Photosynthesis in Silico contains a set of interactive, multimedia modules designed to provide a new approach to university teaching of photosynthesis.

Features include animations of the photosynthetic electron transport process, serving both as an introduction to experimental exercises and as stand-alone material for use in undergraduate lectures or tutorials, and simulated experimental models of photosynthetic gas exchange and chlorophyll fluorescence which can be used either as stand-alone packages or, where equipment is available, to supplement and enrich a laboratory demonstration/experiment.

These provide students with access to the latest experimental techniques and theory, providing an experience and knowledge base which facilitates understanding of the subject in greater depth.

Awards

Australian College of Education - Outstanding Achievement in Education 2001

Australian Society of Plant Scientists Teaching Award 2002

Rationale

This CD-ROM provides valuable resources for teaching the fascinating and fundamental process of photosynthesis. It can be used to augment lectures and tutorials; as an adjunct to experimental work, or as stand-alone, self-paced modules in practical classes; and as a flexibly delivered course component. A key outcome of the project is that it ensures a consistent practical outcome to all students, regardless of class size. In large practical classes, learning outcomes are affected by the quality of demonstration and the success of a particular experiment. This can result in variability within and between practical classes in any cohort. The great advantage of these experimental modules is that the practical outcome is determined by the programmers and although we have incorporated variation, as befits biological experimentation, it is not so great as to obscure the message.

Technical aspects

The modules were designed using Macromedia Director. The program will run on almost any Mac ( OSX version upon request) or PC capable of running Quicktime versions 5 and above. The software has been tested and runs on Windows 98, 2000 and XP. It was also tested on an Apple 100MHz PC card running Windows 95. While it did run (very slowly) we do not recommend this configuration. As the most processor intensive part of the software are the Quicktime Movies, the general indication is that if your PC can run a 480 x 360 Quicktime movie from a CD, then the software should work just fine on your machine.

At the University of Wollongong we deploy the program in our computer labs using Novell Zenworks.

The basic level Gas Exchange module has been converted to Shockwave Format so that it can be tried in your browser. To save space it does not have any of the extras such as the results page, calculator or glossary

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge the Australian Committee for University Teaching and Staff Development, the University of Wollongong Science Faculty, and the Apple University Development Fund for financial assistance; and Christine McComb, Marie Turner, Jodie Dunn, Professor Barry Harper, Dr Joe Berry and Dr Miquel Ribas-Carbo for assistance with development and testing of the modules.

Photosynthesis in Silico was originally funded by a grant from the Committee for University Teaching and Staff Development (Australian Government) and developed on Macintosh computers supplied by Apple Computer Australia's Apple University Development Fund.