Learning science by doing science on the Web

The authors describe how an interdisciplinary team from Loyola College in Maryland\´s departments of Engineering, Physics, Computer Science, and Writing and Media has created the Internet Science Institute; a project to use the Web to make lab-based learning attractive and accessible. Part of the project\´s core philosophy is to teach science by having students participate in the scientific method. The first of a series of planned modules has been developed to test such fundamental issues as Web usability, the incorporation of multimedia, overall module and site structure and learning effectiveness. The topic of the first module is the motion of the pendulum and the structure that the authors used guides students through three levels of experience. The first is a "hands-on" lab that utilizes readily available materials. A more "refined" lab experience then layers on more detail to the phenomena under discussion, and focuses on data acquisition test and measurement issues. The final section of the module is based on mathematical models and simulations (JAVA applets) and conceptually focuses on the most sophisticated aspects of the phenomena or their broader application.