Through a previous grant, Medicinal Mysteries from History, a successful educational model using the Internet and web adventures to teach adolescents about drugs of abuse has been created. The title of the prior web adventure series on OPIOIDS is THE RECONSTRUCTORS (www.reconstructors.rice.edu). It has been field tested and proven to have significant educational impact. In this proposal the same effective model would be used to construct a web adventure series with new content on another class of drugs, CLUB DRUGS. NIDA research, as well as the popular press, indicates a growing concern about the widespread use of club drugs such as ecstasy among today?s youth. Our data also indicate that both middle school students and their teachers want to know more about the impact of this drug on the human body. The web adventure series is an innovative way to teach about this class of drugs while adhering to the prescribed middle school curriculum and incorporating the National Science Standards. Medicinal Mysteries from History: THE RECONSTRUCTORS Investigate Club Drugs has four primary goals: 1. Increase students? science knowledge based on the latest research about the biological effects of club drugs to promote personal choices that support health and well-being; 2. Reinforce the National Science Standards and the Goals of Healthy People 2000 and 2010; 3. Gather feedback through formative and summative evaluations from audiences who participate in the web adventures and their accompanying classroom materials to determine their efficacy; and 4. Encourage widespread use of THE RECONSTRUCTORS web site as a resource for schools through a series of teacher workshops.
