Peer Review

Fish Out of Time

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Dec 5, 2003 by Biology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: Fish out of Time is a mixture of popular information and the website author
Jerome Hamlin?s opinions and reactions to the discovery of the Coelacanth. The
site has the goal of reducing coelacanth fatalities. It also has written
rebuttals to recent written reviews and reactions of the author?s work and the
work of the Dinofish.com site and the Coelacanth Rescue Mission sponsored by the
website. The site contains sections on recent news on the fish; the
chronological events of the discovery of the fish in different areas;
conservation activities; biology and behavior of the fish; a ?Virtual
Webcam? of the fish using an animated gif file to simulate three fish moving; a
souvenir shop where videos, t-shirts, and key chains can be purchased; online
RealVideo clips from the video ??Fish Out of Time? A Quest for the Coelacanth?
available for purchase in the Coelashop; and links to other websites about the
coelacanth and a mixture of other sites.
Type of Material:: A collection of articles and information about the Coelacanth from a variety of
sources including newspaper accounts, videos, online book, list of scientific
articles and animations.
Recommended Uses:: This site could best be used to introduce the middle school, high school or
college student to this unusual fish. It does not have a lot of scientific
validity and does not have peer reviewed journal articles on the fish. Perhaps
it could be used to illustrate how controversy arises when scientists, laypeople
and politics intermix with conservational biology.
Technical Requirements:: RealPlayer G2 plug-in to view the online videos.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: No major learning goals were stated on the site. However, it appears that the
author designed the site to present information about the Coelacanth and to
provide a way to support the site and the activities to preserve the future of
the populations of these fish.
Target Student Population:: The site appears to be directed towards the general public interested in
learning more about coelacanths and conservation minded clientels. Scientists,
teachers and students from middle school to college could use this site to
gather information about the fish.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: None stated. Some knowledge of biology would make the site more
meaningful but this is not a prerequisite to gain something from the site.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: ? Good source of photos of the fish and some historical background of the recent
discovery of the fish
? The coverage on the techniques and approaches to preserving the populations
are interesting.
Concerns:: ? The content of the site appears to be mainly the author?s personal opinions
and reactions, not necessarily scientific. Ut wiykd be necessary to educate
students about judging the validity of the material from a scientific viewpoint.
? There are just a list of scientific articles or scientific research presented
on the site but no links to these articles.
? The information on the biology and behavior of the fish is not referenced.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: ? Interesting accounts about the discovery and biology of the fish are posted on
the site
? Contains introductory information about these curious animals that could lead
into the study of biological principles such as evolution or fields such as
oceanography.

? The site shows the importance of preserving a rare population and the
reactions of different groups of people to the discovery of the fish.
Concerns:: ? There is very little documented or referenced information on the fish in this
site. It appears to be the author?s own knowledge of the fish. To be an
effective learning tool the teacher would probably need to provide
some structure and guidance to the student. This would be especially true for
middle school students.

? The site needs to be kept up-to-date. The most recent material added appeared
to be in December of 2002.
? The author?s opinions and biases tend to get in the way of the information

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: ? The site is easy to navigate and well organized. The side bar provides a
quick way to move from one section of the site to all other sections.
? The visuals and video clips have been optimized for the web so that the speed
of the site is very good.
Concerns:: ? The site does not contain the ability to search for specific information.

Other Issues and Comments:: I am not sure of the overall value of this site for scientific and educational
purposes and would most likely use the site as an example of how not to present
scientific information.
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