EMBER A European Multimedia Bioinformatics Educational Resource EMBER

EMBER A European Multimedia Bioinformatics Educational Resource

EMBER Consortium v University of Manchester - developer v SIB – developer v SANBI – developer v CMBI – developer/evaluator v IMB – developer/evaluator v ETI –developer* v IGC – evaluator v EBI – evaluator v BEN – evaluator v RIGEB – evaluator

Manchester Coordination v Existing on-line bioinformatics practical called Bio. Activity v in use world-wide v including in-house courses

Manchester Coordination v Existing text-book v in use world-wide v including in-house courses v Ch. 9 is Bio. Activity

The Project v EMBER will v collate, evaluate & amalgamate existing EMBnet materials v revise & update these where necessary v Use the updated and new material to v develop a new text-book v extend the Web practical (Bio. Activity) v develop a parallel (Web-independent) course on CD-ROM v EMBER will be suitable for delivery v as part of conventional face-to-face courses v or in stand-alone, self-paced settings (e. g. , the workplace)

The Beginning v EMBER commenced on 1 May 2001 v will run for 2 years v support 2 RA at Manchester, 1 RA (1 yr) at SIB v All we have to do now is v create a professional version of Bio. Activity v create a Web-independent version on CD-ROM v write another text book…

WP 9: Management WP 1: Review of skill shortages WP 2: Formulation of new syllabus WP 3: Material unification & assessment tools WP 4: Review of IPR WP 5: Manuscript & course revisions WP 6: Website production WP 8: Trials, evaluation & feedback WP 7: CDROM production

Feb. 02 Oct. 02 Jan. 02 Nov. 02 Sept. 01 May. 01

The Story So Far v With much difficulty, hired the following staff v Jane Mabey (temporarily – since 1 May) v Giles Velarde (since 1 September) v Ioannis Selimas (since 28 August) v WP 1 - Review on skills shortage v D 1 - publication in CAL-laborate on behalf of the consortium v http: //science. uniserve. edu. au/pubs/callab/vol 6/mabey. html v WP 2 - Formulation of new syllabus v D 2 - proposed syllabus & bookplan v established a Web-site (http: //www. bioinf. man. ac. uk/ember) from which documents & project progress can be viewed

The Story So Far v WP 3 - Material unification & evaluation tools v D 3 - new sections of Bio. Activity being developed (to cover gene prediction, phylogenetics, structure prediction (modelling/ threading), etc. ) v D 4 - Evaluation tools v Considering 2 types of tools for: (1) evaluation of product & (2) student self-assessment. These will consider use of the products (e. g. , look & feel, navigation, etc. ) & knowledge gained by student (before & after assessment). Questionnaires are being designed.

Part of the CD-ROM ASSESSMENT & EVALUATION TOOLS General evaluation of the practical • (both students & lecturers) • layout, presentation of information, structure etc. • (supervising of the actual sessions) • (meet with the students to discuss) Before/after evaluation of the practical • questions on various subjects covered by the practical • compare the two outputs • feedback from lecturers Assessment of the student • end-of-section questions and problem solving • multiple choice Evaluation of the means to reach the target Was the product delivered successfully? ts Fin al a m st dju stm en ts l na Fi FINAL PRODUCT ju ad en

EMBER The Story So Far v European Multimedia Bioinformatics Educational Resource WP 5 - Manuscript & course revisions v D 6 - Work in progress at UMan on a glossary v other Nodes will need to deliver chapters by Christmas v Other work: v Pro. Acte factsheet & logo v logs being established for the EMBER Web site for evaluation & reporting purposes European Multimedia EMBER Bioinformatics Educational Resource

What Happens Next v Next month, ETI must begin WPs 6 & 7 v i. e. , to generate the Web- & CD-ROM-based materials to a professional standard v While this is ongoing, evaluators must consider WP 8 v i. e. , to establish courses to test the new products v Timing is critical v any volunteers gratefully embraced!

Other News v v UMBER just became Marie Curie training site in bioinformatics Fellowships available for 3 -12 months v Fellows can participate in taught modules on the MSc v Or they can undertake short research projects v Anyone interested in having a student placed at Manchester, let me or Erich Bornberg-Bauer know ebb@bioinf. man. ac. uk, attwood@bioinf. man. ac. uk