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Moodle

Requirements:

1. Contact the virtual TA via Moodle and indicate your interest in the project.

2. This project involves posting reviews and dialog entries in the Book Reviewer Forum in Moodle. See the directions in sections 5 and 6 below.

3. You are required to turn in a printed portfolio of your work for evaluation by the virtual TA. See the Portfolios page for due dates and instructions for the preparation of your extra credit portfolio.

4. Select a book that deals with a topic in biology. There are several well written and interesting books that deal with biological issues that are currently in the news. Topics addressed in some recent books include new strains of disease, biotechnology, genes and their roles in development and disease, issues of evolution, and ecological matters. I have listed a few that are in the bookstore now. There are lots of other books that are appropriate. Let me (Ed Dole) know if you find another and I'll add it to the list at the botom of this page.

5. You may read several chapters from the same book over the course of the semester and earn the entire 6% extra credit. You may read one or a few chapters from more than one book. You may combine your book reading with other types of projects if you want some variety.

6. Write a review of the chapter you have read (at least 500 words). Post your review as a project entry in the Book Reviewer Forum in Moodle. When you announce to the virtual TA that you want to review a particular book she/he will create a Moodle discussion for your use.

Adhere to the Policy of Academic Integrity in Biology 100/101.

Your review (project entry) should include:

A complete bibliographical reference to the book you are reviewing.

You may include a working link to a publisher's or book seller's web page that lists your book as a substitute for your bibliographical reference. (Directions for Making Links in Moodle postings)

You should concentrate on explaining the biological concepts and issues as well as recounting the story.

If the author presents an opinion concerning an issue do you agree or disagree - why?

Describe the chapters' relevance to concepts or issues presented in Biology 100/101 lecture, lab, discussion, or Lewis' text book.

If we have not addressed a topic in class read ahead in the text book.

Post your review to Moodle in the discussion set up for your book in the Book Reviewer Forum in Moodle.

7. Dialog Entries:

Dialog entries are written as "REPLY" messages that you write to others concerning their project entries in Moodle, or "REPLIES" that others write to you concerning your project entries.

For each 1% extra credit, include 2 substantial dialog entries in your written portfolio in addition to your project entry.

You may include dialogs concerning all types of projects, not just Book Reviewer projects.

You must write at least 1 substantial dialog yourself.

The second dialog may be written by another person concerning your project or you may write the second yourself if no one writes to you.
(Hint - others will help you if you write good dialog entries for them and provide a link to your own work. See the "Making Links to Moodle Messages" section on page 6 of the Biology 100/101 Moodle Information handout given to you at the beginning of the semester)

Credit:

You may earn one extra percentage point per Book Reviewer review. You will need to include 2 substantial dialog entries for each 1% extra credit earned for a Book Reviewer project.

You MUST turn in a printed portfolio of your work at lecture on the due dates in order to receive credit.

A rubric will be used to evaluate and assign credit for your extra credit work.

Extra credit is added at the end of the semester as percentage points on top of the course grade you have earned.

Extra Credit for the course is variable depending on your level of participation. It will be based on the number of your project entries through the final due date of your portfolio and your active interaction in other student's extra credit projects via dialog entries. Maximum extra credit for all projects in the semester is 6%. You may complete a variety of different projects during the semester.

Suggested Books

(in no particular order). See links for book reviews provided by Amazon.com:

Th Proteus Effect: Stem Cells And Their Promise For Medicine, by Ann Parson

Missing Links: Evolutionary Concepts and Transitions Through Time by Robert A. Martin, 2003

The Seven Daughters of Eve, Bryan Sykes, 2001

The Monk in the Garden: The Lost And Found Genious Of Gregor Mendel, The Father Of Genetics, Robin Marantz Henig, 2000

Genome: The Autobiography Of A Species In 23 Chapters, Matt Ridley, 1999

The Demon-Haunted World: Science As A Candle In The Dark, Carl Sagan, 1996

The Science of Jurassic Park And The Lost World: Or, How to Build a Dinosaur Rob DeSalle & David Lindley, 1997

The Book of Man: The Human Genome Project And The Quest To Discover Our Genetic Heritage Walter Bodmer & Robin McKie, 1994 & 1997

Lessons of the Rainforest by Suzanne Head and Robert Heinzman (a series of essays that address issues of tropical deforestation)

The Beak of the Finch by Jonathon Weiner (Pulitzer Prize winning story of the rugged life of two researchers and their kids on a desert island in the Galapagos - you will be surprised at how good a story it is)

Any of the books on evolution by Steven Jay Gould, an author with great talent for writing and explaining biology and evolution in a most elegant and understandable way.

Dancing Naked in the Mind Field by Kary Mullis, the inventor of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), Nobel laureate, and self-confessed surf bum. Mullis presents some radical and quirky ideas that rankle many scientists.

Altered Fates by Jeff Lyon and Peter Gorner (gene therapy)

The Diversity Of Life by Edward O. WIison

The Double Helix by James D. Watson

The Natural History of Sex by Adrian Forsyth

The Neandertal Enigma by James Shreeve

Our Angry Earth by Isaac Asimov and Frederik Pohl

The Cartoon Guide to Genetics by Larry Gonick and Mark Wheelis (this actually has some real content to it)

State of the World 2002

Reconstructing Biology: Genetics And Ecology In The New World Order by John Vandermeer

Raptor Red by Robert T. Bakker, "wild life consultant" for Jurassic Park (This an interesting "animal" story that includes some good evolutionary biology.

Books by Rachel Carson:Silent Spring, Under the Sea Wind etc.

A Sand County Almanac by Aldo Leopold

Faith in a Seed Henry David Thoreau

Suggest others if you wish!