Packing Slip 
item |
An application of virtual reality software in a microbiology course |
contact |
Bronwen Steele (Estrella Mountain Community College) bronwen.steele@emcmail.maricopa.edu |
credits |
Randy Anderson Roger Yohe |
college(s) |
Estrella Mountain Community College |
discipline(s) |
Microbiology |
summary |
The applicant will learn QuickTime virtual reality software and use it to author a digital video product demonstrating staining techniques to be used in BIO 205 (Microbiology). This will enable microscopic and molecular events to be visible to students since the steps in the procedure will be augmented with diagrams showing molecular interactions. |
details |
The project was to accoomplish two things: 1) Enable students to more easily view a procedure that is on the scale of a microscope slide That is, it is hard to preview or demo this procedure adequately. 2) Allow students to visualize what is happening at the molecular level when different staining components are applied to bacteria. This project enabled students to "see" the stain molecules interact with molecular structures of bacterial cell walls. 1) This project unintentionally resulted in not only a visualization of a process at a molecular level, but also an active learning activity. The students received handouts that were showing the stain molecules interacting with bacterial cell walls that lined up with the diagrams in the movie. The handouts were unlabeled and in black and white. This allowed me to quiz the students about the two cell wall types (which one is which, how can you recognize the components of the cell walls etc) before I showed the movie. Next, the handouts were in black and white while the diagrams were colored. The students were also generating a key or labeling the molecules as we worked through the movie. Since the diagrams were in pairs (a before and after for each staining step), I was able to ask the students to compare the before and after diagrams and have them think about what was happening to the molecules of the stains and cell wall components. 2) This project has allowed me a superb visual aid - it allows a closeup of a procedure that is hard to demonstrate AND enabled me to show interactions at the molecular level of this procedure. The Gram stain quiz - students answers concerning the procedure and the molecular events were much better. This told me that the project was successful and the active learning activity was probably also helpful. I am presenting this project today at our faculty luncheon at EMCC. I also plan to present it throught the Ocotillo learning group. I am also going to provide a copy of the movie and handout file to MCLI. I might possibly upgrade the diagrams to provide an animation effect. Not use VR toolbox! This application was user-unfriendly but I thought it might be useful to show a rotating or panoramic view of the staining procedure in addition to allowing me to do small animations with the diagrams. As it was, I was happy just to get what was actually more of a Powerpoint-like project out of it. Either way, my objectives were met and the project was successful. Note! As a professional courtesy to the owner of this package, if you use some aspect of this package or have some thoughts about it, please share your feedback via the comments form below. |
web links |
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/learngrant/ |
shareback |
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extra |
Last modified: May-09-2003 Date created: May-09-2003 Visitor count: 2672 Dublin Core Metadata record  |
Maricopa Learning eXchange
http://www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu/mlx/slip.php?item=811
