This site consists of a series of laboratory exercises and support lessons for the study of the sea urchin. In addition a great deal of additional information about sea urchins is provided. The site is intended for use by both students and instructors who are using the sea urchin in undergraduate labs. The "lab manual" portion of the site consists of a "core lab" which involves stimulating sea urchins to shed gametes and then studying the subsequent process of fertilization, and further "primary labs" which focus on early development and some simple experiments designed give the student experience in handling sea urchins as well as promote their understanding of developmental processes. Each lab has detailed instructions, links to animated gifs, pictures and videos illustrating the experimental techniques or explaining what is happening, links to detailed explanations of the different techniques used (microscopes, dilutions, etc.) a series of questions for the student to ponder, and suggestions for assessment. The site has 2-D and 3-D animated gifs of techniques (e.g. injecting KCl), processes such as sperm fusion with the egg, and videos of early developmental process.
In addition, a variety of ideas are provided to stimulate thinking and suggest further lines of research on sea urchins. Extensive additional information about sea urchins is provided on topics such as anatomy, physiology, natural history, etc. A "path of development" section provides animated gifs which illustrate various stages of the processes of fertilization and early development. The site even contains a video game "Uni's World" in which one must guide "Uni" around a tide pool to collect food and spawn before being eaten by a starfish.
Type of Material:
Web site comprising online laboratory manual, glossary, and an extensive collection of reference material.
Technical Requirements:
Web browser
Target Student Population:
College and university undergraduates and instructors in developmental biology courses
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
Quality of Content: (5.0)(5.0) = 5.0
The site is clearly laid out, complete, and easy to navigate.
It is engaging and interactive and leads the viewer from step to step through the laboratory exercises.
Almost every page contains a link back to the index (contents) page so that it is always easy to find one's way around.
The coverage is thorough and accurate, uses appropriate vocabulary and integrates the content.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool: (5.0)(5.0) = 5.0
The learning objectives are clearly stated and the site includes suggested lesson plans for using the material on the site.
It would be easy to use this site to set assignments since it demonstrates relationships and promotes an understanding of the scientific method and of the use of experiments to test hypotheses and solve problems.
It promotes a conceptual understanding and builds the students knowledge of sea urchin development.even at introductory level.
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
Usability: (5.0)(4.5) = 4.8
The site is well written and organized and usually easy to use.
There are clear instructions provided on a "How to use this site" page.
There were no broken links or major bugs in the site.key provides very limited interaction
Features of Excellence:
Excellent and accurate text, extensive and clear graphics,
easy to use and navigate, well written descriptions, open ended assignments with comprehensive instructions, links to extensive supporting material, multiple versions of assignments for different teaching and learning styles.
As well as the web site, the entire site can be obtained on a CD so that it can more readily be used in a classroom then would be possible when it is necessary to download everything from the web.
Recommendations:
A site map would facilitate navigation around the site.
A description of how "Uni's World" works would facilitate its use. It is not intuitively obvious how to play the game and it takes some experimentation to figure out how to "eat", "spawn", etc.too elementary for some college classes.
Overall rating: (4.8) (5.0) = 4.9
Overall this is an outstanding site.
Creative Commons:
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