OER assignment-Jim Nielsen
More About Proteins- Genetic Science Learning Center
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/
For this assignment I decided to dive deeper into the OER I discussed earlier this week, the University of Utah's Genetics Learning Center Website. One of the most difficult parts of our Genetics unit, and honestly the entire class is understanding what proteins are and how they are made. Students come in thinking that proteins are just for building muscle, when in fact DNA is an instruction manual for building proteins. Proteins carry out everything that your body does, everything that you are physically and mentally is because of proteins. That is why it is such an important topic for students to understand. The "More about Proteins" section of the website does an amazing job of giving the students extra exposure to the material and allowing them to interact with and engage with models dealing with protein synthesis.
Furthermore, the website does a good job of covering both the Next Generation Science Standards that we utilize for our curriculum and the iNacol standards for successful online classes. One of our essential understandings taken from the Next Generation Science Standards for our curriculum, Genes are regions in the DNA that contain the instructions that code for the formation of proteins, is well developed in these lessons. The website also follows iNacol standards B and C.
Standard B: the online teacher understands and is able to use a range of technologies, both existing and
emerging, that effectively support student learning and engagement in the online environment.
Standard C :the online teacher plans, designs, and incorporates strategies to encourage active learning, interaction, participation, and collaboration in the online environment.
As mentioned before, the University of Utah's Genetics website is very appropriate for my students. In fact, it does a great job in helping me differentiate instruction for not only different learning levels but different learning styles as well. The section I focused on for this assignment, More about Proteins, has four lessons. These lessons include two animated videos as well as two interactive animations that students can engage and manipulate the material.
The first lesson called "types of proteins" does a great job showing students examples of the different types of proteins and what they do in the body. I believe this section will help students right of the bat understanding that proteins are responsible for carrying out the blueprint that is DNA. The second section covers Protein Synthesis utilizing an interactive animation where students will need to understand transcription and translation to manipulate letters on the screen to build specific proteins. This animation is top notch and would work well after an introduction to protein synthesis. The animation is so engaging that students will challenge themselves to make the correct protein while getting lots of practice with one of the toughest topics we cover all year. The last two lessons about protein focus on real world examples of how making the correct protein is critical in order for that organism to function correctly. I think both of these videos do a nice job of summing up the previous lessons with authentic examples of protein synthesis.
Although I believe this resource could be utilized as a stand-alone lesson, I believe it is much stronger paired with other things we already do in our curriculum. I think the first lesson, types of proteins, makes an excellent opener for the unit. I would then proceed to teach students about protein synthesis in a typical lecture format with practice problems that the class would tackle together. I would then take the students to the computer lab to do the next lesson called, "transcribe and translate a gene". This would be an excellent review for what they just learned and also promote engagement in the material using interactive animations. During this period the students would also have time to view the two videos that accompany the lessons to show them authentic examples of how their curriculum applies in real life.
The website does have a worksheet available that could be used as an assessment piece, but I think I might pair it with an online quiz from one of our previous modules that I would make on the ProProfs website I used for our assessment assignment. I could also see using this resource as a source for struggling students or students that wanted more practice when reviewing for the unit exam or for even the final exam at the end of the semester. In the end I think this lesson adds an engaging piece to our curriculum that will help students understand, apply, and even review the material for the unit.
Thank you,
Jim Nielsen
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/basics/
For this assignment I decided to dive deeper into the OER I discussed earlier this week, the University of Utah's Genetics Learning Center Website. One of the most difficult parts of our Genetics unit, and honestly the entire class is understanding what proteins are and how they are made. Students come in thinking that proteins are just for building muscle, when in fact DNA is an instruction manual for building proteins. Proteins carry out everything that your body does, everything that you are physically and mentally is because of proteins. That is why it is such an important topic for students to understand. The "More about Proteins" section of the website does an amazing job of giving the students extra exposure to the material and allowing them to interact with and engage with models dealing with protein synthesis.
Furthermore, the website does a good job of covering both the Next Generation Science Standards that we utilize for our curriculum and the iNacol standards for successful online classes. One of our essential understandings taken from the Next Generation Science Standards for our curriculum, Genes are regions in the DNA that contain the instructions that code for the formation of proteins, is well developed in these lessons. The website also follows iNacol standards B and C.
Standard B: the online teacher understands and is able to use a range of technologies, both existing and
emerging, that effectively support student learning and engagement in the online environment.
Standard C :the online teacher plans, designs, and incorporates strategies to encourage active learning, interaction, participation, and collaboration in the online environment.
As mentioned before, the University of Utah's Genetics website is very appropriate for my students. In fact, it does a great job in helping me differentiate instruction for not only different learning levels but different learning styles as well. The section I focused on for this assignment, More about Proteins, has four lessons. These lessons include two animated videos as well as two interactive animations that students can engage and manipulate the material.
The first lesson called "types of proteins" does a great job showing students examples of the different types of proteins and what they do in the body. I believe this section will help students right of the bat understanding that proteins are responsible for carrying out the blueprint that is DNA. The second section covers Protein Synthesis utilizing an interactive animation where students will need to understand transcription and translation to manipulate letters on the screen to build specific proteins. This animation is top notch and would work well after an introduction to protein synthesis. The animation is so engaging that students will challenge themselves to make the correct protein while getting lots of practice with one of the toughest topics we cover all year. The last two lessons about protein focus on real world examples of how making the correct protein is critical in order for that organism to function correctly. I think both of these videos do a nice job of summing up the previous lessons with authentic examples of protein synthesis.
Although I believe this resource could be utilized as a stand-alone lesson, I believe it is much stronger paired with other things we already do in our curriculum. I think the first lesson, types of proteins, makes an excellent opener for the unit. I would then proceed to teach students about protein synthesis in a typical lecture format with practice problems that the class would tackle together. I would then take the students to the computer lab to do the next lesson called, "transcribe and translate a gene". This would be an excellent review for what they just learned and also promote engagement in the material using interactive animations. During this period the students would also have time to view the two videos that accompany the lessons to show them authentic examples of how their curriculum applies in real life.
The website does have a worksheet available that could be used as an assessment piece, but I think I might pair it with an online quiz from one of our previous modules that I would make on the ProProfs website I used for our assessment assignment. I could also see using this resource as a source for struggling students or students that wanted more practice when reviewing for the unit exam or for even the final exam at the end of the semester. In the end I think this lesson adds an engaging piece to our curriculum that will help students understand, apply, and even review the material for the unit.
Thank you,
Jim Nielsen
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