1. Helping new teachers begin to think critically about technology use
The purpose of the study was to investigate the potential for Virtual Puget Sound to provide a productive collaborative scientific inquiry experience for middle and high school students, and based on the results, to feed that back into building and improving VPS.

2. Levels of Use
Level 1 - “Counterproductive” -- Technology detracts from user’s experience or is used for trivial tasks
Example: Using drawing software to sketch cells viewed under a microscope
Example: Using the WWW for a scavenger hunt

3. Levels of Use
Level 2- “Helpful”-- Technology used to perform tasks or support intellectual activity more efficiently than non-tech means
Example: Concept-mapping software
Example: Excel spreadsheets creating graphic representations of data relationships
Example: Students using WWW to create class presentations

4. Levels of Use
Level 3- “Empowering”-- Technology supports intellectual activity in ways non-tech means cannot
Example:Scientific visualizations to view typically unobservable phenomena (plate tectonics, tidal rhythms)
Example: Inquiry software that scaffolds connections between question design and data representations