Peer Review

DNA Science - The Secret of Life Documentary

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Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: This resource is a documentary on the race to discover the molecular structure of DNA, the "secrete of life." It describes the personalities, rivalries, competition, and the major events that lead to the discovery of the structure of the DNA.
Type of Material:: Tutorial
Recommended Uses:: in class (with discussion) or as homework
Technical Requirements:: Access to YouTube. Speakers are necessary to hear the audio part of this documentary.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: There are no specific learning outcomes given. However, viewers will learn who had contributed, and in what ways, to the determination of DNA’s structure.
Target Student Population:: High School, College General Ed, College Upper Division, Graduate School
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: Skills: Students will need basic computer navigational skills and a basic understanding of Biology vocabulary

Rating:

Strengths:

At the time of this review, the information is accurate and provides a good basic background about the material
The material is narrated clearly and concisely
Provides images from the original archives of the scientist’s work
The presentation summarizes the “behind the scenes” activities of scientists that shows their humanity and foibles.
The presentation lends authenticity to the subject by having the scientists narrate the events based on their own recollection.

Rating:

Strengths:

The resource identifies the goal of the presentation, i.e., to describe the history of DNA and how DNA permeates and affect our current existence
The resource uses the scientists’ own words to describe what, how, and why they did what they did in the race to win the prize
The events that lead to the discovery of DNA structure is presented sequentially
The presentation is objective and non-judgmental of the character of the scientists involved in the project
The resource can be used as a springboard for further research and class discussion The resource shows that scientists are humans and have character flaws.

Concerns:

No learning objectives are included.
No prerequisite knowledge is identified.
At nearly an hour long, this is a long documentary that would take up a great deal of class time when the story can be accurately summarized in less time

Rating:

Strengths:

Can be accessed with any browser that plays You Tube videos
There is no additional software to download
The presentation is engaging
The presentation lends authenticity to the subject by having the scientists narrate the events based on their own recollection
Various visual supports are included to help students visualize molecular interactions

Concerns:

Auto-generated closed captions in English are available but are not perfect. For example, they give Maurice Wilkins’ name as Morris Wilkins. At one point, “common to all forms of life” appeared as “common dollar life” in the captions. When Linus Pauling is compared to the “Pope” - the captions misspell it as “poop” and so on.
Video resolution is somewhat low. Resolution is good enough to watch this documentary on a personal computer, but would likely be more noticeably blurry if projected on a large screen in a classroom or lecture hall.
This material is not interactive. It is designed for students to watch passively.

Other Issues and Comments:: Some of the scientists featured have already passed on. Some of the major ethical problems with how Franklin was treated are still not really addressed outside of about 60 seconds near the end. This continues to be mainly Watson’s own story, with his spin.
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