CHALLENGES IN IMPLEMENTING TECHNOLOGY-RICH CURRICULAR HIGH SCHOOL BIOLOGY MATERIALS: FIRST YEAR FINDINGS FROM THE EXPLORING LIFE PROJECT

Eighteen high school biology teachers from a stratified sample of thirteen distinct geographical United States regions participated in evaluation of the first-year prototypes of Biology: Exploring Life, a biology program that includes a textbook with an accompanying Internet component and wet-lab investigations. Web activities explain and reinforce the text and promote active, hands-on learning. The major questions we sought to answer through our study were, • How ready are biology teachers who are early adopters of technology to employ a curriculum that requires students to use computers on a regular or even daily basis? • What motivation, additional education, hardware, or skills do teachers require in order to integrate almost-daily computer use into the curriculum? • Do high schools have the adequate technology facilities to implement a curricular program that incorporates students using computers on an almost-daily basis? • How might existing schools change to support a technology-based curricular program?

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