The Botany database provides users with a wide range of plant (inlcuding land plants, fungi, and photosynthetic eukaryotes and bacteria) knowledge consisting of thousands of photographs of plants and some QuickTime Virtual Reality images of selected plants and plant groups for users to turn, move, etc. Selected images are also available from the Kate Furbish Collection of watercolor paintings. Users may look through plant groups to learn more information about each category.
Type of Material:
Reference material
Recommended Uses:
Reference material for students taking plant biology or related courses. This would also work well in a classroom.
Technical Requirements:
This site requires a basic web browser. Quck Time.
Identify Major Learning Goals:
To present a comprehenbsive database of taxa covered in plant biology courses (including land plants, various other photosynthetic eukaryotes (algae), photosynthetic bacteria, and fungi).
To make available several collections of water colors and photographs owned by several universities.
To allow users to learn about different plant groups and their different taxonomic designations.
Target Student Population:
High School, College General Ed
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:
Understanding of taxonomy and basic botany and biology would be important.
Content Quality
Rating:
Strengths:
The database includes all the taxa typically covered in an introductory botany or plant biology class
The images are of a good quality
The graphics provides enough detail for this level of understanding
Concerns:
While the database is presented to be about botany it also includes a good amount of information about fungi which may confuse some users
The taxonomy is extremely out of date, and includes many taxa no longer commonly recognized
Systematics (especially based on phylogeny) is not used to organize the database
There are many inaccurate claims made about specific taxa including errors in anatomy, morphology, phylogeny, evolution, distribution, paleontology, and taxonomy
There are some terminology and spelling errors (e.g., Cambrium for Cambrian)
Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool
Rating:
Strengths:
This is a good site for getting an idea of what might be seen in nature
The large collection makes it fun to explore many aspects of the subject matter
Information within and between topics flows very well
The database is extensive and includes some engaging historical material
Concerns:
Material is basically text and images--users may prefer animations or a more interactive experience
The images do not expand, suggesting that only the thumbnails are present or that the links are all broken
The search function does not work as of this review
The website feels very old and may not have been updated recently
Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty
Rating:
Strengths:
The majority of the site functions without defect
All links worked in the taxon menu
All Quicktime movies opened as intended
Information is easy to understand
The information is organized and follows a logical order
Navigation to taxa is easy
Concerns:
The search function seemed to be disabled at the time of this review
Some Quick Time movies must be downloaded before viewing
The larger database of images was not accessible
Creative Commons:
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