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Create. Share. Learn. Using Google Sites and MediaWiki

Create. Share. Learn. Using Google Sites and MediaWiki. Kam D. Dahlquist, Ph.D. Department of Biology John David N. Dionisio, Ph.D. Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Originally presented at: Center for Teaching Excellence Loyola Marymount University

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Create. Share. Learn. Using Google Sites and MediaWiki

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  1. Create. Share. Learn. Using Google Sites and MediaWiki Kam D. Dahlquist, Ph.D. Department of Biology John David N. Dionisio, Ph.D. Department of Electrical Engineering & Computer Science Originally presented at: Center for Teaching Excellence Loyola Marymount University October 22, 2008

  2. Outline • Using Google Sites in a Bioinformatics Laboratory Course • Using MediaWiki in a Biological Databases Course • Advantages and disadvantages of each platform

  3. What is bioinformatics? • Application of information technology (informatics) to biological data • Informatics: • representation • organization • manipulation • distribution • maintenance • use • of digital information • Interdisciplinary: biology, computer science, math, • chemistry, physics, engineering . . . Databases Analytical tools

  4. Biology 398-03: Bioinformatics Laboratory • 1 unit laboratory course for upper-division biology majors • Meets twice a week for 2 hours each time • All work is conducted in the Seaver 120 Computer Lab • -- stand-alone bioinformatics software • -- web software and databases • Students perform bioinformatics research using real research software • --Molecular Genetics Explorer (Brian White) • --HIV Problem Space (BEDROCK) • --DNA microarray data analysis with GenMAPP (Dahlquist)

  5. The Challenges of Bioinformatics Research are both Similar and Different than Wet-lab Research

  6. When we say students are “Digital Natives”, what do we mean?

  7. Google Sites <http://sites.google.com> • Free web service that allows you to create a web site • Site can be public or private (limited to certain users) • 100 MB of storage space (costs $ to upgrade) • Look and feel of web site based on limited templates (costs $ to upgrade) • Allows attachments and images (up to the storage limit) • Allows comments (but not threaded conversations) • Keeps history of changes by users (but can’t compare pages)

  8. BIOL/CMSI/HNRS 398-01: Biological Databases • 3 unit upper division course, team-taught • 7 biology majors • 5 computer science majors • 2 math, 1 natural science, 1 film/television • Meets twice a week for 75 minutes each time • Classroom, Seaver 120 Computer Lab, Keck Computer Lab (Doolan) • -- relies on Computer Science Linux network and software • -- also used some other web and stand-alone software • Students perform biological database project using real research software (XMLPipeDB/GenMAPP)

  9. Open Source software used for Wikipedia and many other wikis online • Need to learn wiki syntax • Each user has a page, each page has a discussion “backpage” • History of changes recorded and easy to compare versions • Can upload images and files • Used for assignments, narratives, discussion, group projects <https://www.cs.lmu.edu/biodb/wiki/index.php/MediaWiki_Pedagogy>

  10. An option for using a MediaWiki site is <http://www.OpenWetware.org> • Another wiki WYSIWYG technology is <http://www.Wikispaces.com> • Research application of Wikispaces on XMLPipeDB SourceForge site

  11. Conclusions • Personal preference for MediaWiki • Still a danger of a teacher-centric mode of communication (this is not fixed simply by technology) • Like its power for organizing and storing information • Although when using an external service, always a possibility it will go away without notice • Although if using as internal service, then someone needs to put in the time to manage/maintain it

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