Using the Internet to Support Microbiology Lectures and Labs

Gary E. Kaiser, Ph.D.
Professor, Microbiology
The Community College of Baltimore County,
Catonsville Campus
Web Site: http://www.cat.cc.md.us/~gkaiser/goshp.html
E-Mail: gkaiser@ccbc.cc.md.us

Providing Students with the Information

I use my web page to present course content to both my web students and my traditional students. My lectures are presented in a smart classroom and I use the Internet much in the manner of a Power Point presentation. Students are required to have a hard copy my on-line Lecture Guide and my Lab Manual.

Students are able to:

1. Purchase a hard copy in the college bookstore. Our college press prints this.

2. Print a copy from the Internet. Especially nice if they have a color printer.

3. Purchase a CD-ROM containing the Lecture Guide and Lab Manual. This is prepared in house and is great for students with slower modems or those with access to computers not connected to the Internet.

Supporting Lecture and Lab with Visuals

All totaled, my web site contains around 500 pages of text, 1000 illustrations (computer generated graphics, photographs, photomicrographs, electron micrographs, etc.), 150 animations, and many links to other relevant web sites.

1. Computer generated graphics

I drew these with either CorelDraw 8.0 or Adobe Illustrator 8.0. These programs can be picked up pretty quickly and I find making the illustrations fun. Some examples from my web page at the above URL:

- Lecture Guide, Unit 2, Section IID, Animal Virus Life Cycles

- Lecture Guide, Unit 3, Section IIIA and IIIB, Cell-Mediated Immunity

- Lecture Guide, Unit 4, Section Section IB5, Protein Synthesis in Bacteria

- Lab Manual, Lab 2, Aseptic Technique

- Lab Manual, Lab 18, Indirect Serologic Testing

2. Photomicrographs

Most of these are scans of 35mm slides I had taken using a microscope and camera attachment. Some examples from my web page at the above URL:

- Lecture Guide, Unit 1, Section IIB, Composition and Functions of Bacterial Structures

- Lecture Guide, Unit-2, Sectionİ IB, Medically Important Protozoa

- Lab Manual, Lab 7, Endospore Stain and Bacterial Motility

- Lab Manual, Lab 10, The Fungi, Part 2: Molds

3. Photographs

Some of these are 35mm slides I had taken; some are done with a digital camera. We now have a better digital camera and I plan on redoing many of these. Some examples from my web page at the above URL:

- Lab Manual, Lab 2, Aseptic Technique

- Lab Manual, Lab 8, Using Biochemical Testing to Identify Bacteria

- Lab Manual, Lab 13, Isolation and Identification of Enterobacteriaceae andİPseudomonas, Part 2

- Lab Manual, Lab 15, Isolation and Identification of Staphylococci

4. Electron Micrographs

These are flat bed scans of electron micrographs colleagues have let me use. I need more of these. Some examples from my web page at the above URL:

- Lecture Guide, Unit 1, Section IIB, Composition and Functions of Bacterial Structures

- Lecture Guide, Unit 2, Section IIE, Bacteriophage Life Cycles

5. Animations

I used Adobe Illustrator 8.0 to draw the individual cells.İ They were animated using CoffeeCup Gif Animator 2.0. These were time consuming but a lot of fun to make and students really seem to appreciate them. Some examples from my web page at the above URL:

- Lecture Guide, Unit 2, Section IID, Animal Virus Life Cycles

- Lecture Guide, Unit 3, Section IIA, Antibodies

- Lecture Guide, Unit 4, Section IA, Proteins and Enzymes

- Lecture Guide, Unit 3, Section IIC, Ways in which Antibodies help to Defend the Body

- Lab Manual, Lab 17, Direct Serologic Testing

- Lab Manual, Lab 18, Indirect Serologic Testing

6. Outside Web Sites

Some examples from my web page at the above URL:

İİİİİİİİ - Lecture Guide, Unit 2, Section IIB, Sizes and Shapes of Viruses

- Lecture Guide, Unit 2, Section IID, Life Cycles of Animal Viruses, HIV

- Lecture Guide, Unit 2, Section IIID, Steps Involved in Phagocytosis