A Rationale for Using Computers in Science Education

James D. Ellis is project director for educational computing at the Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, Colorado Springs, CO 80903. He is also director of the BSCS School Health Education Project (funded by the Gates and Piton Foundations). He holds a B.A. from the University of Kansas and M.A. and P h . D . , also from the University of Kansas, in curriculum and instruction. His teaching experience includes positions in a middle school as well as at the University of Kansas, University of Texas at Austin, and University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. He currently serves as Regional Director of the Colorado Biology Teachers Association and was the program director for the 1983 AETS convention in Dallas. Dr. Ellis' most recent publication is "Educat ional Technology: A Force for Change" (with P. Kuerbis) in the 1984 NSTA Workbook, Redesigning Science and Technology Education. Science teachers are finding that they too are being involved in the revolution affecting society. The United States is in a rapid state of change from an industrial-based society to an information society. Eric Ashby labeled this the "fourth revolution, comparing the impact with the advent of Gutenberg's printing press" (National Science Foundation 1979). Information is essent ia l ly the major nat ional resource of all countries. Every country has the potential to participate in the global economy providing it knows how to manage information. The computer is a sophisticated memory bank with great facility at organizing and re tr ieving in format ion . Rapid advances in computer technology are the driving force behind the information revolution. That technology, for the first time, makes it cost effective for anyone to access great volumes of detailed information. It is the application of the information, that is, knowledge utilization, that solves the problems confronting society. Public interest in the information revolution is reaching a critical level. Several state and national committees are investigating the crisis in science education in response to the changing world economy. This mass movement for change is resulting in a reexamination of the foundation of science education, and there is a current restructuring of the goals and methods of science teaching. Many of the goals being emphasized are not new. However, the focus on technology education does represent a significant departure from past directions, and computer technology is receiving high priority among the new topics of study. As a result, science educators are now asking: Why use computers in the classroom? The rationale for using computers in the classroom is based on our increasing dependence on the creation, use, and communication of information for economic and social well-being. As a result, computing is being recognized as the fourth basic skill, along with reading, writing, and arithmetic (National Science Foundation 1979). This article will focus on the recommendation for increased use of computers in the schools and will develop a rationale for the use of computers in the science classroom.