Science Education Research Using Advanced Recording Technologies

While A/V technology has gotten increasingly more cost-effective, its deployment in instructional settings has typically not taken best advantage of its capabilities, resulting in low quality data that hampers the analysis process. This paper will outline a two-year process of the design and evolution of recording technology packages for use in a range of science education instructional settings. User needs were explored and analyzed through interviews with educational researchers and curriculum designers. These recording needs were matched with available technologies to create systems comprised of both off-the-shelf components and custom-built solutions. The paper will discuss the matching of research questions with the appropriate scale and type of recording. Standard scenarios developed from past experiences and interviews will be described along with appropriate matches to recording technology. Examples of data collection recording will be given.