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National attention in education has recently focused on writing across the curriculum (1), and educators are placing greater emphasis on incorporation of new
pedagogical techniques early in a college student's education (2, 3). With any assignment, the instructor outlines a specific task and the student typically sets off in search of library "leads". The student might then extract articles from microfilm or
microfiche, or copy articles from a magazine or book. If the technology is available, however, students can broaden and enhance their search by using the Internet.
Research has shown that technology can facilitate important changes in curriculum even when it has no curricular content itself. "Worldware" is software that has been
"developed for purposes other than instruction but also is
used for teaching and learning" (4). The World Wide Web
(WWW) is an example of worldware.
When exposed to worldware, students become
involved in active learning and discussion. Once students are
familiar with worldware, there is a high probability that they
will continue to use it for long periods of time. According
to Ehrmann, worldware packages offer educational value
because they enable several facets of instructional
improvement. He further states that it is not the technology per
se, but how it is used that matters most (4).
We encourage the use of Netscape Navigator as a
research tool to access the WWW for assignments that
incorporate writing across the curriculum (WAC) into the
chemistry curriculum. The writing assignment is given to
students in an introductory chemistry course with a
hands-on computer laboratory session to familiarize them with
the browser systems and to develop effective search
strategies. (Details of the laboratory session are available upon
request.)
Assignment topics range from the chemistry of
particular compounds to chemical issues related to a student's
own particular field of interest. Although students are not
expected to do a complete literature search, the results of
their reading are presented in a modest review article. There
is no absolute page limit, but five to ten pages for the
review, not including references, structures, and figures, is
recommended. References, properly cited, must include at
least two recent chemical journal articles or texts and a
minimum of five references, with at least three from primary
sources including biology, physics, or other journals and books.
All students in our initial pilot group searched
the WWW using Netscape, and 90% of them used the
information from their search effectively in their final papers.
Many of our chemistry students have continued to use the
WWW for information gathering in other courses during the
semester. These results are supported by Ehrmann's
conclusions that worldware such as the WWW has great
educational potential and wide use for a long time.
Studies show that women and men experience
differing levels of comfort when it comes to the use of
technology. Recent surveys have shown that whereas 35% of the
users of on-line services are female, only 15% of those women
are using the WWW (5). We have observed that the women
in class tend to respond positively to the research
assignments while using Netscape.
According to Klawe and Leveson, "as [college]
Freshman courses begin to assume extensive computer experience
in those who take them, women and others without this
experience will be at a significant disadvantage and may
become discouraged" (6). Other researchers have found that
school-aged girls have been discouraged both at home and in
the classroom from pursuing technical and/or scientific
interests (7). Therefore by introducing a user-friendly Web
browser such as Netscape Navigator to the class, female students
in particular were provided an opportunity to become
comfortable with both computer hardware and software.
Positive results have been realized when the use of
this pedagogy is shared with colleagues from various
disciplines. Once colleagues have been briefly introduced to
Netscape and the WWW, they too are more likely to introduce
this research tool to students.
Using the WWW for research provides access to a
wider range of information, both domestic and international,
than that available at one's college library. This use of
technology provides an educational strategy that can influence
a student's total course of study.
Literature Cited
1. Zineser, W. Writing to Learn; Harper & Row, New York, 1988.
2. Beall, H., Trimbur, J. J. Chem.
Educ. 1993, 70, 478479.
3. Shires, N. J. Chem. Educ.
1991, 68, 494495.
4. Ehrmann, S. C. Change 1995,
27(2), 2027.
5. Zitner, A. Boston Globe, July 12, 1995, p 29.
6. Klawe, M.; Leveson, N. Commun.
ACM 1995, 38(1), 2935.
7. Eccles, J. S. Psychol. Women
Q. 1987, 11(2), 135171.
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