ADA, Oklahoma—Unlike their peers in bigger cities, students growing up in this rural community don't have ready access to research laboratories or high-tech business resources to help them learn about science. "The high school is pretty much it," says Latta High science teacher Susie Stevens. Thanks to her aggressive pursuit of grants and equipment, however, Stevens has been able to provide her students with up-to-date resources for exploring biotechnology and other cutting-edge topics.

"Biotech is the wave of the future in science," says Stevens, citing pharmacology, crop science, medicine, and genetic engineering as fields that are rapidly changing with the infusion of technology. In her classroom and science laboratory, students are using wireless laptop computers, digital cameras, and other tools to help them learn about everything from cell reproduction to gene sequencing.

"The more comfortable students can get with this equipment now, the better," she says. "They will be required to use it in college and in future jobs." In the sciences, especially, she points out, "nothing is done by hand anymore. Data collection and analysis are all done by machines. If I can expose them to it now, it won't be such a leap when they get to college."

A unit Stevens calls "Mitosis in Cyberspace," for example, uses computer simulations of cell reproduction to help students understand the growth process. Mitosis and meiosis are two methods of cell reproduction that occur within cells, "so students cannot readily observe them occurring without some mode of technology," Stevens explains. Using computer technology, she is able to stimulate students' interest "about a topic that often seems far removed from them. Mitosis is a process that happens on the microscopic level, but I want it to visually come alive for my students."

Throughout the unit, Stevens prompts students to use their critical-thinking skills. For example, she starts by having students conduct Internet research to discover concepts and relationships about cells, mitosis, and meiosis. Because students conduct their own research, the learning process becomes student-centered rather than teacher-centered. Stevens offers recommended Web sites, but encourages students to cast a wider net. "When they locate exceptional sites, they relay the URLs to other teams to use. They are delighted to find several animated and interactive depictions of mitosis," she says. For example, the Biology Project (http://www.biology.arizona.edu*) is an interactive online resource for learning about biology, developed at the University of Arizona.

Student teams create electronic presentations to share what they have learned with classmates. Some add animation, hyperlinks, and digital photos to add interest and additional information.

Once they have gained a good understanding of mitosis, students are ready for a lab activity. They use microscopes to examine onion root tips and observe cells undergoing mitosis. "This allows my students to see real cells rather than pictures or diagrams that someone else has created," Stevens explains.

In the past, she would have taught this part of the unit by having students share microscopes and make cell drawings by hand. Stevens recalls the old days of watching "two student heads moving back and forth above a single microscope eyepiece. Often they were unsure whether or not their lab partner was looking at the same cell on the slide." Now, she has students use a microscope that interfaces with a computer. This allows lab partners to see the same enlarged image on their laptop screens rather than through an eyepiece. They can even capture digital photos, which they can then manipulate by adding labels or other information.

Using a projector with her laptop, Stevens can also project a microscopic image for the whole class to see and discuss. After 25 years of teaching, she adds, "it is totally awesome to have the capability to do this. It really makes science come alive for my students!"

Technology helps the project unfold efficiently. She uses her Web site rather than paper handouts to suggest online links and share directions with the class. Students can download the teacher's documents to their wireless laptops, which are portable enough to carry from desk to lab station. Papers are never lost or left at home, and students can refer to instructions at any time.

Some of Stevens's students develop a deeper interest in science and go on to take her advanced class in biotechnology. She has had students pursue independent research projects of high caliber, involving DNA extractions and DNA sequencing. For the past two years, her students have won regional science fairs and gone on to compete at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF).

Stevens's efforts on behalf of her students have also earned her recognition. In 2002, Stevens was one of five teachers from around the world to be named a finalist for the Intel Excellence in Teaching award. She is also past winner of the Christa McAuliffe Award, and won a Toyota Tapestry award for a project that involves using biotechnology to trace the genetic diversity of Native American tribes from Oklahoma.

In 1999, Stevens was one of the first four teachers in her county to be certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS), and has had three lessons featured in the Digital Edge Learning Exchange video project sponsored by NBPTS. To learn more about Stevens's mitosis project, see the Digital Edge project at http://ali.apple.com/ali_sites/deli/
exhibits/1000415/*.

Photos provided courtesy of National Board for Professional Teaching Standards and Digital Edge.