1. Home
  2. Peer Review: Biology Animation

Peer Review

Biology Animation

Reviewed:

Feb 10, 2017 by Biology
Bookmark

Ratings

Overall Rating: 4.2 stars
Content Quality: 4.2 stars
Effectiveness: 4.5 stars
Ease of Use: 4.2 stars
Overview:

This website is a collection of Biology animation, movies, and tutorial from various sources such textbook publishers and open educational resources. Topics include basic chemistry, mitosis, meiosis, photosynthesis, and virology, among others.
Type of Material:

Animation, collection, tutorial
Recommended Uses:

In-class, homework, lecture supplement
Technical Requirements:

Shockwave and Flash players are needed for some animations.
Identify Major Learning Goals:

Users of this site will learn materials covered in standard Introductory Biology college course.
Target Student Population:

Advanced high school biology, undergraduate Biology classes, also recommended for home-schooled students.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Basic computer skills and familiarity with basic biology vocabulary.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:

  • The information is accurate and provides a good basic background about the material
  • Interactivity keeps users interested in the material
  • The learning objects are interactive and engaging
  • Animations and simulations are accurate and straightforward
  • The topics are well-organized
Concerns:

  • Several links are broken
  • Although there is some organization with sections, it is not clear if this approach follows traditional pedagogy for teaching this subject
  • Images would help the site to relate animations to real life

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:

  • The large collection of online resources makes it fun to explore many aspects of the subject matter
  • Animations are easy to follow
  • Material promotes conceptual understanding
Concerns:

  • Learning objectives are not clearly stated.
  • This collection of links to resources does not provide any information on what the user can expect when accessing the different resources.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:

  • Very easy to navigate to the different major sections of site
  • Information is easy to understand
  • The information is organized and follows a logical order
Concerns:

  • There were several broken links at this site
Other Issues and Comments:

For a collection of links to online resources such as this website, it would help users if the open resources with Creative Commons license are identified.
Creative Commons:
creative-commonscreative-commons by