Abstract
The Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (WISE) supports research on student learning and design of curriculum materials. An international community of researchers, teachers, designers, and technologists contribute to the ongoing success of WISE. The community has helped shape the knowledge integration framework that synthesizes findings in design patterns and principles. Over 5000 K-12 science teachers and more than 250,000 students take advantage of the WISE curriculum materials annually. WISE materials are free, available in 7 different languages, and used in numerous countries around the world. Research teams regularly contribute new insights about online learning, improved curriculum materials, and innovative ways to support teachers using WISE units.
Each WISE inquiry unit is organized around a personally-relevant question such as, What can I do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions? WISE curriculum materials and assessments feature powerful, interactive scientific visualizations to illustrate unobservable phenomena such as chemical reactions at the atomic level, large-scale phenomena such as climate change, and phenomena that happen quickly such as collisions. The online environment logs student interactions and responses to embedded assessments. WISE offers teachers grading and classroom management tools to monitor student progress, provide feedback to students, and personalize instruction.
This year, WISE released a new, open source environment that makes it easy for teachers, researchers, and developers to adopt the WISE technology, learning tools, and curriculum materials. WISE is establishing an international open source community including researchers and developers who extend WISE and apply it in their local contexts. This paper reviews WISE research, describes the new version of WISE technologies, and introduces opportunities for educators around the world to participate.
Keywords: online, open source, learning, teaching, visualizations, assessment, science, inquiry.
Copyright (C) 2010 HKIEd APFSLT. Volume 11, Issue 2 , Foreword (Dec., 2010). All Rights Reserved.
