Old Westbury, NY – Three NYIT professors hope middle schools students will soon use Facebook and their smart phones to share science findings and other lessons they've learned.

The professors, who presented their interdisciplinary research on cyber-enabled learning at yesterday's Provost Discovery Luncheon in Riland Auditorium, are training 45 New York City teachers to use technology in and out of the classroom. As more teachers become comfortable teaching with technology, their students will use it in scientific inquiry and might eventually share their work with each other, friends, and family members, the professors told a crowd of about 75 colleagues.

"That's one of the challenges we need to overcome: to change teacher's mindsets" about using technology, said School of Education professor Dr. Shiang-Kwei Wang. Her partners on the project, supported by a $1 million, five-year National Science Foundation grant, are Dr. Hui-Yin Hsu of the School of Education and Dr. Lisa Runco, assistant professor of life sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Last summer, the NYIT professors led about 15 New York City teachers on field trips to gather water samples in ponds and swamps. After sampling water with computer probes and using iPod Touches to generate spreadsheets, they shared findings on an educational social networking site.

Wang, Hsu, and Runco will continue to incorporate technology in the design of science lessons about photosynthesis, organ systems, and DNA. They will present their findings at upcoming educational conferences and publish articles about the results of their work.

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About NYIT

New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) offers 90 degree programs, including undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees, in more than 50 fields of study, including architecture and design; arts and sciences; education; engineering and computing sciences; health professions; management; and osteopathic medicine. A non-profit independent, private institution of higher education, NYIT has 14,000 students attending campuses on Long Island and Manhattan, online, and at its global campuses. NYIT sponsors 11 NCAA Division II programs and one Division I team.

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