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.jpg) The goal of this Phase II Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) application is to adapt an advanced technology employed in biomedical research and practice—volumetric image processing and analysis (VIPA)—for science and mathematics education in formal secondary school settings. VIPA is used in biomedicine to display, model, and analyze volumetric data—typically imaging data that has been created by making two-dimensional digital “slices” of an object of interest—such as in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), functional MRI (fMRI), computed tomography (CT), and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). VIPA is also employed in non-biomedical disciplines where volumetric analyses are of interest, for instance, Earth science, engineering, hydrology, oceanography, and oil and gas exploration.This Phase II project—entitled Volumetric Imaging for Science Instruction of an Open Nature (VISION)—will create five e-Learning modules designed to supplement high school biology, Advanced Placement (AP) anatomy and physiology, and AP biology instruction. The modules will involve students in discovery-based explorations of life science topics with authentic volumetric data provided by leading scientists. The modules will be developed in an inquiry learning (IL) format in which students play the role of imaging scientists. Scientists use VIPA to explore the unseen; expand their ability to visualize data; quantify volumes, areas, and linear features; define and select “regions-of-interest” in volumetric data sets; extract and reconstruct features embedded in data; communicate to scientific and lay audiences with engaging and informative graphics; and share information and findings with colleagues. Students will do much the same in the VISION modules: exploring fascinating 3-D images; expanding spatial thinking abilities by navigating 3-D data visualizations and changing the way the data is represented; mastering new quantification and technology skills by selecting and measuring features in microscopic and macroscopic specimens; enhancing science process skills by working through all stages of a virtual research project; and learning standards-based science content. |