Peer Review

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Movies You Can View Directly with Your Browser

by Malcolm Campbell

Reviewed:	Feb 18, 2012 by Biology Editorial Board
Overview:	This site contains a collection of over 60 different movies and animations of cells, molecular processes, techniques, and other various aspects of biology. Included is a collection of links to a variety of animations ("movies") about cellular and molecular concepts in biology. Some, such as mitosis and meiosis, are actual movies of cells. Most are animations of varying degrees of complexity. Some have sound.
Learning Goals:	There are no specific learning goals listed on the site. However, as users review the animation titles, it is inferred that the basic goal of this site is to provide accurate movies and animations of cellular and biochemical concepts. Each "movie" illustrates the concept given in the title.
Target Student Population:	This material is well-suited for high school and college undergraduate courses.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:	Prerequisites will vary with the topic of the movie. Some (such as tartigrades, yeast, amoebas, mitosis) have no specific prerequisites. Some of the more complex movies will require knowledge of muscle anatomy, DNA structure, microarray uses.
Type of Material:	This site includes a collection of animations and movies.
Recommended Uses:	Materials can be used to supplement online courses or used in class as part of lecture or as homework.
Technical Requirements:	Viewing materials requires use of QuickTime, Flash, and Shockwave.

Rating:

Strengths:	Wide range of topics covered; there are movies useful at all levels High quality movies of cell motility, ion fluxes, and phagocytosis Some difficult concepts are displayed in a manner that can be understood by students All movies viewed accurately portrayed the concepts listed in the title
Concerns:	Some animations are fairly simplistic and slow compared with more current flash animations There are no dates on the movies; difficult to tell how old they are or when last updated

Rating:

Strengths:

Movies could easily be inserted into a lecture to illustrate points
Animations and movies greatly enhance learning by appealing to visual sense as well as an active rather than passive presentation
The collection is large and potentially useful to many levels of student
Animations could be used by students outside of class to review concepts
Could develop assignments based on animations and movies

Concerns:

No interactive lessons, or even summary questions, are prepared to accompany the animations or movies
Movies without sound do not have any written documentation to explain what is happening
Animations are not interactive
Some animations, for example calcium regulation of muscle contraction is missing slides that would help students see the fluid nature of muscle contraction
Lack of update information limits usefulness of some of the more technical topics; for the most part, this is not a big problem

Rating:

Strengths:	Large range of topics available in the one place--makes it easier for users to find topics, all at the click of a button All movies sampled worked well--all animations and movies ran as expected No dead or missing links
Concerns:	Inclusion of text to explain what students were seeing in a movie, or how an instructor could use it in class would help Collection is a bit random, grouping movies by subject would help

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