Abstract:

A large variety of educational software and technologies are used in training and educational process. They represent a powerful combination between pedagogical methodology and information technology and when are used as a support for teaching and learning activities, may bring to them a deep interactive character. In case of environmental sciences applications, the e-learning units are designed, mainly, to help students to acquire some certain skills, but, using the software is also, attractive, motivating and represents a cognitively provocation for users. Through simulations, experiments, practical exercises, they become active participants in their own learning, intellectual activity being stimulated, leading to other immediate pedagogical effects.
The SPARK Science Learning System from Pasco Scientific is a portable all-in-one type designed for various scientific experiments and measurements. Despite being provided with preinstalled SPARKlab experiments models, we have designed and made many others, and so, personalizing our device in the desired manner. With SPARKlab in the regular data acquisition mode, we were able to acquire data continuously from time to time. This has allowed the monitoring of Biophysics experiments and to use the obtained results in teaching and learning activities with ēno interactive whiteboard. Impact on the academic results of the students and the attitudes beside initially difficult to understand lessons were evaluated using mathematical statistics tools. Influence of both educational resources was significantly positive in this situation. In the future, the study will be extended to other students from Sciences curricular area to assess whether there are differences between the target groups and under what circumstances the best academic results are obtained.

Keywords:

teaching and learning methods, Environmental sciences, interactive ceramic whiteboards with integrated sound (ēno), SPARK Science Learning System