Meeting Abstract

P3.123  Tuesday, Jan. 6  Inquiry-based web curricula in development, microscopy, physiology and environmental science HODIN, J*; MILLER, P; HUANG-VOSS, C; EPEL, D; Hopkins Marine Station, Stanford University, CA, USA seastar@stanford.edu

We are developing a range of inquiry-based, freely available biology education resources distributed through several web sites. VirtualUrchin (http://virtualurchin.stanford.edu) highlights sea urchins as fertile ground for investigating core biological principals, applying the scientific method, investigating environmental problems, and learning to use biology lab tools. VirtualUrchin is a companion site to the very popular Sea Urchin Embryology teacher support site (http://www.stanford.edu/group/Urchin). VirtualUrchin features microscopy tools, with resource tutorials on the use and care of microscopes, measurement of microscopic objects, and tools for comparing specimens using different microscopic techniques. Our resources also emphasize the usefulness of sea urchin development in studying anthropogenic impacts on marine organisms, including pollution and ocean acidification. Our third site (http://esi.stanford.edu), in cooperation with Swedish universities, uses a CSI approach to engage students in an investigation of why salmon have been disappearing during their migration up the most productive salmon river system on the planet: Canada’s Fraser River. Students use interactive virtual tools to investigate salmon life cycles, determine the destination of migrating salmon, observe changes in respiration patterns, circulation, migration and energetics, and explore general information on global climate change and its real-world impacts. All of our projects are developed under the umbrella of the Virtual Labs project at Stanford (http://virtuallabs.stanford.edu), where our resources are compiled alongside a wide range of freely-available, high quality educational resources in biology and biomedicine.