Integrating Digital Microscopy into Advanced Biology Laboratories
Project Title: Integrating Digital Microscopy into Advanced Biology Laboratories
Project Lead's Name: Thomas O. Crist
Project Lead's Email: cristto@MiamiOH.edu
Project Lead's Phone: 513-529-6187
Project Lead's Division: CAS
Primary Department: Biology
Other Team Members:
- Michael Vanni
- Maria Gonzalez
- Biology
Estimated Number of Under-Graduate students affected per year (should be number who will actually use solution, not just who is it available to): 42
Estimated Number of Graduate students affected per year (should be number who will actually use solution, not just who is it available to): 6
Describe the problem you are attempting to solve and your approach for solving that problem:
Several advanced biology courses involve experiential learning both in the field and in the laboratory. These courses engage students to do hands-on measurements and sampling in the field, often followed by the identification of specimens in the laboratory. Aquatic and terrestrial invertebrates, in particular, have spectacular biodiversity and abundance, which can be both exciting and overwhelming to students. In two advanced biology courses, BIO 312 Invertebrate Zoology (24 undergraduates, instructor - Crist) and BIO 463/563 Limnology (18 undergraduates, 6 graduate students, instructors - Vanni or Gonzalez), the laboratory requires students to sample invertebrates from lakes, streams, plants or soil, followed by laboratory identification using dissecting microscopes. The instructors and graduate TAs in these courses help students identify the major groups of invertebrates but students can observe them only while in the laboratory. In the past few years, however, manufacturers of student microscopes began integrating digital cameras into the microscope body so that they can be connected to computers or cellular phones. This enables instructors to project images on a monitor and students to capture digital images from their microscopes during the lab. Students can later study the specimens outside of the lab and annotate them with information on the collection technique, identification, or details of their biology learned in lecture or lab. In BIO 312, students post their digital collections to iNaturalist (https://www.inaturalist.org/), which can be viewed by subsequent classes or the larger scientific community.
How would you describe the innovation and/or the significance of your project:
Digital microscopy has transformed research instrumentation in biology, but we are only beginning to integrate these techniques into the classroom. This proposal to purchase high-quality dissecting microscopes with digital imaging systems will enable us to take full advantage of our new teaching laboratories following the renovation of Pearson Hall. Each teaching lab is equipped with three video monitors that can either be controlled synchronously or independently of each other. The ability to capture and share digital images provides a way for students to learn the material more effectively, and to connect with the larger community of scientists and resource managers who regularly use data on the distributions of organisms.
How will you assess the success of the project?
Since BIO 312 and BIO 469/569 are taught each year, we can use compare performance in lab practical exams pre- and post-implementation of digital imaging to determine the outcome on student performance. The instructors will also solicit qualitative feedback on student evaluations.
The biology department currently conducts periodic maintenance on student microscopes and these expenses are partly supported by student lab fees. In our experience, most repairs to microscopes are with mechanical operations or routine replacement of light sources.
Financial Information
Total Amount Requested: $26,645
Budget Details:
- The attachment contains a sales quote for Leica microscopes
- Leica EZ4 dissecting stereomicroscope with integrated 5.0 Megapixel digital cameras and LED light sources - $2,453.46 each
- Quantity of 12 microscopes for use in a teaching lab of 24 students - $29,441.52
- Price with 9.5% discount - $26,644.58
- Price includes the initial setup of microscopes
- If the proposal is supported, sales quotes will also be obtained for comparable Olympus and Nikon dissecting microscopes as required by the competitive bid process.
Please address how, if at all, this project aligns with University, Divisional, Departmental or Center strategic goals:
Three important goals for the department, division, and university are student retention, graduation, and placement. Students increasingly rely on digital information and on their phones in particular. This proposed project enables students to review and study lab materials that will be on lab exams. Students in advanced lab-based courses learn instrumentation and identification skills that are valued by employers. Our experience in integrating digital imaging as a learning technology into our advanced biology labs will pave the way to embark on a bigger effort to use them in general biology, where first-year student retention is important to life science majors. Since the lab comprises 25% of the grade in general biology, it is essential for students to master the material they view in the laboratory, much of it through microscopes. Simultaneously, it meets our long-term departmental goals of upgrading instrumentation in our teaching lab to make full use of our state-of-the-art teaching laboratories in Pearson Hall.