Interactive Biochemistry-An Interactive Web Course in Biochemistry Using JAVA-Based Problem Solving and Chime- Based Molecular Modeling

这个项目的长期目标是开发一门全面的、高度互动的生物化学课程，该课程将在万维网上广泛使用。本课程专为与传统教师和教科书配合使用而设计，不会尝试在Web上重复这两种角色。相反，它是由互动学习设备组成的，这些设备可以让学生积极地超越教科书的限制-黑板、顶层透明胶片和文本和图形网页。这个项目的基本动机是创造一个学习环境，引导学生完成解决问题的练习，并提供对生物分子、模型和概念的更丰富、更三维和更生动的视觉。这门课程的教学元素包括：a)Java小应用程序，引导学生完成生物化学基础和高级主题的计算、绘图练习、问题解决和建模，包括氨基酸滴定和化学、酶动力学、酶机制、代谢途径、蛋白质结构分析等；以及b)使用免费的CHIME~插件进行蛋白质、核酸和碳水化合物结构分析的教程和建模练习。已经制作了各种小应用程序，它们展示了Java在这一项目中的潜力以及生物化学教学和学习的可能性。这些努力还产生了辅导练习，展示了CHINE作为生物化学教学和学习工具的力量。该项目可在网上查看，网址为：http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~cmg.(用户的计算机必须支持Java，并且必须安装CHINE~插件。)本提案中所述的方案编制工作包括：1.扩展现有模块，以包括许多新的例子。2.开发了一个基于CHINE~和JAVA(一种与Java松散相关的语言)的交互式菜单驱动的蛋白质建模包。这个包允许学生选择蛋白质，对它们进行建模和研究，编写脚本来保存和重新显示他们的工作，并打印他们的结果，所有这些都在Web环境中进行。3.虚拟现实--人物、生化事件和过程的动画。这一教学元素以三维动画的形式向学生展示了空间上复杂的和时间相关的现象，如肽链的运动、DNA的复制和结合平衡，学生将能够从不同的角度观看这些动画。4.虚拟现实--生化‘思维实验’的模拟，包括蛋白质纯化方案的开发、信号转导因子、囊泡运输调节器和转录因子功能的阐明。这些模型使用Java和Java来引导学生用户从假设到逻辑选择的实验，再到结果(由Java小程序生成)，然后重新评估假设和进一步的实验。生物化学知识正在以爆炸性的速度增长。这一领域的教师需要新的更好的工具来管理和向学生传达这些知识。该项目为教师和学生提供了一套这样的工具。其基于Web的特性使其既可用于课堂使用，也可供学生在课外通过任何互联网接入点进行学习。它的交互设计使学生更有效地进行理解和学习。该项目更广泛的意义在于，所提议的Java小程序的基本性质和结构几乎适用于任何知识领域。这些小程序可以很容易地适应数学、物理、经济和许多其他领域的教(学)。它们还可以适应其他级别的教育，包括小学和中学教育。

The long-range objective of this project is to develop a comprehensive, highly-interactive course in biochemistry that will be widely accessible on the World Wide Web. This course is designed for use with a conventional instructor and textbook, and it does not attempt to duplicate either of these roles on the Web. Rather, it consists of interactive learning devices that actively engage the student in going well beyond the limits of textbook- blackboards, overhead transparencies and text-and-graphics Web pages. The fundamental motivation of this project is to create a learning environment which leads the student through problem-solving exercises and which provides a richer, more three-dimensional and more animated vision of biological molecules, models and concepts. The pedagogical elements of this course include: a) JAVA applets that lead students through calculations, graphing exercises, problem-solving and modeling of fundamental and advanced topics in biochemistry, including amino acid titrations and chemistry, enzyme kinetics, enzyme mechanisms, metabolic pathways, protein structure analysis, etc., and b) tutorial and modeling exercises on protein, nucleic acid and carbohydrate structural analysis using the free CHIME~ plug-in. A variety of applets that demonstrate the potential of JAVA for this project and the pedagogical possibilities for teaching and learning biochemistry have been produced. These efforts have also produced tutorial exercises that demonstrate the power of CHIME~' as a teaching and learning tool in biochemistry. This project may be viewed on the Web with the URL: http://cti.itc.virginia.edu/~cmg. (The user's computer must be JAVA-capable and must have the CHIME~ plug-in installed.) The programming efforts described in this proposal include: 1. Expansion of current modules to include many new examples. 2. Development of an interactive, menu-driven protein modeling package based on CHIME~ and Javascript (a language loosely related to JAVA). This package permits stu dents to select proteins, model and study them, write scripts to save and redisplay their work, and print their results, all within the Web environment. 3. Virtual-reality-animation of figures, biochemical events and processes. This pedagogical element presents spatially complex and time-dependent phenomena such as the motions of peptide chains, the replication of DNA and binding equilibria to students in three-dimensional animations which the student will be able to view from a variety of perspectives. 4. Virtual reality-modeling of biochemical 'thought-experiments', including development of protein purification schemes, elucidation of the functions of signal-transduction factors, modulators of vesicle transport and transcription factors. These models employ JavaScript and JAVA to lead student users from hypothesis to logically-chosen experiments, to results (generated by JAVA applets), followed by re-evaluation of the hypothesis and further experimentation. Biochemical knowledge is expanding at an explosive pace. Teachers in this field need new and better tools to manage and communicate this knowledge to students. This project provides a package of such tools for teachers and students. Its Web-based nature make it available either for classroom use or for study by students outside of class from any Internet access point. Its interactive design engages students more effectively in comprehension and learning. The broader significance of this project lies in the fact that the underlying nature and structure of the proposed JAVA applets are applicable to nearly any field of knowledge. These applets can be readily adapted to the teaching (and learning) of mathematics, physics, economics, and many other fields. They can also be adapted to other levels of education, including elementary and secondary education.