Special : Education Workshop
Abs #
60005: Utilizing Virtual Laboratories to Enhance Secondary Biology Education
Development of educational materials focused on current issues in molecular biology is imperative if we are to meet teachers’ needs for topical science resources. Computer-based technologies are contemporary learning platforms readily embraced by students that hold great promise as an educational tool when used in conjunction with inquiry-based teaching methodologies. The multimedia options available for information presentation engage students’ diverse interests and promote self-directed learning. Since access to personal computers at school and at home has increased, a digital medium offers an excellent opportunity to impact a broad audience.
In an effort to supplement classroom laboratory activities, the Partnership for Plant Genomics Education created the Virtual DNA Fingerprinting Laboratory. This software, aligned with the National Science Education Standards, transports students into a virtual molecular laboratory to solve a forensic mystery. Over the course of seven episodes, students collect evidence, extract DNA, perform a southern blot, use PCR, and finally solve the crime. Over 5000 copies of the software have been distributed nationwide. Teachers utilizing the software in their classrooms, as a precursor to wet lab exercises, report that students are much better prepared for the hands-on lab, having a firmer grasp on the background concepts, protocols, safety requirements, and experimental process. Teacher training sessions, crucial to effective software implementation, are an integral part of our program. Teachers learn how to incorporate the software into existing lessons and how to utilize the quizzes and reference material housed within the game format. To date, nearly 800 teachers have attended training sessions, thus exposing thousands of students to concepts and techniques in molecular biology.
Work is currently in progress on a Virtual Plant Genomics Laboratory that will involve students in scenarios revolving around plant genomics, bioinformatics and biotechnology. The software will illustrate how genomics information is developed and how it may be used for comparative evolution studies as well as creating genetically modified crops through enhanced conventional breeding and genetic engineering.
