Microbe Library: Visual Media Briefs Collection

The American Society for Microbiology (ASM) has a vast online Microbe Library that provides access to educational resources and activities for educators seeking to edify their students about everything from the germ theory of disease to laboratory techniques. This particular corner of the Library site features a host of visual media briefs. These briefs feature slides accompanied by brief introductory essays, descriptions of methodology, and discussions of the various conditions and procedures associated with each exploration. All told, there are over 40 visual media briefs here, including "Cultivation Media for Bacteria," Metagenomic Soil DNA Analysis," and "Soil Fungi."

http://www.microbelibrary.org/about/52

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2013. https://www.scout.wisc.edu/

Digital Teaching Resources Laboratory

Based at the University of Alberta, the Digital Teaching Resources Laboratory (DiTRL) is a computer lab for students and faculty designed to help undergraduates learn about biology. DiTRL's site contains instructional multimedia resources that will be useful to a wide range of people, as well as a database of lesson plans and such. Visitors can click on the Instructional Multimedia area to look through multimedia clips on a range of topics, including botany, ecology, and entomology. The Cell Biology section is quite well-developed, and includes interactive activities like "Animal cell mix and match" and "Nerve Action Potential." The Database link leads to an online collection that includes animations, video clips, and text excerpts. Currently, the entire database contains over 8,900 items, and visitors can browse around at their leisure or perform a full-text search. Finally, the site is rounded out by the option for visitors to provide their own feedback. 

http://www.biology.ualberta.ca/facilities/ditrl/?Page=4431

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Writing Guidelines for Engineering and Science Students

Students in the engineering and science fields need to communicate a broad set of often highly technical materials to lay audiences. This process can be challenging, and this nice set of materials from Pennsylvania State University will be a boon to students in these fields. The site has five main sections: Introduction, Presentations, Correspondence, Formal Reports, and Other Documents. The Introduction area contains three helpful documents that provide insights on crafting the style of any given document and assessing the audience. Moving along, the Formal Reports area gives helpful suggestions on composing laboratory reports, theses, and dissertations. The site is rounded out by a glossary of writing and composition terms and additional references and resources.

http://www.writing.engr.psu.edu/

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2012. http://scout.wisc.edu/

Bacteria Museum

http://bacteriamuseum.org/cms/

This site contains a variety of information on bacteria. It includes a "Bacterial Species Files" tab at the top of the page, which provides information on 40 different specific bacteria, from Anthrax to Yersinia enterocolitica. The information provided for each bacterium includes photographs, consumer guides, fact sheets, and scientific links. Visitors will find that the "Main Exhibits" tab addresses the basics about bacteria, as well as "Pathogenic Bacteria", "Evolution", "How We Fight Bacteria", and "Food and Water Safety". Visitors will surely enjoy the "Good Bacteria in Food" link found in the Food and Water Safety section, as it explains how some foods benefit from good bacteria, such as Swiss cheese, sausage, sauerkraut, chocolate, and coffee.

From The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout 1994-2011. http://scout.wisc.edu/