Genomics Digital Lab (GDL) is a

browser-based A web application (or web app) is application software that is accessed using a web browser. Web applications are delivered on the World Wide Web to users with an active network connection. History In earlier computing models like client-serve ...

series of

educational games Educational games are games explicitly designed with educational purposes, or which have incidental or secondary educational value. All types of games may be used in an educational environment, however educational games are games that are design ...

, simulations, and animations created by

Spongelab Interactive Spongelab is a science education website for teachers and students created by Spongelab Interactive. The website provides a free online collection of multimedia including educational games, videos, images, and lesson plans, with a focus on game- ...

. It is designed to teach high school students about

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

including photosynthesis, respiration, transcription, and translation. Genomics Digital Lab was released in 2009 and is available for purchase at home or school, or as a free 7-day trial.

Game play

The user takes on the mission to save a dying plant. This is first done in the introductory level, where the user must identify the correct light, gas, and liquid conditions to make a plant thrive and survive. In the intermediate level, the user enters each of the organelles (

chloroplast A chloroplast () is a type of membrane-bound organelle known as a plastid that conducts photosynthesis mostly in plant and algal cells. The photosynthetic pigment chlorophyll captures the energy from sunlight, converts it, and stores it in ...

mitochondrion A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used ...

, and

nucleus Nucleus ( : nuclei) is a Latin word for the seed inside a fruit. It most often refers to: *Atomic nucleus, the very dense central region of an atom *Cell nucleus, a central organelle of a eukaryotic cell, containing most of the cell's DNA Nucle ...

) where they must pass a variety of challenges. Each lesson has 3-4 levels, each starting with a tutorial, then getting progressively harder. In Lesson 2, the user is taken to the chloroplast where their goal is to make sugar using CO₂ and sunlight by playing the Light Reaction and

Calvin Cycle The Calvin cycle, light-independent reactions, bio synthetic phase, dark reactions, or photosynthetic carbon reduction (PCR) cycle of photosynthesis is a series of chemical reactions that convert carbon dioxide and hydrogen-carrier compounds into ...

games. In Lesson 3, the user is in the mitochondrion, where they have to convert the sugar into energy by playing the

Glycolysis Glycolysis is the metabolic pathway that converts glucose () into pyruvate (). The free energy released in this process is used to form the high-energy molecules adenosine triphosphate (ATP) and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH ...

Citric Acid Cycle The citric acid cycle (CAC)—also known as the Krebs cycle or the TCA cycle (tricarboxylic acid cycle)—is a series of chemical reactions to release stored energy through the oxidation of acetyl-CoA derived from carbohydrates, fats, and proteins ...

, and

Electron Transport Chain An electron transport chain (ETC) is a series of protein complexes and other molecules that transfer electrons from electron donors to electron acceptors via redox reactions (both reduction and oxidation occurring simultaneously) and couples th ...

games. Finally, in Lesson 4, the user is in the nucleus, where they use the energy to build proteins by playing the

Transcription Transcription refers to the process of converting sounds (voice, music etc.) into letters or musical notes, or producing a copy of something in another medium, including: Genetics * Transcription (biology), the copying of DNA into RNA, the fir ...

and

Translation Translation is the communication of the Meaning (linguistic), meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The ...

games. Once a user completes all 8 games, they become a Master of the Cell. The Advanced Level consists of 5 text-based cases on real-world science topics.

Scoring

In each game, points are awarded in the biological currency relevant to that game. Both the current score and the overall high score (in a number of sugars, ATP, or proteins) are recorded.

Additional educational features

*Plant Anatomy Explorer - includes whole plant anatomy, leaf structure, leaf tissue structure, plant cells, and major cell organelles *Particle Map - a glossary of all the molecules, indexed by their organelle location with a brief description *Notepad - online notebook where students can record their observations *Available in English and French *Compatible with digital whiteboards

Supportive features for teachers

Genomics Digital Lab was designed to be easily used in the classroom and provides teachers with lesson plans, curriculum alignments, quizzes, worksheets. Teachers can also monitor their students’ progress online, in real-time.

Reception

Genomics Digital Lab won first place in the Interactive Media category in both the 2008 and 2009 National Science Foundation's International Science and Engineering Visualization Challeng

It was also published in the September 26, 2008 issue of Scienc

and the February 19, 2010 issue of Scienc

In 2009, Genomics Digital Lab was awarded a World Summit Award for best e-content in the e-Science and Technology categor

as well as a

Parents' Choice Award The Parents' Choice Award was an award presented by the non-profit Parents' Choice Foundation to recognize "the very best products for children of different ages and backgrounds, and of varied skill and interest levels." It was considered a "prest ...

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and an Adobe Max Honorable Mention in the Education categor

In the news

* * * * * * * *{{Cite web , last = Wurster , first = Paul , title = Have Some Fun in NECC Playgrounds , work = L&L Daily Leader , accessdate = 2009-07-28 , date = 2008-07-02 , url = http://center.uoregon.edu/ISTE/NECC2008/glance/NDL08_ISSUE3__web.pdf

References

(1) National Science Foundation - International Science & Engineering Visualization Challeng
"Special Report"
September 25, 2008 (2) National Science Foundation - International Science & Engineering Visualization Challeng
"Special Report"
February 19, 2010 (3) Zelkowitz, R
"2008 Visualization Challenge winners"
''Science'', 321(5897):1768. (4) Torrice, M
"2009 Visualization Challenge winners"
''Science'', 327(5968):946. (5
"World Summit Award"
April 27, 2009. (6) Oldenburg, D
"Parents' Choice Awards: Website"
September 10, 2009. (7) Adobe Max Awards
"Honorable Mention"
September 2, 2009

External links

Official Genomics Digital Lab Website
Science educational video games Video games developed in Canada