The Tools of Learning New tools of learning are turning up in classrooms across the country today. Tools such as computers, computer software, multimedia, remote data sensors, and the Internet have begun to change the face of teaching and learning. Each curriculum unit developed by LeTUS incorporates some form of computing technology, from simple motion sensors to interactive software with extensive data analysis and visualization capabilities.
Technology can give students the means to perform authentic scientific exploration.
Graphs, maps, multimedia presentations, dynamic computer models, computer simulations, and so on give students a variety of ways to present hypotheses and defend conclusions. Further, the technology of the Internet provides a means of collaborating with students and experts far beyond the students own classroom. Technology can help transform the science classroom into an environment in which students actively pursue and construct their own knowledge. LeTUS researchers do not create technology merely for technology s sake. In developing specific curricula, designers begin to see what technologies will support its learning objectives.