Teaching DNA with Technology

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Permalink Reply by Nick McCarty-Daniels on September 12, 2007 at 6:28pm

Check out Scholastic.com, they have some neat stuff. It may seem like tools for a lower age, but DNA is so complicated anyway that it might just work.

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Permalink Reply by Nick McCarty-Daniels on September 12, 2007 at 6:29pm

I hope that helps.

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Permalink Reply by jcalvert on September 12, 2007 at 7:35pm

Hi Colleen,

Have you looked at JMOL modeling? It's very cool and would be a good way to visualize the structure. This would be especially cool with a digital projector, a computer lab, or interactive whiteboard. Click here for a good JMOL resource collection from NYU. Hope you like it.

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Permalink Reply by Corey Mullins on January 24, 2008 at 1:49pm

I like to use gel electrophoresis. With my freshmen I usually do a dye separation, and then I use bacteria with my AP students. The kids really get into making a "DNA fingerprint," especially because it is so CSI. Kits are relatively inexpensive and you can by gel boxes that run on 9 volt batteries. I think that Wards carries them.

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Permalink Reply by Mike McCarty on May 1, 2008 at 9:50am

One of the best lectures I've found on DNA is at http://www.hhmi.org/biointeractive. Dr. Lander (MIT Whitehead Institute for Genomic Research) really explains the topic well. This site also has animations. For advanced students, another great resource is in the MIT OCW video lecture series (Introduction to Biology)
http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/Biology/7-012Fall-2004/CourseHome/index.htm

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Permalink Reply by Marlessa Benson on July 15, 2008 at 10:03am

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/sheppard/lab01.html This is a PBS NOVA site. The crime is not brutal or violent and students get to do a gel electrophoresis simulation to find the villain.

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Permalink Reply by Abby Thaker on July 15, 2008 at 12:57pm

There might be something on DNAtube.com - like a youtube for Science content.

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Permalink Reply by Jennifer Gardner on June 16, 2009 at 7:24pm

I had never seen DNAtube.com before, thanks for posting the link!

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Permalink Reply by Deborah on July 16, 2008 at 9:31am

Teach students to create an excel spreadsheet that automatically fills in nucleotides for complementary DNA, mRNA, tRNA, and/or amino acid. Allows student to see effect of mutation quickly and dramatically.
I did this in a workshop several years ago, so i honestly have no idea how to do it now. But it was well received then.
Good Luck. :-)

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Permalink Reply by John Sullivan on February 7, 2009 at 12:39pm

I find animations helpful in the teaching of all DNA topics. A good replication animation can be found at http://www.johnkyrk.com/DNAreplication.html and very good transcription and translation animations are at http://www-class.unl.edu/biochem/gp2/m_biology/animation/m_bio_ga.html#

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Permalink Reply by Dale Ehrhart on February 7, 2009 at 4:00pm

http://nobelprize.org/educational_games/medicine/

DNA-Double Helix Game
The Genetic Code game

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Permalink Reply by John Sowash on February 7, 2009 at 7:21pm

I collect helpful and interesting resources in my biology wiki. I have a section devoted to genetics that you might find useful. One of my absolute favorite activities is the "Click and Clone" virtual lab created by the University of Utah. My students have a blast doing this activity.

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