Roles
of Actual and Simulated Data in IT- and Inquiry-based Ecology Education –
|A case study with Virtual Ecological Inquiry (VEI)
Research-based data and information are essential in developing inquiry-based virtual learning environment in science education, particularly in ecology education. Most published ecological research focus on specific science questions, but rarely provide sufficient extent of data required to recreate the settings for inquiry-based learning in a virtual learning environment. Simulated data based on both the actual data and the knowledge generated from ecological research, therefore, become critically important in developing inquiry-based virtual learning environment for ecology education. We present a case study with the Virtual Ecological Inquiry (VEI), a virtual learning environment developed as a component of the Virtual Science Museum (VSM) of China for ecological education and assessment research, as a collaborative research project between the NSF-funded Information Technology in Science (ITS) Center for Teaching and Learning at Texas A&M University and the Computer Network Information Center (CNIC) of Chinese Academy of Sciences and supported by NSF and NSF-China. VEI is developed based on spatial data and published research on the landscape ecology of the Wolong Natural Reserve. It provides opportunities for learners to observe ecological patterns, generate testable hypotheses, design and conduct virtual field investigations, analyze the data, and make ecological interpretations. Assessment tools built into the VEI enable both the learner and the facilitator to evaluate effectiveness of IT-based ecological education approach on learning and attitudes toward ecology.
A virtual learning environment like VEI can also provide an effective
platform for IT-based ecological education and assessment research and can
generate large amount of education research data and further our understanding
of the learning process and factors influencing learning. For example, the assessment tools in VEI can
be used by researchers to investigate the impact of IT-based ecological
education and explore the mechanisms in terms of underlying learning processes.
In particular, novel approaches based on
behavioral data of registered users collected by this learning environment can
be used to assess learning and attitudes. Furthermore, VEI can be used to collect
data for IT-based ecological education and assessment research across the
spectrum of formal to informal education settings (e.g., classrooms,
museums/botanical gardens, and by registered web users from the general public)
and enable studies of the impact of culture on IT-based ecological education.
Keywords: actual and simulated science
data, virtual learning environment, inquiry- and IT-based ecology education,
generation of education research data