Apple Computers has a site titled Apple Education Research Series: Effectivness Reports [http://appleclub.com.hk/education/effect4.htm] on the Net addressing just this question and provided some citations of research results supporting the use of computers in the classroom. Check it out.
Another excellent site which addresses this issue is the homepage for Education 173, Learning Theory and Classroom Practices [http://www.gse.uci.edu/EDUC173home.html] taught by Dr. Joan Bissell, Department of Education, University of California, Irvine. Check out the Interactive Lectures and Weekly Assignments, Unit 7, which deals with Teaching and Technology.
EdWeb [http://edweb.cnidr.org/] This exceptional site is maintained by Andy Carvin. Enter his home room and explore the various information pathways. He states his purpose is to explore the worlds of educational reform and information technology.
Computer as Learning Partner [http://clp.berkeley.edu/CLP.html] This site is maintained as part of the University of California at Berkeley's educational research efforts dedicated to informing and improving middle school science instruction.
Classroom Connect: Internet Made Easy in the Classroom [http://www.classroom.net] Check this site out. It is not a direct link to science resources, but it is an interesting concept for computer linked classroom education.
Computer Simulated Dissections:
An Interactive Frog Dissection: An on-line tutorial [http://teach.virginia.edu/go/frog] This program, developed by Mable Kinzie, was designed for the high school biology classroom. Included at this site are a selected group of references that deal with issues arising from the use of simulated dissections and suggestions for effective use of the software in the classroom.
Virtual Frog Dissection Kit [http://george.lbl.gov/ITG.hm.pg.docs/dissect/info.htm] This program, written by David Robertson, is part of the Whole Frog project; a link back to that site is provided. The material in this document are copyrighted by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Amphibian Embryology Tutorial [http://www.library.wisc.edu/guides/Biology/demo/frog2/welcome.html] This site was developed to assist the instruction of undergraduate students in the development of the amphibian embryo. It was developed by Jeff Hardin, Department of Zoology, University of Wisconsin.
A Guided Tour of the Visible Human. [http://medinfo.wustl.edu/~ysp/MSN/] A very creative site; one that should be sure to attrack the younger crowd. They will also learn human anatomy. Created by The Mad Scientist Network, Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis Science Education Network, Young Scientist Program.
The Visible Embryo [http://visembryo.ucsf.edu/] Interesting, well-done presentation of the first four weeks of the human embryo.
The Interactive Fly [http://sdb.bio.purdue.edu/aimain/laahome.html] A site full of information on the development of the fly, but a bit too detailed for high school students, nevertheless a good resource.
Wadsworth's Wonderful Worms [http://rigel.umdnj.edu/] The nematode, C. elegans, is a major experimental organism in biology today. This page was constructed by a research laboratory. Become familiar with this nematode and enjoy this well constructed site.
Educational Software on the Internet:
Interactive Technology Group: Courseware Publications [http://www.itgworld.com] You can download software programs directly from this site. You pay later. They have software available in many areas including College Biology and High School Biology. Demo programs are available on-line. Unfortunately, those programs listed as high school biology programs are probably unrealistic.
Virtual Fly Lab [http://vflylab.calstatela.ed/edesktop/VirtApps/VflyLab/IntroVflyLab.html] This program facilitates the learning of genetics via simulated mating of Drophilia. This program is a part of the Electronics Desktop Project located at California State University, Los Angeles. While exploring this site check out the home page for the Electronics Desktop Project [http://vflylab.calstatela.ed/Welcome.html]. They have a great display of whales.
Informational Sources on the Web:
Biolab Web Site [http://www.clemson.edu/biolab/home.html] Check this very useful site and decide whether you wish to subscribe. It contains a very active discussion of many varied topics of interest to biology teachers. Although most of the subscribers are college based, interested high school biology teachers are welcomed. Many useful ideas are shared and archived for future reference.
Busy Teachers' Web Site K-12 [http://www.ceismc.gatech.edu/BusyT/] A must site to check. It contains many useful links on a wide variety of biology topics that are age appropriate. Page maintained by Carolyn Cole.
Teachers Helping Teachers [http://www.pacificnet.net/~mandel/] Check this site out. It targets all teachers K-12. This site could provide a useful vehicle for communication with colleagues.
For Science Teachers and Students [http://www.ozemail.com.au/~pjgrant/] An Australian resource for science teachers. Possesses both content and style. Check it out.
WebEd General Links for K-12 [http://unite2.tisl.ukans.edu/Generic/auxresources/wEdlist.html] This massive list of science resources for K-12 is daunting, but a search through it could turn up a number of useful sites. This is part of the Explorer project at the University of Kansas.
Biotechnology-Related Audiovisuals [http://www.inform.umd.edu/EdRes/Topic/AgrEnv/Biotech/Misc_Pubs/.avfile96.html] Compiled by the Staff of The Biotechnology Information Center at the National Agricultural Library. This could be very valuable if you are trying to locate an audiovisual related to biotechnology.
BioTech Education Resources [http://biotech.chem.indiana.edu/pages/education.html] This site is maintained by Indiana University and is directed primarily to college biotechnology education, but it could be a useful resource to teachers.
Eisenhower National Clearinghouse [http://www.enc.org/] This program is part of the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Education Research and Improvement's efforts to reform K-12 math and science education.
Mr. Bodzin's Home Page [http://www.midnet.sc.edu/chs/home.htm] It will be well worth your time to visit this collection of favorite sites maintained by this high school biology teacher. Be sure to visit his links to biology web sites, ecology web sites and K-12 education web sites.
Entomology on World-Wide Web (WWW) [http://www.colostate.edu/Depts/Entomology/www_sites.html] Contains a very extensive system of links to resources on the web dealing with entomology. Could be very helpful to a high school biology teacher.
Explorer [http://explorer.scrtec.org/~unite/] This program is available on two servers UNITE at the University of Kansas in Lawrence and the GLC server in the Great Lakes Collaborative in Belleville, MI [http://www.greatlakes.k12.mi.us/]. These programs are being developed "to involve educators and students in creating and using multimedia resources for active learning and "on time" deliver. Initial support for development came from the U.S. Department of Education OERI Star Schools initiative. Copyrights are held for the UNITE software and graphics.
Genetics Education Center [http://www.kumc.edu/instruction/medicine/genetics/homepage.html] Described as "For educators with an interest in human genetics and the human genome project." Included on this homepage are links to other genetic education resources. Maintained by the University of Kansas Medican Center. This site should be checked prior to beginning any unit on genetics.
Frank Potter's Science Germs - Life Science I [http://www-sci.lib.uci.edu/SEP/life.html] Check this amazing site. Not many bells and whistles, but it is an amazingly comprehensive list of sites on the WWW that are appropriate for classroom use.
The Biology Place [http://www.biology.com] is a commercial product of Peregrine Publishers, the biologist in charge of the site is Neil Campbell, University of California, Riverside. He is previously known as being the author of Biology, a general biology textbook targeting a introductory college level audience. This is a subscription site with a 7-day free trial membership. Watch this site; they tell us that new products should be appearing soon.
MIT Biology Hypertextbook [http://esg-www.mit.edu:8001/esgbio/7001main.html] This site is the location for an experimental introductory biology course at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
CELLS alive! [http://www.comet.net/quill] This site is copyrighted by James A. Sullivan of Quill Graphics. It contains some animated graphics and micrographs very appropriate for a junior high or high school classroom. In addition to the cells, it contains a selected number of good links.
Zero Population Growth [http://www.zpg.org/zpg/index.html] An organization who goal is to counteract the rapidly growing population and consumption of resources. Provides a number of education resources for units dealing with population studies.
Amazing Environmental Organization Web Directory [http://www.webdirectory.com/] Check this site out and follow it in any number of directions. I would first suggest Education after which you select K-12 or the level of environmental education in which you are interested.
The Environmental Education Network [http://envirolink.org/enviroed/] Will provide links to many cites dealing with environmental education.
The Global Schoolhouse [http://www.gsh.org/default.html] Not a lot of biology on this site, but you might find some interesting and innovative ideas.
Access Excellence: [http://www.gene.com/ae] This site is sponsored by the biotechnology company Genentech, Inc. This site is specifically designed to put high school biology teachers Make sure you visit all of the major services offered by this page. Included are the a resource center with links to many other pages grouped according to topic, discussions about science education, sites to share ideas with colleagues, current information about advances in biotechnology, and weekly news reports.
The Science and Technology Education Partnership (STEP) Program at Hampshire College. [http://persephone.hampshire.edu/~step/STEP.html] This program is designed to take Hampshire's pedagogy and disseminate it to primary and secondary schools. Nice idea, but not much at this site.
Sites Maintained by Biological Societies:
American Society for Microbiology [http://www.asmusa.org/others.html] The American Society for Microbiology maintains a homepage with a number of useful links. Many will be too technical for the high school student or even the high school teacher, but the sections on Public Education, Microbiological Education, Microbiology Images, and the Biological Sciences contain many useful links at an appropriate level of difficulty.
Society for Develomental Biology [http://sdb.bio.purdue.edu/Other/VL_DB_EducaRes.htm] This page provides links both to the Society's own education resources as well as a few selected other resources. Included on this page are links to several developmental biology courses complete with videos. An exciting site!
