The next step in this direction would add interactivity to teaching. Not only would the student be able to see what is involved, but he or she would be able to learn from hands on experience. Using computers can be a very effective way of accomplishing this.

Computers can also be used to design and access supplemental references. These can be effectively used before a lab to increase familiarity with certain lab procedures. This has shown to be true in a experiment involving first-year chemistry students on an undergraduate level. In this study students with a weak background in chemistry (based on high school experience and grades) were compared to students with medium and strong backgrounds. The comparison involved a titration lab. Certain steps in the laboratory experiment deemed essential in acquiring accurate results were selected. The students were videotaped and analyzed individually. The number of these steps performed by all the students were noted.

Before the laboratory experiment the students with the weak background used a Computer-Aided Learning (CAL) tutorial. This tutorial explained the basic concepts of the titration and also showed the steps of the experiment visually using video. It then asked a series of questions about concepts in the experiment. Based on the results of these questions it was inferred that previous experience with titration was not a factor in the final score. After using the CAL tutorial three quarters of the students said they felt that the tutorial had produced a significant increase in their understanding of titration. Some of the students were second-year students. They said that they felt the tutorial was an excellent review. In the end, the tutorial was found to be effective in teaching these laboratory skills to inexperienced users.

Computers have begun to show up in classrooms recently, as they have become cheaper, more powerful, and easier to use. There have been many software titles written as well for the purpose of education and for use in the classroom. Though no standards have been set as yet.

In a state such as NY, with standard curriculums, standard software can be written for use throughout the school system. This type of software can be placed on school networks as well as the Internet. On the Internet students would be able to access the information they need outside of the classroom.

There are standard labs done by all high school students that are needed for a regents diploma. I will be developing software to simulate these laboratory experiments. This will be tested on the schools network. I will also try to adapt these simulations for use on the World Wide Web, a graphically interactive portion of the Internet. They will be developed using VRML and TrueSpace3d, 3D graphics formats used for presentations of animation sequences. This formats as well as full motion video will be used to make full simulations of the labs.

I will be testing the effectiveness of the computer simulations as compared to the labs done now by students. A class will be selected as the control group; they will perform the lab as it is done now, using real equipment. Another group will be selected to test out the simulation. A third group will perform both the actual experiment and the simulated one, testing the effectiveness of simulation as a supplement only. The effectiveness will then be based on more then one factor. The students will be asked to respond with their opinions of the simulations with any complaints of aspects they found especially helpful. As well, a questionnaire will also be handed out. This will contain questions based on knowledge that should be gained from doing this specific experiment. The results of this questionnaire for all three groups will be compared.

If the students were able to get fully what they needed for the lab from the simulation, then it may be inferred the simulation was effective as a substitute for the actual lab. If it is shown that this is effective, more can be done with the simulations.