[Overview]
[Blood and Immunity]
[Cellular Respiration]
[Cell Structure and Function]
[Viruses and Bacteria]
[DNA: The Molecule of Life]
[From DNA to Protein]
[The Bottom Line]
[System Requirements]
[Purchasing Information]
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CyberEd Inc., an educational software publisher that develops multimedia CD-ROM teaching products for high school and introductory college courses, has introduced the Interactive Biology Multimedia series. The general topics covered in this series include plants and ecology; genetics; cell biology/biochemistry; and general biology.
Of this CD-ROM series, a previous review by HMS Beagle critiqued the following individual titles: Mendel's Principles of Heredity; Mitosis and Meiosis; Birds: Characteristics and Adaptations; Food Chains and Webs; and the Biosphere. In this issue, six titles are reviewed: Blood and Immunity; Cellular Respiration; Cell Structure and Function; Viruses and Bacteria; DNA: The Molecule of Life; and From DNA to Protein.
Blood and Immunity
Blood and immunity are covered in separate parts of the presentation that can be used independently of one another. The progression of ideas and topics is well thought out and clear. New vocabulary is introduced and reinforced audibly throughout the presentation and visually through the images and diagrams. The mixture of images, pictures, and diagrams effectively explains the ideas. The tests and tutorials provide excellent reviews of the material. Although these tests can be used in a stand-alone manner, some of the tutorials are particularly difficult if one has not viewed the presentation before using them.
Cellular Respiration
Cellular respiration is a complicated subject for any student to learn. The content in this CD is appropriate for high school or early college students, and is best used as an introduction to or review of the topic. The presentation moves at an extremely quick pace, taking only 18 minutes using the automatic presentation mode (with sound on). Consequently, the content is covered superficially. One way to overcome the lack of details is to turn the sound off and view the prerecorded presentation in manual mode. This allows the instructor to narrate the presentation, inserting as much detail as appropriate, but reduces the multimedia CD-ROM to a simple slide show.
Cell Structure and Function
The Cell Structure and Function presentation, although remarkably short (six minutes in automatic mode), clearly explains all of the important structures and functions of the cell. The presentation focuses on the organelles of a eukaryotic cell, but also touches on the differences between prokaryotic and eukaryotic cells as well as between plant and animal cells.
Viruses and Bacteria
Like the other CDs in this set, the Viruses and Bacteria presentation is fast-paced and lacks detail. Despite its shortcomings, it is a valuable pedagogical resource for comparison between bacteria and viruses.
DNA: The Molecule of Life
DNA: The Molecule of Life presents the evolution of understanding of our hereditary material as well as a brief explanation of the chemical makeup of DNA and its replication machinery. The presentation in automatic mode takes only 13 minutes, but thoroughly describes the experiments that led to the discovery of DNA as hereditary material.
From DNA to Protein
From DNA to Protein explains how proteins are created. It includes descriptions of the groundbreaking studies of Garrod and of Beadle and Tatum, including both the one-gene-one-enzyme and one-gene-one-polypeptide hypotheses. It discusses the structures of DNA and RNA and explains codons, then moves on to descriptions of transcription and translation.
The Bottom Line
The topics included in the Interactive Biology Multimedia series are relevant for high school and introductory college biology courses. CyberEd has done an excellent job of using visual aids to make the presentations easy to follow, but this reviewer found that topics are covered too superficially, and lack the details and concrete examples that would confer a thorough understanding of the material. Complex subjects are discussed too briefly, and statements are often inadequately explained. Organization of material is very effective in some topics but confusing in others. In general, the tests and tutorials provide useful reviews of the material presented, although the tutorial for Cellular Respiration requires one to have a greater understanding of the material than is presented in the CD. The use of hypertext to link related information is not effectively implemented, and the lack of detail often leaves important principles unclear. In some cases, the information presented is sloppy, misleading, or incorrect. Finally, CyberEd does not provide a way for students to take electronic notes or to annotate or customize their course of study, a critical component for effective learning.
System Requirements
The Interactive Biology Multimedia series is available for Macintosh or Power Macintosh running System 7.5.1 or later, Windows 3.1x, Windows 95, and Windows NT 3.51 or 4.0 with 8 Mb RAM (12 Mb recommended) and 2 Mb hard disk space. In addition, computers must have CD-ROM drives, a mouse, and video capabilities to display at least 256 colors, as well as sound cards and speakers. CyberEd's Web site explains how to use Interactive Biology Multimedia series on computer networks.
The Complete Interactive Biology Multimedia CD-ROM series (24 titles) is available from CyberEd for $2,446.00. Products may also be purchased individually, or in bundles that cover specific topics. Contact CyberEd for information on network licensing and other pricing options. The company can be reached by mail at P.O. Box 3037, Paradise, California 95967, by email, by phone at (530) 872-2432 or toll free at (888) 318-0700, or by fax at (530) 872-2445. The CyberEd Web site offers additional details about each CD-ROM title offered, as well as supplemental course materials for registered users.
Michelle Friend Hutton works for the Information Technology Services division of Indiana University. She was previously a staff member at the BioTech life sciences resources and reference tools project at the same university.