| Chapter 1: | Introduction |
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Museum Explorer, an online virtual biology museum designed for middle school grades, was developed by the researcher. The online museum was designed to be used in conjunction with a museum / school partnership with a biology museum on an urban university campus to supplement current science middle school curricula. Museum Explorer provided students with a one-of-a-kind close-up view of animals of the Northwest with the varied multimedia experiences of video, sound, 3D images, lectures, and the accumulated store of facts on northwest vertebrates.
The purpose of this case study was to examine the effect of an online virtual museum in conjunction with a university biology museum on middle school students’ content knowledge and learning engagement. Specific goals of the study were to: (a) identify the learning content effect on middle school students of a virtual biology museum implemented through a museum / school partnership, (b) examine the learning engagement of students using Museum Explorer, an online biology museum, and (c) determine what further engagement is generated by field trips to the museum and communication with an assistant curator through email correspondence. The researcher used a mixed methodology approach to gain insight on the effect of a virtual museum on student learning and engagement.
To date, little research addresses the use of a virtual biology museum in middle school classrooms implemented through a university museum / school partnership. This study provides a useful lens for science educators as they learn to integrate computer technology into the curricula. Further, it contributes practical information to teachers as they endeavor to apply methods of computer technology use in the classroom. The findings from this study may help educators better understand the effects of computer technology in classrooms linked through a partnership with a local university biology museum.
The research questions that guided this study are: