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Peer Review

Herpes simplex virus infection and replication

Reviewed:

Jul 23, 2002 by Biology
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Ratings

Overall Rating: 5.0 stars
Content Quality: 5.0 stars
Effectiveness: 4.0 stars
Ease of Use: 5.0 stars
Overview:

This site contains a tutorial on herpesvirus replication together with excellent
animations of receptor binding, RNA transcription in productive infection,
latent infections, DNA replication and encapsidation and release. These clearly
enhance the users? understanding of the molecular and cellular events involved
in the viral life cycle.
Type of Material:

Animation/tutorial
Recommended Uses:

May be assigned prior to class discussion, used in class as demonstration/animation, and/or be available for review after class discussion.
Technical Requirements:

Flash
Identify Major Learning Goals:

To understand at the molecular level the sequential order of events and
mechanisms involved in herpesvirus replication.
Target Student Population:

Undergraduate students in upper division virology or molecular biology courses
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

Understanding of virus replication and molecular biology of the gene and
transcription

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:

Quality of Content: 5, 5 = 5


Features of Excellence


  • The quality of the animations is fantastic!
  • The organization of each section is straightforward and easy to navigate.
  • The explanations are concise yet comprehensive.
  • Details of the replication cycle are presented clearly with both visual and
    supporting text that enhance understanding
Concerns:

  • None

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:

Potential Effectiveness: 4.0, 4.0 = 4.0


Features of Excellence


  • Certain key steps in the replication process are highlighted and the user is
    able to zoom in to look at them in detail.
  • Each relevant cellular and viral feature is labelled clearly, facilitating
    understanding
  • Students should be able to understand and appreciate the roles of both virus and host in the replication cycle
Concerns:

  • Needs to have some impetus for problem solving. Perhaps something as simple as a "questions for thought" at the end or challenge to the student to test their understanding such as a quiz or interspersed questions.
  • Because the animations appear in a separate window from the written text, sometimes not all of what is going on in the animation may be apparent to the student. A "pause" button would enable one to go back and review the text in between certain steps in the animation. Alternatively, inserting hyperlinks within the text to link to a specific segment of the animation would be helpful.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:

Ease of Use: 5.0, 5.0 = 5.0


Features of Excellence


  • The simulation is easy to use and is straightforward.
  • The images load quickly.
Concerns:

  • The ability to stop the animation to refer to the text would help
Other Issues and Comments:

Overall: 5.0, 4.5 = 4.75


  • These are the kind of high quality animations that will enhance student
    understanding of complex dynamic processes.
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