Using Digital Imaging to Enhance Learning in Undergraduate Plant Biology Courses

Abstract

With grant funds for upgrading technology in undergraduate science laboratories, digital cameras and microscopes were acquired for use in undergraduate biology laboratories. The digital imaging equipment has been used to enhance student learning in both Bio 244 Plant Biology and Bio 480 Biology Independent Study. In the student research oriented independent study course, digital photo-microscopy with a Nikon Digital Still camera (DXM 1200) mounted on a Nikon Stereo-scopic Zoom microscope (SMZ800) was used to illustrate a research project involving the effect of mycorrhizae fungi on root development of the shining club moss Huperzia lucidula. Digital photomicrographs of fungi isolated from the roots of H. lucidula collected in the wild were included in the student researcher's final PowerPoint report on the experiment. In Bio 244 Plant Biology the digital imaging equipment was used in a tree identification project. Students took Nikon Coolpix 995 cameras to a local arboretum (Tyler Arboretum, Media, Pa.) where, after minimal instruction in camera operation, they took photographs of 10 trees for inclusion in a tree identification PowerPoint presentation. Each pair of students selected different trees from their peers, taking shots of overall habit, leaves, bark, and flowers/fruit if present. Photos were downloaded onto lab computers at the conclusion of the field trip. The students were then responsible for incorporating descriptive text and digital images into PowerPoint presentations shown to the class later in the semester. Students and professor participated in the grading process, using a rubric which students helped design. In the end of course evaluations, digital imaging projects were highly rated by students.