“Auxin as a Plant Hormone” is one component of a much larger web site that includes lesson resources, image library, flash lessons, Microsoft Office tools, and much more. The Flash animation category, where you will find the “Auxin as a Plant Hormone,” is full of animations that demonstrate concepts high school students are capable of understanding. There are also resources that help teachers learn to make their own Flash animations. Some animations are interactive and the site includes a quiz. Overall this is a great site for both students and teachers.
Type of Material:
Most of the material at this site can be considered as an animated tutorial. This learning object is designed for use either by the student working independently or as a resource for materials that teachers can use in the classroom.
Recommended Uses:
The animations should work equally well for either individual or classroom instruction. The site includes a quiz, so students can test themselves as an adjunct to class material.
Technical Requirements:
The animation will play correctly on Mac (Firefox, Chrome, and Safari) and PC (Firefox, Safari, Internet Explorer). The Flash animations will require Adobe Flash Player.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
These animations are devoted to teaching about the role of auxin as a regulator of plant responses to environmental stimuli, particularly light and gravity. Although there are no clearly stated learning goals for the animations, the intent is clear. The Flash animations associated with this lesson follow a series of steps that walk the student through the effect of auxin on plant growth. Each step includes a flash animation illustrating the effect of auxin. Some animations are accompanied by pictures of plants that resemble the animation. Most of the steps include questions that should prompt the student to think about the process that is being explained. As a conclusion to the series of Flash animations, there is a drag and drop quiz over various aspects of auxin induced plant growth.
Target Student Population:
Although the target population is clearly high school students, the flash animations could benefit early college students as well.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Some knowledge of biology and plants may help, but the Flash animations do a good job of not requiring a lot of prior knowledge to make the exercise useful.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
Animations are well thought out
Content is organized into a logical progression of topics
Most animations come with open ended questions to consider
The effect of auxin on plant growth is clear
The authors include a second set of animations that connect the effect of Auxin to environmental responses
The inclusion of a Test Yourself animation at the end is excellent
Concerns:
The coverage of the science content is very superficial for college or high school upper grades or AP
Pictures that go with the animations could be improved or replaced with video
The self test section has some confusing aspects: students are asked to fill in blanks in sentences by dragging words into the blanks, however, the animation will not indicate that an answer is correct unless the words are dragged into a particular arbitrary order; some students may not realize why their answers are not given credit
At least one "Back" button is mislinked so that instead of taking the user back to the previous page, it takes the user to a different section of the animation
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
This is a good starting point for learning about auxin's role in plant responses
The material includes animations, some with interactive elements, which makes the material engaging
The material is designed very well for the target audience (10th and 11th grade)
Post test lets student know how much they understand
If the student get answers wrong, the student is told what answers were incorrect and allowed to keep working toward the correct answer
The self test allows students to further understand the material
Concerns:
This site could only be used by very introductory students in high school or college, due to the lack of details
The self test may be confusing to some users
There are no stated learning objectives
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The information is well-organized and flows easily from one topic to another
The purpose of each animation is clear and easy to understand
The animations load quickly and run smoothly
The site is fun to use
"Back" and "Next" buttons are found on every page
Concerns:
Magnifying glass that shows cells must be in just the right spot; Could use cells at all points along the length of the shoot so that it is less of a hide-and seek game
Some back buttons are not correctly linked to the previous page
The self test is easy to complete but the feedback given for wrong answers can be difficult to interpret
Creative Commons:
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