This constantly updated hypertextbook is designed to accompany courses taught at MIT. This virtual textbook contains 11 chapters on basic molecular biology concepts from basic chemistry to recombinant DNA including one being developed in immunology. Each chapter has a table of contents and includes practice problems at the end. There is a searchable index for the chapters and a separate one for the practice problems. The text can be accessed in order but terms on each page are linked to other parts of the text. Pages are written in textbook format with illustrations. No animations or interactive tutorials are provided.
Type of Material:
Virtual Textbook
Technical Requirements:
HTML
Target Student Population:
Undergraduate students in introductory cell and molecular biology courses or those in introductory biology studying sections on cell and molecular biology.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
Quality of content: (3) (3) = 3.0
A good overview of introductory concepts written in easy to understand language
Concerns:
Material is incomplete because there is no mention of Archaea and the three domains of cell types
The grey background lacks aesthetic appeal - could be more attractive for students
Needs to be proofread better by those knowledgeable in the field (see some comments below) Content should also be updated.
Could use some more interesting examples and problems to better engage the students.
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
Potential effectiveness as teaching tool: (3) (3) = 3.0
Essentially a traditional text in electronic format.
Concerns:
Not at all interactive.
Problems to solve are very similar to those in existing texts.
Does not take advantage of data and resources found on the web for open ended questions.
More diagrams, images and animations would help with difficult concepts.
References to the course textbook will not work for students at other institutions using different texts
Could use animations instead of still photos to increase effectiveness over a traditional textbook
Uneven level - some very introductory and others in great detail.
Can provide alternate reading for specific topics - Recombinant DNA page and accompanying problems are a good intro/review in this area
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
Usability: (4) (4) = 4.0
Easy to navigate
Searchable index.
Concerns:
It is not clear what advantage this has over a good textbook since both appear to be used
Some of the links are to pages that are not very useful and simply distract from the flow - eg. Metabolism link on Cell Basics
Some of the links seem superfluous and create long paths - eg link on cytoskeleton page to diagram of mitosis but NEXT button goes to a brief Table of Contents that then links to the mitosis page.
Links offsite are very slow to load (and I have a cable connection)
Features of Excellence:
Well organized
Very easy to use particularly with Search feature
In specific areas, the discussions and illustrations are clearly presented and can provide an alternate resource for students
Recommendations:
More images and diagrams would be helpful for students.
Include animations
Use links to other sites for data and example problems
Can be a good supplement for specific areas to provide students with alternative presentations of difficult topics. I could use it in the area of Prokaryotic Gene Expression.
Overall rating: (3) (3.3) = 3.2
Creative Commons:
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