Welcome to Integrative Biology 100 Online

Integrative Biology 100 ONL is a general education course designed to introduce you to the biology topics that are likely to be meaningful to you during your life. The course includes an in-depth focus on three contemporary issues in modern biology: the environment, genetics and biotechnology, and evolution. You should learn the biological concepts that will help you make informed decisions in the marketplace, the voting booth, your doctor's office, or a school board meeting.

IB 100 ONL is an ONLINE course with no face-to-face class meetings. All lecture/lessons, learning activities, and assessments will be conducted in the Moodle Course Management System (CMS). Lectures/lessons and graded online learning activities will take advantage of a wide range of biology web resources, including text, video, animations, simulations, etc. You will have the opportunity to participate in asynchronous online discussions with your instructors and classmates. All assignments and testing will be conducted online.

Credit is not given for both Integrative Biology 100 and 101.

Course Structure

This is a 3-credit hour course. The course is 8 weeks long and consists of 7 content modules. Please be aware that this course is accelerated in nature; 16 weeks' worth of content will be covered in an 8-week time span. You should dedicate approximately 9-12 hours per week to working on the course itself, but actual time commitments will vary depending on your input, needs, and personal study habits. There are course activities due each weekday, but you are free to complete activities ahead of the deadlines to better accommodate your schedule. Although most course activities are asynchronous, you will interact with a teaching assistant and your classmates in real time through synchronous discussion sessions; you will be required to register and attend one of the multiple one-hour sessions offered.

Each content module will start on a Saturday and end the following Friday. See the course schedule link above for specific dates.

The course Moodle site can be accessed at learn.illinois.edu and will open one week prior to the first day of class. You are welcome to get a head start on the Orientation and Module 1 activities at that time. Prior to this, we will be updating the site for the semester, so it will not be visible to you.

Module Activities:

  1. Each week will include reading 2-3 chapters from our textbook, Biology Now. Students will also watch a few short videos highlighting the week′s material. There will be interactive quizzes over each book chapter that will be taken for credit.
  2. Students will be required to sign into the weekly synchronous session. It′s like "Skype on steroids" and your TA will be there to teach more content and students will participate in an activity that must be submitted for credit.
  3. During each module, students will do an assignment that allows them to practice what has been learned. These will be due on Thursday at 11:55pm.
  4. Each module will conclude with a one-hour, online Module Self Assessment to be taken in Moodle by 11:55 PM on Saturday, the last day of the module.
  5. Due to new LAS policy, we must offer a final exam for the course. It will be worth 20-30% of your grade. There will be an option to take it in person or to use an online proctoring option. Date of the exam is TBD. More information will be available about computer test options when the course begins.

Contact the Instructor

Email: ib100onl@life.illinois.edu
Fall semester instructor: Dr. Li-Qing Chen
Spring semester instructors: Dr. Wendy Yang and Allison O’Dwyer

This email is monitored infrequently until one week before the course begins, so emails may not be answered on the same day they are sent.

Course Goals

After taking IB 100 ONL, you should be able to:

  • Distinguish scientific hypotheses and theories from pseudoscientific explanations of the biological world.
  • Apply the process of scientific investigation to answer questions about the biological world.
  • Use your knowledge base of biology as a foundation for life-long learning in the biological sciences.

Course Content Objectives

After taking IB 100 ONL, you should be able to:

  • Explain the physical forces that affect our climate in Illinois and describe the relationships among organisms and the natural and human-influenced environments around you.
  • Describe the availability and use of energy and matter by organisms in the natural environment, including the food you eat yourself.
  • Describe how you got your genetic information from your parents and how you may pass that information on to your children.
  • Explain the role of your genes in the development of a healthy human body and describe how genetic problems can lead to inherited disorders and cancer.
  • List several biotechnology applications and explain how the products or information they provide may be used to change our food sources, affect our reproduction, treat our diseases, and help us understand our relationships with other humans and other species.
  • Describe the ways in which populations of plants, animals and disease organisms evolve in changing natural and human-influenced environments.
  • Distinguish between scientific theories used to explain genetic changes in populations and the evolution of new species and popular pseudo-scientific explanations that attempt to discredit or disprove the process of evolution.

Textbook Options

The Biology Now textbook is required for IB 100 ONL but can be purchased in multiple formats to fit your budget. Copies of the textbook are also on course reserve at the Undergraduate Library.

If you use the course reserve or purchase a used textbook, then note that you must purchase access to InQuizitive, an adaptive quiz system provided by the textbook publisher which accounts for a portion of your weekly grade. The publisher offers free 21-day trial access to InQuizitive. You will be prompted to sign up for the free trial or buy access for $30 the first time you attempt to access InQuizitive through the IB 100 Moodle site. Access to InQuizitive is included with the purchase of any of the three options listed below.

_Biology_Now_ book cover & listing from W.W.Norton website Houtman A, Scudellari M and Malone C. 2020. Biology Now. W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.
  • Paperback:

    Can be purchased through your campus bookstore.
    Every NEW copy of the Paperback text automatically comes with free access to the eBook for one year.
    ISBN: 978-0-393-53375-0
    Price: $137.50
  • Loose Leaf (3-Hole Punch):

    Can be purchased via the W. W. Norton Website.
    The Loose Leaf edition also comes with a code for free access to the eBook for one year.
    ISBN: 978-0-393-53376-7
    Price: $110
  • eBook:

    If you don't need a paper book, the eBook alone can be purchased via the W. W. Norton Website.
    ISBN: 978-0-393-53374-3
    Price: $50