Mark Bergland

Exploring Biotechnology Using Case-Based Multimedia

oday, teachers face more challenges than ever, and biology teachers face a special challenge. As technology continues to expand, biology teachers have a responsibility to keep students informed of technological and scientific advances. Biology teachers must also address ethical issues associated with these advances. Here we describe our experiences using case-based molecular biology simulations in high school and introductory college biology classes. This software enables teachers to meet several national science standards, such as connecting science to real-life situations and encouraging students to think about the relationships among science, technology and society. The realistic simulation also encourages students to explore careers in molecular biology and genetics, and gives students experience both in building Web pages and Internet conferencing.

Learner-centered methodology for designing and developing multimedia simulation for biology education

Biology students need exposure to modern research techniques relatively early in their educational careers. Computer multimedia simulation tools have been developed to address the challenge of providing all students with hands-on laboratory research experience. This paper presents a learner-centered approach to the design and development of a multimedia simulation for biology education. We present our methodology and a multimedia simulation tool designed and developed using the methodology. Out tool has been widely adopted by biological science educators for teaching molecular biology subjects in a wide range of undergraduate biology courses. We believe that our methodology can be adopted or adapted by learner communities in other disciplines.

Engaging Students in Molecular Biology via Case-Based Learning

Case It!, an IBI prize–winning module, provides computer simulations that enable student analysis of biological materials not usually available in laboratories. Case It! (www.caseitproject.org) originated at the 1995 BioQUEST Summer Workshop (1) and has developed over the years into an effective system for case-based learning useful for both high school and university educators (2, 3). National Science Foundation support has enabled us to distribute all project materials at no cost.