Date: Wed, 10 Feb 1999 14:44:16 -0800 (PST)
Message-Id: <l03102802b2e73daa63ba@[209.142.17.192]>
To: pinhole@exploratorium.edu
From: Ronald Wong <ronwong@inreach.com>
Subject: Websites - biology
Here are a couple of websites that biology teachers may find of interest.
Actually, the second of the two should be interesting to anyone - not only
in terms of the topic covered (genetics) but in the way in which multimedia
can be used on the web.
The first of these is "The Tree of Life"
http://phylogeny.arizona.edu/tree/phylogeny.html
David and Wayne Maddison at the University of Arizona in Tucson set the
site up to keep track of the dazzling array of biodiversity exhibited by
our planet's organisms. The site represents their attempt to link all the
known organisms to one phylogenetic tree. Over 300 scientists from five
continents are pitching in to help them in this endeavour, adding new
entries and, in some cases, hosting web pages on their own computers. From
the root page you can follow links for eubacteria, archaei, eukaryotes, or
viruses, reaching pages for families, genera, and individual species.
You'll find detailed descriptions, photos, movies, the works.
Start with the introduction to get an idea of what it is all about.
-------------------------
Another interesting site courtesy of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and
funded by the Josiah Macy Jr. Fund is "DNA from the Beginning"
http://vector.cshl.org/dnaftb/
This site was designed with students in mind but should appeal to the
general public as well. It focuses on DNA and heredity. What you'll find
here is an animated, interactive multimedia approach to Mendelian genetics.
The material is broken down into 14 sections. Each section focuses on one
concept which is supported by animation, a photo gallery, audio/video
clips, biographies, little test problems, factoids (with simple, probing
questions), and links to related material elsewhere on the WWW.
If you register as a user, you can leave a bookmark when you log-off so
that you can return later to where you were, monitor your progress, and
keep track of your performance on the test problems.
You'll need a good solid link to the internet for this website. I checked
it out at home using a 33.6 K modem and a computer running at 150 mHz and
the performance was just okay. From a school or worksite it should be super.
Like most multimedia sites on the web, you'll need RealPlayer and Shockwave
software in order to access its resources and, upon arriving at this site,
you'll find that you are given the opportunity to download these freeware
products if you don't have them already.
You can peruse the offerings as a guest. The tutorial will give you some
idea what is there and how to navigate around. Initially, you may have to
adjust the window to insure that all that is there is properly displayed
(the material fills the entire screen).
Clicking on the Navigator and choosing the table of contents (TOC) will
give you a quick idea of what is covered but I would strongly suggest that
you pick one of the topics and see how it is presented.
In the right hands, this might be a very useful/interesting way to cover
genetics in the classroom - if only as a tool for reviewing the material.
Enjoy. - ron