NSF Award
9451565
9451565 Ono Macintosh computer workstations and analytical instruments are requested to accommodate recent modifications of the curriculum in the Department of Biological Science at California State University Fullerton to include more investigative laboratories, encourage cooperative interactions among students of diverse cultural backgrounds, and improve scientific communication skills. The equipment will be used in several upper division physiology laboratories (Mammalian Physiology, Comparative Animal Physiology, Plant Physiology, and Cellular Neurobiology) and in a required Cellular and Molecular Biology Laboratory. Student Workstations consisting of Apple PowerBook Duo Docks connected to a local network controlled by a File Server will permit students to acquire data from assorted physiological transducers when connected to MacLab interfaces. The network will facilitate on-line analyses of class data and foster discussions as the data are graphically presented through a Presentation Workstation, consisting of an Apple PowerBook with a color monitor and a color projection pad. Student groups and instructors will develop multimedia presentations on a Development Workstation that will permit capturing video images from diverse sources. The portability of the PowerBook and PowerBook Duo Dock System will maximize the use of the computers since they can be used in the field or in other laboratories for data entry and students may use them for developing and giving their presentations in other locations. The laboratories affected will be moving to a new building in Spring 1994 that will be configured for Ethernet connections to the campus mainframe computer and will permit students to access external databases. The equipment will greatly facilitate the goal of the Department to continue to develop fundamental scientific skills, including critical thinking, analytical reasoning, effective communication, and the use of computers as tools of biological investigation in upper division classes.
