are in the brainstorming stage right now... tyring to
develop new methods which would help students learn the PROCESS
OF SCIENCE as well as learning "content".

We are entertaining ideas such as:

1. Students interested in some current reserach topic would contact
some research institution to receive some real data currently
being collected at that institution (like FERMI or CEBAF or CERN).
 
2. Students would either receive raw data or some data that has
been sorted/"massaged" in some manner and put in some format
understandable by a layperson.

3. Next, students might look at the data and decide they need
to do some fancy analysis on a Cray computer at some other
institution across the country...they would contact that
institution and ask that the data be analyzed.

4. Perhaps, the final stage would be to send data analyzed in
step 3 above to yet another place which could do 3-D
graphics...some place that has extensive 3-D visualization
processing.

Another idea that we teachers are entertaining is trying to set
up a "network" in which working scientists would be willing to
answer SERIOUS questions posed by thinking-students, questions
that a high school teacher would not know the answer to, or
questions that could not be addressed by community resources

Any area of science should be able to produce some "useful"
data that a high school student could "analyze" provided the
proper tools were available for doing the analysis...the
students would make their own decisions about the analysis
provided there were some volunteer experts out there who would
be willing to offer some help when students got "stuck".  The
areas of science that immediately come to mind that could help
the cause of science education in America are:

nuclear physics
particle physics
solid state physics
thermodynamics
fluid dynamics
Anything .......!

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND THAT WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN JOBS TO DO ON A
DAILY BASIS WHEN RESPONDING please !! to the following
questions:

1) Are there any computer networks established already in which
there is student to scientist contact...?  In particular, is
there any student-directed-research via computer network
contact with scientists?

2) Are there any research institutions out there who would be
willing to share either raw or "massaged" data with high school
students?

3) What resources are you willing to share? Cray computer time?
   What other instrumentation? Software?

4) Are there any people in our nation with any expertise in
filtering data in a layman's format so that the research data
would be understandable in a high school setting?

5) What network protocal or models are available which we could
imitate if we wanted to set up a student-to-scientist network
FOR RESEARCH PURPOSES or for setting up a "ask Mr. Scientist"
network?  We would desire that someone could "monitor" the
questions to filter out trivial ones so scientists would not
waste valuable time.  In summary, what is the best way to
connect students with resources?????


Again, the ideas mentioned above sound "good on paper" but are
they realistic?  Are scientists willing to give of their
time/energy/$ to help "deliver to the classroom" new methods of
learning science content (and process)?

The teachers here hope for a positive (yet realistic) response
to this posting...
PLEASE RESPOND PERSONALLY TO:

rpurman@nhgs.vak12ed.edu   (INTERNET)

Dec. 16

---P.S. Don't worry about a "lack of computer resources" at the
high school level.  Many schools are very quickly placing "high
powered" machines within their facilities...some high schools
already have access to Cray machines...the issue is not
hardware but MANPOWER to help guide students doing reserach.

In summary, does the manpower/willingness EXIST in the reserach
community to help students look at current reserach issues in
modern physics?  
THANK YOU FOR RESPONDING ...

Richard I. Purman
Physics Instructor
Governor's School for Science and Technology
New Horizons Technical Center, 520 Butler Farm Road, Hampton, VA  23666
tele: (804) 766-1100    FAX: 766-2458
-- 
Richard I. Purman
Physics Instructor
Governor's School for Science and Technology
New Horizons Technical Center, 520 Butler Farm Road, Hampton, VA  23666