Well, as it's been a few weeks (or a few months...but who's counting) since the last Resource of the Week Blog went live, I figured it was just about time to dust off the old database and get to work. Turns out, actually, that our CWIS resource portal has been battling a bit of a "bug" since February, resulting in a few "access" problems for any users (including myself) who were registered prior to the software update that happened sometime that month (and by "access" I mean things like the inability to access/view blogs). Regardless, I figure that as long as I can still post and as long as someone might have the ability to read and/or benefit, I'll do my best to provide some ideas and information about how best to utilize resources found here on the portal.

My choice in selecting a resource to blog about this week was heavily influenced by my recent experience at the mobile summer institute (MoSI) that was held here at OSU last month. During this app. 4-day conference, attendees learn about scientific teaching and the backward design approach to lesson development, and apply these principles to create an approximately 25-minute in-class activity called a “teachable tidbit” (quick aside…be sure to look for new teachable tidbits resulting from the 2016 MoSI at OSU as they’ll be added to the portal in coming weeks).

During one morning of the conference, I, along with a group of attendees, had the opportunity to investigate and discuss the role that technology plays in scientific teaching and how it can be used effectively to enhance the learning process. Our conversation was framed around a distinction that can be made between “introduction” (a.k.a. the simple presence) of and “integration” (intended to mean effective use) of technology in the classroom, lab, or lecture hall, which is what led me to choosing “Tour of an Animal Cell” as the portal resource to discuss this week.

“Tour of an Animal Cell” is a relatively brief animated video found on vimeo.com (check it out at https://vimeo.com/14680107) that is part of the larger Bioflix series published by Pearson. The video depicts (and the narration describes) a variety of components and processes associated with the eukaryotic cell, specifically in this case, a human skin cell. The video “zooms” first into the extracellular matrix, then, “dives” into a particular cell through a membrane channel. The cytoskeleton is then discussed before transitioning to a quick lesson on energy. Additional structures and components, including the mitochondria, nucleus, nuclear envelope, histones, DNA, mRNA and proteins, are all introduced, and the processes of transcription and translation are examined. The endomembrane system and its associated organelles, ribosomes, transport vesicles, and lysosomes are all covered, as well.

So, now, I could be sarcastic and talk about how after watching this 4 minute and 36 second video, students will have learned about most of the major eukaryotic cell structures and processes required for life. However, most anyone likely to be reading this will also likely have some experience with either teaching, or at some point learning about, the concepts I just mentioned, and will know the amount of time that must be invested to accurately and sufficiently understand the inner workings of even a single cell. The action of watching any five minute video, regardless of its quality, simply will not be sufficient for the learning gains desired for our students. And I very seriously doubt that any instructor would intend to use this video alone with the intended outcome that students will learn and understand the components and processes associated with eukaryotic cells. The question, therefore, becomes the following:

“How can this video be effectively integrated into a course, lecture, or activity and aid students in attaining the outcome that they will understand the components and processes associated with eukaryotic cells?”

**Please consider the above a weak example of an intended outcome, as “understand” is very vague and difficult to measure…better might be that students will be able to identify the components of the eukaryotic cell and will be able to describe and relate the major processes associated with the cellular organelles.

Now, however, back to the question of how this video can be effectively integrated. Some may simply choose to show the video as a hook for students prior to doing any lecturing or active learning exercises on these concepts. For this discussion, let’s go deeper than that, though. Recently I was listening to a YouTube video on the scholarship of teaching and learning, and heard a history professor talking about how his graduate-level students interpreted historical text differently from historical images. According to this professor, he assumed that his students would apply the same critical approach to examining text that they had long ago mastered to their examination of images. However, what he found was that his students seemed to generally accept images as being “true,” which resulted in many misconceptions and misrepresentations of the history that had occurred. So, with this in mind, he essentially experimented with active learning exercises that helped students become more critical about their interpretation and examination of historically relevant images.

So, how does that example apply to the Tour of an Animal Cell video? In science, all models are essentially wrong, and some are more wrong than others. This same phrase has been stated in a variety of forms countless times, and is true for the model depicted in the video. How about developing an exercise in which students work to identify how the video misrepresents what actually happens in the cell? This requires students to learn about what actually occurs, and apply that knowledge in the critical analysis of the animations included in the video in order to identify where the representations fail to adequately depict what actually happens inside a cell. This requires a great deal of critical thinking about what they are observing in the video, and provides an excellent opportunity for a collaborative effort among students in the class. It also pushes students to be more active and engaged in thinking about an analyzing the visuals that are used to represent complex cellular processes in texts and videos. This, in my opinion, would be an example of effective integration of this video resource. I do want to emphasize that this is only one example. There are literally countless ways to effectively integrate a tech-based resource like this one, and I encourage anyone reading this to be creative, while relying on literature-supported strategies and approaches to instruction as new lessons and activities for learning are developed.

That’s all for now. Thanks, and be sure to subscribe or check back next week for a discussion of another great teaching and learning tool found on the CLSE Resource Portal!