2can Bioinformatics
http://www.ebi.ac.uk/2can/home.html
2can Bioinformatics, an educational Web site from the European Bioinformatics Institute, offers a valuable guide to the different molecular biology databases available to researchers. A series of well-designed tutorials covers the basics of comparing and analyzing gene sequences -- no small feat considering the dizzying number of bioinformatics databases available on the Web. The tutorials cover nucleotide analysis, protein analysis, protein function, protein structure, genome browsing, and database browsing. Other features include an overview of the numerous molecular databases available online, a Medline literature search engine, a much-needed glossary, and other resources. Considering that an astonishing amount of biological data -- especially from sequencing projects -- is deposited in electronic databases and no longer published in the conventional sense, 2can Bioinformatics really provides an indispensable service.
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Marine Biology: The Living Oceans [Macromedia Flash Player]
http://ology.amnh.org/marinebiology/index.html
Marine biology is the latest topic from the American Museum of Natural History's OLogy Web site, which offers younger kids a fun, interactive way to explore different "-ologies" and meet the researchers who study them. The module for Marine Biology: The Living Oceans provides loads of colorful and engaging features focused on ocean ecosystems, marine biodiversity, and related topics. The Web site also has ideas for fun offline activities and offers interactive educational games such as Ocean Creature Feature -- a matching game that rewards players with collectable OLogy cards.
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Brains Rule! [pdf, Macromedia Flash Player, QuickTime]
http://www.brainsrule.com/
Brains Rule!, a joint project of Creighton University and the University of Texas Health Science Center, aims to "promote learning about the brain and nervous system among children and adults using new and exciting teaching methods." A burst of crazy boingy sounds introduces the main feature: A diagram of the brain presenting a number of kid-friendly educational activities. Included are features such as Ask a Brain Expert (questions answered by bonafide neuroscientists) and a set of very cool animated games about the brain and nervous system. Teachers will find an excellent set of lesson plans for grades 3-6. The lessons in each of the four modules (Development, Cell Structure and Function, Brain Anatomy, and Applied Neuroscience) come with background material, classroom activities, vocabulary, resources and links, and more.
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4-H Virtual Farm [Macromedia Flash Player, QuickTime]
http://www.ext.vt.edu/resources/4h/virtualfarm/main.html
With the 4-H Virtual Farm, 4-H hopes to help kids "discover why farming is part of your life even if you've never lived on a farm, never seen crops grow in a field, or never touched a cow." Even though this Web site focuses, to an extent, on Virginia agriculture, the content should be applicable and interesting to any student. Six virtual farms are available (horse, aquaculture, beef, dairy, poultry, and wheat), each offering a variety of activities and multimedia features that help students explore agricultural ecology, resource management, and much more. After visiting the 4-H Virtual Farm, students can take the Blue Ribbon Challenge, a fun interactive quiz.
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Coral Bleaching -- Will Global Warming Kill the Reefs? [pdf, Microsoft Word]
http://www.science.org.au/nova/076/076key.htm
This Web site from the Australian Academy of Science presents "reliable and up-to-date information" about coral reefs as part of Nova: Science in the News. This online educational series provides background information on timely issues to secondary school teachers (or any other interested reader). Visitors will find a brief overview of the biology and environmental status of coral reefs and an explanation of the effects of global climate change on these important ecosystems. For more in-depth information, the site provides a well-chosen selection of external links as well as citation information for print resources. Links to a wide selection of coral-related classroom activities, covering a range of grade levels from other organizations, are also available.
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NewsHour Extra: Addressing Health Mysteries [RealOne Player, Windows Media Player]
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/teachers/lessonplans/health/sars_4-8.html
In this PBS NewsHour Extra lesson plan, students take an in-depth look at the SARS epidemic, with a particular focus on pan-national public health administration. A NewsHour interview with Dr. David Heyman, Director for Communicable Diseases at the World Health Organization (WHO), forms the basis of the exercise (video, audio, and transcript available). A NewsHour Extra story on SARS provides additional material. The site also offers ideas for homework and extension activities, each designed to help students explore and understand the process by which organizations like WHO tackle new disease outbreaks.
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Jeopardy PowerPoint: Photosynthesis, Cell Respiration, Enzymes, and Light [ppt]
http://askeric.org/cgi-bin/printlessons.cgi/Virtual/Lessons/Science/Biology/BIO0202.html
This AskERIC lesson plan, submitted by Aubrey Melton of the University of Michigan-Flint, provides a PowerPoint Jeopardy-like game that helps students review photosynthesis, cell respiration, enzymes, and light (in the context of photosynthesis). Designed for grades 8-11, the game lasts 55-60 minutes and includes an answer key. Users may preview the game before downloading the PowerPoint file. Once downloaded, teachers can easily tailor the questions to better reflect course content.
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Animals of the Chinese Zodiac [pdf]
http://www.edsitement.neh.gov/view_lesson_plan.asp?id=344
This lesson plan comes from EDSITEment, an educational Web site from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the MarcoPolo Education Foundation. Although this lesson plan focuses on the humanities, it has a decidedly zoology angle that makes for an interesting multidisciplinary look at the animals of the Chinese zodiac. The lesson includes activities that help K-2nd grade students think about the characteristics we assign to animals (e.g. busy as a bee, strong as an ox), providing a great platform for further exploring animal traits from a life science point of view. Similar activities also provide great opportunities for incorporating zoology and natural history into the overall lesson, or sneaking in a lecture about anthropomorphism.
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