Visible Biology Site License provides curriculum support with Lab Activities and lesson plans. Instructors interested in additional content and course management features can use the 3D models, interactive simulations, and animations within Courseware, Blackboard, or Canvas. This article explains these curriculum resources and features.
Lab Activities
The Lab Activities section of Visible Biology includes a series of 3D model views and links to Lab Activities students can download.
Each lab PDF includes three distinct types of activities:
- There are labeling activities in which students use 3D models to learn the names, pronunciations, and functions of the parts that make up cells, plants, and other biological structures.
- There are exploration activities in which students learn about the functions of biological structures and explore complex biological processes, such as photosynthesis.
- There are comparison activities in which students examine the similarities and differences between animal and plant cells, monocot and dicot plants, and other related biological structures.
- The currently available labs are listed here.
- Students can download, fill in, and submit lab PDFs to instructors using Visible Biology. If you are not yet a subscriber and want to preview these labs, they are available here.
The PDF version of the lab activities are fillable PDFs. If using this version, make sure students are clear that answers will save only if they download the file to their desktop. They can then enter their name and answers, save the file, and submit their work. Here are detailed instructions; the second page of each lab PDF also explains this to students.
Instructors with a Site License subscription can request editable versions of these Lab Activities from their VB sales team representative. These can be downloaded from an instructor site and edited in software such as Google Docs and Microsoft Word.
Lesson Plans and Answer Keys
Each Lab Activity has a corresponding Lesson Plan instructors can use to get ideas for assignments. Lesson plans include learning objectives, resources, and correlations to NGSS and California, Florida, and Texas science standards. Lesson plans are available from inside the Visible Biology product. They are also available here.
Instructors with a Site License subscription can request editable versions of these Lab Activities from their VB sales team representative. Note that these restricted instructor support materials, including answers to lab manual questions, are available to instructors who, subject to approval, are teaching faculty at an accredited institution and have at least 15 students subscribed or the institution has a Site License. These materials are excluded from permissions grants and are not to be shared.
Courseware with Biology
Instructors who want to deliver specific assignments using an LMS or assign auto-grading quizzes to students can subscribe to Courseware for Biology. This version augments the Site License with these features:
- Link Visible Biology Site License to a Canvas or Blackboard course
- Create assignments and deliver quizzing that reports into a gradebook
- Include basic human body system content not available in the standalone Visible Biology Site License