Microcomputers will be integrated into the biology curriculum at Ursinus College. Initially these computers will be used by students in five laboratory courses: General Biology, Human Anatomy and Physiology, Animal Physiology, Neurobiology, and Quantitative Biology. Included is a request for IBM PS/s microcomputers and compatible plug- in boards. This combination permits the capture and analysis of signals from a broad range of biological instrumentation. Laboratory exercises in these courses are designed around working groups of four to five students, and sufficient equipment has been included to meet this need. Computer-assisted signal acquisition and data analysis has become commonplace in scientific experimentation. Computer literacy is an important component of undergraduate science education. The most productive approach is student experience with on-line computer- assisted laboratory experimentation. This achieves the goals of realistic data-gathering in a laboratory setting, and repeated use of computers in a variety of different courses. The project is significant because undergraduate students will be instructed in the use of contemporary data acquisition and analysis in the life sciences. The college will provide 50% matching funds.
