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Peer Review

Agricultural Biotechnology

Reviewed:

Apr 17, 2003 by Biology
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Ratings

Overall Rating: 4.8 stars
Content Quality: 5.0 stars
Effectiveness: 4.4 stars
Ease of Use: 5.0 stars
Overview:

As a national resource for Agbiotech information, this website serves as a
clearinghouse for searchable databases as well as links that focus on global
agbiotech research and product development, testing, and regulatory review of
genetically modified organisms (GMO). Information Systems for Biotechnology
(ISB) was established in 1988 as part of the National Biological Impact
Assessment Program (NBIAP), a program administered by USDA's Cooperative State
Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES). ISB is funded on an annual basis through a renewable grant to the Agricultural Experiment Station at
Virginia Tech and provides a balanced view of the potential benefits and concerns of GMO technology. The range of GMOs covered includes plants, animals, and microbes. The ISB resources are tailored to provide value-added
information in a readily accessible form for a broad range of customers. Clients within the agricultural and environmental biotechnology community at large,
include scientists, regulators, teachers, administrators, as well as the
interested public.
Type of Material:

Searchable database
Recommended Uses:

This website contains numerous links that can be searched independently for
information about agricultural biotechnology.
Technical Requirements:

This site requires use of HTML and the ability to view PDF files
Identify Major Learning Goals:

This website allows clients to stay abreast of issues and policies affecting
environmentally responsible use of GMO by accessing The ISB Newsletter published monthly, regulatory information, risk assessment and research resources,
detailed meeting information, and notices affecting public policy.
Target Student Population:

The general public, higher education students, faculty, and professional
scientists may benefit from the information provided by this website.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:

A basic understanding of agriculture may be needed to gain a full appreciation
of the information in this website.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:

Quality of Content: 4.9, 5.0 = 5.0


  • Extremely comprehensive with excellent links to searchable databases and more than 80 annotated WWW sites pertaining to agricultural and environmental
    biotechnology
  • Clearly laid out and accurate
  • Access to the richly-linked monthly ISB News Reports
  • Information is current and balanced viewpoints provided
  • Link to excellent glossary
Concerns:

  • The home page has a commercial appearance, although the content included has
    alot of educational value. It may help to re-design this main page so it does
    not appear to be an advertisement but rather, a resource for those interested in agricultural biotechnology.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:

Potential Effectiveness: 4.8, 4.0 = 4.4


  • Link to excellent glossary
  • Builds knowledge
  • Access to monthly ISB News Reports and Risk Assessment Proceedings useful for
    stimulating discussion about GMOs
Concerns:

  • Most of the material offered by this website is in the form of searchable
    databases. While this information may not be used in the classroom for lecture, the information is well-suited for independent study. Perhaps a new webpage
    could be linked to the main page that explains how this site may be used in the
    classroom for teaching.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:

Ease of Use: 5.0, 5.0 = 5.0


  • Single primary content categories listed in convenient horizontal bar at top of home page. Nice drop down menus used for each content element.
  • Appropriately searchable
  • Easy to navigate
  • Well organized
  • No defective links
Concerns:

  • None
Other Issues and Comments:

This is an excellent resource for seaerching many different aspects of
agricultural biotechnology. The website is extremely comprehensive with
intuitive menus and up-to-date information. The ISB News Reports have articles
contributed by leading agricultural and biotechnology research, as well as
business and public policy experts that provide a balanced, multi-perspective
look at complex and sometimes controversial subjects.
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