Presented at the International Conference on Conceptual Learning of Science, St Petersburg, Russia, September 16-18, 1999.
Web-based Interactive Experiments - The Future
Hugh Cartwright
Physical and Theoretical Chemistry Laboratory, Oxford University, South Parks Road Oxford, England, OX1 3QZ hugh.cartwright@chem.ox.ac.uk
Abstract: The transformation of the World Wide Web, from a mechanism whose limited aim was to provide a user-friendly interface to a large database, into a tool through which millions of users can access huge volumes of information has been extremely rapid. In the mid-1990s, the number of web sites was so small that a list of every known site in the world was stored on a computer of modest size in Switzerland, and one could log in each day to see whether any new sites had been added. Now thousands of new sites appear each week in what has become a chaotic and disorganized explosion of information (and misinformation).
This growth has been brought about in part by an increasing perception of the value of information available on the web, and in part by the increasing ease and decreasing cost of accessing it. Growth has been further catalyzed by a rapid expansion in the range of facilities bundled into web browsers. The earliest browsers could display only simple pages of text, but their capabilities have rapidly increased to allow display of pages enhanced by graphics and interactive forms, animations, embedded Java applets, the ability to send and retrieve data, push technology, and secure encryption leading to (purportedly) safe media for e-commerce.
Most commercial sites at present use forms and radio buttons as a means to transfer data from customer to commercial organization. These widgets, however, are limited in the range and level of detail of data which they can transfer. This may not yet be much of a limitation in commerce, but is a more serious restriction in education. However, more flexible interaction than these widgets can provide is already opening up new opportunities for Internet use. Users are increasingly able to interact with objects such as instruments and telescopes, through web sites in which interactive equipment with some genuine functionality is accessible. The ability to conduct remote experiments using such equipment offers huge possibilities in the teaching of science, and in scientific research.
This paper considers the current status of on-line
experiments, the potential for these experiments in distance education, and
how on-line experiments might be developed in the future.