E-LABS – LEARNING WITH AUTHENTIC DATA

e-Labs - Learning with authentic experimental data from cosmic rays and the Compact Muon Solenoid (CMS) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) and seismic data from the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO)

We describe e-Labs, our online laboratories that use the Internet in high school classes. We discuss the success teachers have had providing an opportunity for students to:
• Organize and conduct authentic research.
• Experience the environment of scientific collaborations.
• Possibly make real contributions to a burgeoning scientific field.

We've created projects that are problem-based, student driven and technology dependent. Students reach beyond classroom walls to explore data with other students and experts and share results, publishing original work to a worldwide audience. Students can discover and extend the research of other students, modeling the processes of modern, large-scale research projects.

From start to finish e-Labs are student-led, teacher-guided projects. Students need only a Web browser to access computing techniques employed by professional researchers. A Project Map with milestones allows students to set the research plan rather than follow a step-by-step process common in other online projects. Most importantly, e-Labs build the learning experience around the students' own questions and let them use the very tools that scientists use.

Students contribute to and access shared data, most derived from professional research databases. They use common analysis tools, store their work and use metadata to discover, replicate and confirm the research of others. This is where real scientific collaboration begins. Using online tools, students correspond with other research groups, post comments and questions, prepare summary reports, and in general participate in the part of scientific research that is often left out of classroom experiments.

Teaching tools such as student and teacher logbooks, pre- and post-tests and an assessment rubric aligned with learner outcomes help teachers guide student work. Constraints on interface designs and administrative tools such as registration databases give teachers the "one-stop-shopping" they seek for multiple e-Labs. Teaching and administrative tools also allow us to track usage and assess the impact on student learning.