Poster: Education

Abs # 19: Teaching plant biology with web-based learning modules

Presenter:	Valenzeno, Dennis P., dvalenze@kumc.edu
Authors	Valenzeno, Dennis P. (A)   Shinkle, James  (B)   Carol, Reiss  (C)
Affiliations:	(A): University of Kansas Medical Center (B): Trinity University (C): Brown University
Web Site:	http://www.photobiology.info

Web-based interactive learning modules allow students to master concepts in ways that printed textbooks cannot offer. A group of such modules has been developed in photobiology, and several address issues in plant biology. These include Basic Photosynthesis, Basic Environmental Photobiology, Basic Photomorphogenesis, Photomorphogenesis in Natural Light Environments and Photoreceptor Mutants for the Study of Photoreceptor Interactions, and they will be available for viewing and testing at the meeting. These modules have been created for a Digital Photobiology Compendium project that organizes the modules into a matrix for easy retrieval. Instructors can select and sequence modules into a custom-assembled "Work" that can then be assigned to students in their classes. Preliminary assessment based on pretest and posttest results indicates that students learn well from the modules. Using the relevant modules from photobiology as a nucleus, a new Digital Plant Biology Compendium is being considered for development in conjunction with ASPB's Education Committee. The role of ASPB and ASPB members in this effort will be to provide content expertise by becoming module authors, editors of domains within plant biology, and/or reviewers of modules. Web development and programmer support for modules are provided centrally, initially with the help of external funding. All modules in compendia undergo peer review, validating their content and allowing them to be cited as a peer-reviewed publication. Interested parties should contact the authors, above. [Supported by the Photobiology Foundation and the US Department of Education (FIPSE). Contents do not necessarily represent the policy of the Department of Education, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.]