The development of scientific literacy, the main goal of the National Science Education Standards can be enhanced through learning environments that incorporate physical experience in the form of direct interaction with natural phenomena, since these have been shown to be more effective in promoting learning than those that don't (Lawson, 1986; Druyan, 1997).

The availability of powerful means of data collection and analysis can transform the traditional role of the laboratory from one of being confirmatory of concepts previously studied and presumably learned, to becoming an exploratory inquiry-based setting. A study of high school students using microcomputer-based chemistry and physical science laboratory activities to predict and observe experimental outcomes provided the means to link process skills, and content retention. Two significantly positive correlations were found: 1) That between the use of two different modes of prediction and the ability to correctly predict an experimental outcome, consistent with previous findings of the performance of high school teachers in the use of the technology in life science and physical science tasks (Espinoza, 2006); 2) That between successful experimental outcomes and a gain in students' performance on content-related tasks.