Purdue News
Purdue News
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February 2001 Learn biotech basics online from PurdueWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – People looking for information on agricultural biotechnology can log onto a Purdue University Web site that takes them step-by-step through the basic science and fundamental issues surrounding biotechnology. "There is a lot of confusion about agricultural biotechnology, and we thought we could help by trying to explain the basics of the science in accessible terms," says horticulture professor Peter Goldsbrough, a member of the team that created the Web site. "We wanted to create a resource for high school teachers and students, but we also wanted it to be accessible to anyone looking for more information on the subject." Goldsbrough and Natalie Carroll, a professor in Agricultural and Biological Engineering, settled on the Internet as their teaching tool for Introduction to Agricultural Biotechnology, a university course for high school teachers. Teachers who took the course worked their way through a Web-based tutorial, took tests online, then came to campus to present lesson plans and projects produced to meet course requirements. Last summer four teachers took the class for credit and took home lesson plans to use in their classes. In October, when a group of teachers visiting campus took a quick tour of the Web part of the course, they asked if their students could log onto the Web tutorial. In response, Goldsbrough and Carroll opened up the Web site to the public. The public site, a slightly pared-down version of the original, includes 19 lessons as well as short self-tests to help reinforce main points. You can visit the Web site by following the link from the Biotechnology Education page of the Purdue School of Agriculture's News Backgrounders site. A continuing education course based on the Web site will be offered again in 2001. For more information or to sign up for the course, contact Kathryn Orvis (765) 494-8435, kathryn.orvis@four-h.purdue.edu. CONTACTS: Peter Goldsbrough, (765) 494-1334, goldsbrough@hort.purdue.edu. Natalie Carroll, (765) 494-8433, njc@four-h.purdue.edu. Compiled by Steve Tally, (765) 494-9809, tally@aes.purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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