Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien Viten.no - digital teaching programs in science education

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien viten.no viten.no is a web-based platform with digital teaching programs in science Target group is secondary school (age group 14-18) The Viten teaching programs are available for free FlashPlayer is the only software needed to use the programs The Viten-project is a Norwegian research and development project. It is a collaboration between the Norwegian Centre for Science Education and University of Oslo

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien The Viten teaching programs The programs cover a variety of science topics. Each program ranges in duration from 2-8 lessons. Three types of programs are available, engaging students in: 1.designing solutions to problems, e.g. design a greenhouse for growing plants in a spaceship on its way to Mars 2.debating controversial issues, e.g. whether or not there should be wolves in the Norwegian wilderness 3.investigating scientific phenomena, e.g. northern lights, gene technology

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien Year (Launched)ProgramStudent users by June Radioactivity Wolves in Norway Cycles of malaria Plants in space Earth processes Bears Hydrogen as energy source Gene technology Cloning of plants Health up in smoke Global warming Dinosaurs and fossils Northern lights Total Overview of the available Viten programs and corresponding number of registered student users

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien Content of a program All Viten programs are designed as learning environments providing scientific information and a wide variety of activities. The scientific information may be presented in different ways: Text Images Video clips Animations Links to other web-pages

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien Content of a program Save Students are able to write their answers directly into the program. Answers are saved on the Viten-platform, where teachers are able to make comments on student work at their leisure.

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien Content of a program Examples of different interactive tasks: Drag and drop Drop down menu Crossword Quiz Simulation

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien Development of Viten program The developers of Viten programs are ICT technicians, science educators and teachers. In the developing process there is close cooperation between experts from the academic discipline together with the design team. Design principles Apply science knowledge in actual situations and in different ways Help students learn from others Promote autonomy and lifelong learning

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien Apply science knowledge in actual situations The Viten design model stresses the fact that students not only need scientific information when learning science, they also need to be able to apply that knowledge in actual situations and in different ways. The model also emphasises the need to integrate scientific topics into other domains such as economics, history, geography and sociology, which may influence how society deals with scientific information in a broader context.

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien Help students learn from others Students are encouraged to work in pairs in front of the computer. The Viten philosophy is that students must formulate and explain their own ideas to each other, and through discussion work out a common answer to tasks. ”Talking science”

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien Promote autonomy and lifelong learning The Viten philosophy is that students must enable the development of lifelong learning skills such as critiquing evidence, debating arguments, or designing solutions to personally relevant problems.

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien Research Once programs are constructed, implementation studies are conducted in science classrooms where members of the Viten team participate as classroom researchers. Data collection: Pretest/posttest Classroom observations/video Student/teacher interviews Student logs

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien New Viten platform

Doris Jorde & Wenche Erlien Three programs in English Northern lights Global warming Gene technology