3 weeks ahead
Reserve computers
Check performance of Web site
1 week ahead
Make photocopies and transparencies
Gather materials
Day 1
Lesson 1
Monday
Activity 1: Technology—What’s It All About?
Activity 2: Searching for Scale
Day 2
Lesson 2
Tuesday
Activity 1: Probing for Answers
Activity 2: More than Meets the Eye
Day 3
Lesson 3
Wednesday
Activity 1: Putting Technology to Work;
Part 1, some of Part 2
Day 4
Part 2 (conclude), Part 3, and Part 4 (print version only)
Thursday
Day 5
Lesson 4
Friday
Activity 1: Time Travel
Activity 2: Is That All There Is?
Day 6
Activity 2: Is That All There Is? (conclude)
Monday
18
Using the Web Site
The Using Technology to Study Cellular and
puters. Links to download the Macromedia
Molecular Biology Web site is a wonderful tool
Flash plug-in are provided on the Web site’s
that can engage student interest in learning,
Getting Started page. This plug-in is required for
enhance the student’s learning experience,
the activities to function properly. The recom-
and orchestrate and individualize instruction.
mended hardware and software requirements
The Web site features simulations that articu-
for using the Web site are listed in table below.
late with two of this unit’s lessons. To access
Although your computer configuration may dif-
fer from those listed, the Web site may still be
the Web site, type the following URL into
functional on your computer. The most impor-
your browser: http://science.education.nih.gov/
tant items in this list are current browsers and
supplements/technology/student. Click on the
plug-ins.
link to a specific lesson under Web Portion of
Student Activities. If you do not have computer
or Internet access, you can use the print-based
Downloading and Installing Macromedia
alternative provided for each Web activity. Text
Flash Player
pertaining only to Web-based activities is lightly
To experience full functionality of the Web site,
shaded.
Macromedia Flash Player, version 6.0 or higher,
must be downloaded and installed on the hard
Hardware/Software Requirements
drive of each computer that will be used to
The Web site can be accessed from Apple
access the site. The procedure for downloading
Macintosh and IBM-compatible personal com-
and installing Macromedia Flash Player is out-
lined below.
Recommended Hardware/Software Requirements for Using the Web Site*
CPU/Processor (PC Intel, Mac)
Pentium III, 600 MHz; or Mac G4
Operating system (DOS/Windows, Mac OS)
Windows 2000 or higher; or Mac OS 9 or newer
System memory (RAM)
256 MB
Screen setting
1024 × 768 pixels, 32 bit color
Browser
Netscape Communicator 7.1 or Microsoft Internet
Explorer 6
Browser settings
JavaScript Enabled
Free hard drive space
10 MB
Connection speed
56 kbps modem or high-speed Internet connection
Plug-ins, installed for your Web browser
Macromedia Flash Plug-In, version 6 or better; or
Apple QuickTime Plug-In, version 6 or better
Audio
Sound card with speakers
*For users of screen-reader software, a multichannel sound card such as Sound Blaster® Live!™ is recommended.
19
Using Technology to Study Cellular and Molecular Biology
• Open a Web browser.
actual real-life experience than print-based
• Access the main page of the Web site at
resources can offer;
http://science.education.nih.gov/supplements/
• provide teachers with support for experi-
technology/teacher.
menting with new instructional approaches
• Click on the “Getting Started” section.
that allow students to work independently or
• Click on the link to “Macromedia Flash.”
in small teams and that give teachers increased
This will bring up the Macromedia Flash
credibility among today’s technology-literate
Player Download Center Web site.
students; and
• The Download Center Web site should
• increase teachers’ productivity by helping
present you with the option of installing the
them with assessment, record keeping, and
latest version (highest number) of Macro-
classroom planning and management.
media Flash Player. As of August 2004, this
should be at least version 7.0.
The ideal use of the Web site requires one com-
• Click on the button marked “Install Now,” or
puter for each student team. However, if you
“Download Now.” Clicking this button will
have only one computer available, you can still
allow Macromedia’s Web site to download and
use the Web site. For example, you can use a
install Flash Player on your computer’s hard
projection system to display the monitor image
drive. If you are using Internet Explorer, the
for the whole class to see. Giving selected stu-
installation will happen automatically after
dents in the class the opportunity to manipulate
clicking the “Install Now” button. If you are
the Web activities in response to suggestions
using Netscape, you will have to download
from the class can give students some of the
and run the installation file. Follow the on-
same autonomy in their learning that they
screen instructions provided.
would gain from working in small teams. Alter-
• Your Web browser may present you with
natively, you can rotate student teams through
a Security Dialog Box asking if you would
the single computer station.
like to install and run Macromedia Flash
Player. Click “Yes.”
Collaborative Groups
• After a minute or so, you should once again
Many of the activities in the lessons are
see the Macromedia Download Center Web
designed to be completed by teams of students
page on your browser. There will be a box
working together. Although individual students
toward the top of the page containing click-
working alone can complete these activities,
able text. The appearance of this box in
this strategy will not stimulate the types of
your browser window indicates that you
student-student interactions that are part of
have successfully downloaded and installed
active, collaborative, inquiry-based learning.
Macromedia Flash Player.
Therefore, we recommend that you organize
collaborative teams of two to four students
Getting the Most out of the Web Site
each, depending on the number of computers
Before you use the Web site, or any other piece
available. Students in teams larger than this will
of instructional software in your classroom, it
have difficulty organizing student-computer
may be valuable to identify some of the benefits
interactions equitably. This can lead to one or
you can expect the software to provide. Well-
two students’ assuming the primary responsibil-
designed instructional multimedia software can
ity for the computer-based work. Although this
• motivate students by helping them enjoy
type of arrangement can be efficient, it means
learning and want to learn more because
that some students will not have the opportu-
it enlivens content that students otherwise
nity to experience the in-depth discovery and
might find uninteresting;
analysis that the Web site was designed to stim-
• offer unique instructional capabilities
ulate. Team members not involved directly may
that allow students to explore topics in
become bored or disinterested.
greater depth and in ways that are closer to
20
We recommend that you keep students in the
Web Activities for Students with
same collaborative teams for all the activities
Disabilities
in the lessons. This will allow each team to
The Office of Science Education (OSE) is com-
develop a shared experience with the Web site
mitted to providing access to the Curriculum
and with the ideas and issues that the activities
Supplement Series for individuals with dis-
present. A shared experience will also enhance
abilities, including members of the public and
your students’ perceptions of the lesson as a
federal employees. To meet this commitment,
conceptual whole.
we will comply with the requirements of Sec-
tion 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Section 508
If your student-to-computer ratio is greater than
requires that individuals with disabilities who
four to one, you will need to change the way
are members of the public seeking these materi-
you teach the module from the instructions in
als will have access to and use of information
the lessons. For example, if you have only one
and data that are comparable to those provided
computer available, you may want students to
to members of the public who are not individu-
complete the Web-based work over an extended
als with disabilities. The online versions of this
time period. You can do this several ways. The
series have been prepared to comply with Sec-
most practical way is to use your computer
tion 508.
as a center along with several other centers at
which students complete other activities. In this
If you use assistive technology (such as a Braille
approach, students rotate through the computer
reader or a screen reader) and the format of
center, eventually completing the Web-based
any material on our Web sites interferes with
work you have assigned.
your ability to access the information, please let
us know. To enable us to respond in a manner
A second way to structure the lessons if you
most helpful to you, please indicate the nature
have only one computer available is to use a
of your accessibility problem, the format in
projection system to display the desktop screen
which you would like to receive the material,
for the whole class to view. Giving selected stu-
the Web address of the requested material, and
dents in the class the opportunity to manipulate
your contact information.
the Web activities in response to suggestions
from the class can give students some of the
Contact us at
same autonomy in their learning they would
Curriculum Supplement Series
have gained from working in small teams.
Office of Science Education
National Institutes of Health
6705 Rockledge Drive, Suite 700 MSC 7984
Bethesda, MD 20892-7984
supplements@science.education.nih.gov
21
Using the Web Site
Using the
Using T Web Site
echnology to Study Cellular and Molecular Biology
Using Technology to Study Cellular and Molecular Biology 508-Compliant Web Activities Lesson
For Students with Hearing
For Students with Sight Impairment
Impairment
Lesson 2, both activi- No special considerations are required. There is no equivalent alternative to these ties
activities for students with sight impair-
ments. Students should be involved in the
group discussions of these activities and
be asked for their perspective.
Supervision is recommended.
Lesson 3, Parts 1
No special considerations are required. Students using screen-magnification or
and 3
screen-reading software can choose an
alternate, text-based version of the activ-
ity. The content of the alternate activity is
equivalent to the original’s, but it’s in a text
format. The activity is based on the print
version of the lesson. Images within the
reference manual are kept to a minimum.
The print version of the activity should be
kept handy for reference.
Note: Students using a screen magni-
fier may prefer the original version of the
activity.
When the activity loads, students press a
button to proceed to the original version
or the screen-reader-friendly version of the
activity.
Use the “Teacher Administration” link to
generate login codes for your students.
You will need one code for each student
using this version of the activity. You may
request up to 100 codes at one time.
The “Progress Map” at the bottom of each
page keeps track of each student’s prog-
ress. If a student closes the activity and
returns later, he will resume where he left
off. The last page of the activity provides a
summary of all the student’s answers. To
edit their responses, students can use the
Progress Map to return to any page they
have completed.
The computer the students use must be
linked to a printer.
Supervision is recommended.
Lesson 3, Part 2
No special considerations are required. This activity has been incorporated into
the print version of Lesson 3.
22
2
Information about Using
Technology to Study Cellular
and Molecular Biology
1 Introduction
scientific community in 1985. Biology teach-
For society to gain the most from technology,
ers became aware of the technique through
the public must be able to understand scientific
stories in the media and wanted to learn more
issues and consider them rationally. This point
about it. It was not until 1990, however, when
is made in the National Science Education Stan-
PCR inventor Kary Mullis published an article
dards: “Because molecular biology will continue
about the technique in Scientific American, that
into the 21st century as a major frontier of sci-
teachers found an accessible treatment of this
ence, students should understand the chemi-
important technology. It took another few years
cal basis of life, not only for its own sake, but
for PCR to be mentioned in most high school
because of the need to take informed positions
biology textbooks. This curriculum supplement,
on some of the practical and ethical implica-
Using Technology to Study Cellular and Molecu-
tions of humankind’s capacity to tinker with the
lar Biology, will help short-circuit the usually
fundamental nature of life.”
lengthy process by which technology makes its
way to the classroom.
A molecular genetic perspective affords teach-
ers an opportunity to help integrate many of
2 Major Preconceptions
biology’s subdisciplines. This integrative process
Preconception 1. Study in one field proceeds
began with the advent of recombinant-DNA
without contributions from, or connections to,
technology and is now being propelled by the
other fields.
new areas of bioinformatics and genomic biol-
This belief occurs, in part, because scientific
ogy. According to the National Science Education
disciplines are treated as isolated subjects in
Standards, molecular and evolutionary biology
most schools. Most science educators, however,
are among the “small number of general prin-
recognize the many connections among biol-
ciples that can serve as the basis for teachers
ogy, chemistry, and physics, and understand
and students to develop further understanding
the need for an integrated approach to science
of biology.” A similar point is made in a medi-
teaching. For example, molecular biology is a
cal context by the new Standards for Technol-
hybrid discipline, drawing upon concepts and
ogy Literacy, which recognizes that “the use of
techniques from physics, chemistry, and biology.
technology has made numerous contributions
This hybrid nature explains in part why high
to medicine over the years. Scientific and tech-
school students may find the study of molecular
nological breakthroughs are at the core of most
biology challenging. They are confronted by a
diagnostic and treatment practices.”12
science that is abstract and seems far removed
from classical biology. Moreover, many students
When teachers try to relate advances in tech-
are introduced to the subject at a point in their
nology to biology, they may be frustrated by
education where they have yet to take a formal
the fact that there is a lag, measured in years,
course in either chemistry or physics. Without
between scientific advance and its inclusion in
this scientific foundation, they are ill-prepared
the curriculum. For example, the polymerase
to undertake the study of life at its most funda-
chain reaction (PCR) was introduced to the
mental level.
23
Using Technology to Study Cellular and Molecular Biology
Preconception 2. Most of what students are
Preconception 4. Structure and function are
exposed to in science classes is about science,
independent and unrelated concepts.
not technology.
This supplement can build a foundation to
Additionally, technology is about computers
address this preconception and to help students
rather than about a way of adapting or a pro-
understand the interdependence of structure
cess for solving a problem. It is important for
and function. With this supplement, students
students to learn that each of the technologies
will explore concepts to help them under-
covered in this supplement is a tool applied to a
stand that technologies provide scientists with
specific task. The supplement will help students
essential information about structure. The
recognize the type of scientific information that
relationship between structure and function
can be obtained from various techniques and
may be easier for students to understand at a
gain an appreciation for and an understanding
macroscopic level, and students may struggle to
of the role technology has played in advancing
understand this relationship at the abstract level
our understanding of biological systems.
of molecules. Inquiry-based activities will allow
students to learn what structure is and at how
Preconception 3. Students are likely to have pre-
many levels structure can be defined. Through
conceptions about the contributions that a range
these activities, students will learn how devel-
oping structural information at various tiers
of technologies has made to science and medi-
provides increasingly greater information about
cine, that is, about the problem-solving capacity
function. Structure-function relationships are
of technology.
critical to understanding normal cellular pro-
For example, students have probably looked at
cesses, as well as those associated with disease.
a specimen with a light microscope, and they
Such intimate knowledge of biomolecules
have seen photomicrographs in textbooks.
promises to expand the range of drug targets,
However, students have limited experience
shift the discovery effort from direct screen-
evaluating the information conveyed at the
ing programs to rational target-based drug
microscopic level and placing it in the proper
design, and usher in a new era of personalized
context. Consequently, it will be important in
medicine. One of the activities that follows—in
this supplement to help students gain a per-
Lesson 3, Putting Technology to Work—gives stu-
spective of the relative sizes of cellular and
dents insight into these scientific developments.
molecular structures. The concepts of resolu-
tion and scale can help students appreciate that
3 Scale and Resolution
structures invisible to the unaided eye, such
3.1 Scale
as mitochondria, ribosomes, viruses, and pro-
How big is “big”? How small is “small”? It
tein molecules, have vastly different sizes and
depends, of course, on one’s point of refer-
require different technologies for study. It is
ence. An insect such as a bee (about 12 mm in
important that this supplement help students
length) is very small compared with a human
understand the need to obtain information from
(perhaps 1.7 to 2 meters in height). However, a