How real is real?

The scope for students to engage in scientific investigations through the medium of remote access technologies is increasing rapidly. Little is known about student perceptions of how ‘real’ such investigations are, and how immersed they are in the experience. Similar questions arise over the use of virtual experiments and simulations, and research in this area is important.

In this article, Childers and Jones outline an investigation into the perceived realness of a remote experiment involving the use of electron microscopy to examine fruit flies.

David Read summarises and reviews the article.