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Avida-ED as a potential online lab experience

Entry #784: 13 Mar 2020; 8:04 pm; 0 comments

Dear BioQUEST Colleagues,

One option to consider if you are moving a biology lab course to a virtual format is the use of Avida-ED.

Avida-ED is an educational application developed at Michigan State University for undergraduate biology courses to help students learn about evolutionary mechanisms and science practices. Avida-ED is modeled on bacterial evolution, inspired by the Long-term Evolution Experiments of Rich Lenski and his colleagues. Avida-ED allows students to design and perform experiments to test hypotheses about evolution using digital organisms. Avida-ED is the educational version of the model system used by researchers to do experimental evolution. It is not a simulation, but an instantiation of evolution that allows for real experiments. Avida-ED produces authentic data that can be analyzed within the application or exported for further analyses. Avida-ED has been used in classrooms across the country and the world for over a decade.

Some benefits of Avida-ED are:

-    Avida-ED is free.
-    Avida-ED requires no special registration or configuration.
-    Avida-ED is accessible on-line and runs locally in your web browser.
-    User-friendly interface requires little technical training to use.
-    Includes ready-to-use exercises to teach a variety of evolutionary concepts.
-    Can be used for open-ended labs where students design their own experiments.
-    Can be used to teach principles of experimental design and scientific method.

Please see the Avida-ED web site <https://avida-ed.msu.edu> for:

-    Link to the Avida-ED application launch page
-    Model exercises (under the Curriculum link)
-    Quick start user manual
-    Background information about digital evolution
-    Articles about Avida-ED, including effectiveness studies

The Avida-ED team is quickly working to provide instructional videos for the core lab book exercises from Active-LENS train-the-trainer workshops we offer each summer where we teach faculty how to use the software in their classes.  We can also provide instructor support materials for some exercises offline for certified instructors.  A mirror <tinyurl.com/Avida-ED-home-mirror> of the Avida-ED site is available in case the primary site goes down.

Good luck to everyone as you make the quick pivot from face-to-face to virtual instruction.

Stay healthy!

Sincerely,

Jim Smith
Michigan State University

About the author

Jim Smith

I am a Professor of Biology in the Lyman Briggs College at Michigan State University, where I teach primarily Introductory Biology, guide undergraduate research projects and lead seminar courses on genetic, evolutionary and environmental issues. I am jointly appointed in the MSU Department of Entomology and the Department of Integrative Biology, and am affiliated with MSU's interdepartmental graduate program in Ecology, Evolutionary Biology and Behavior. I am also a member of the NSF-funded BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action. My students and I conduct research on the evolutionary relationships of Rhagoletis fruit flies and the parasitoid wasps associated with their eggs, larvae, and pupae. While we are interested in all aspects of the biology of Rhagoletis species, we are particularly interested in deciphering the evolutionary relationships of the naturally occurring Rhagoletis species and populations that are distributed across the temperate zones of the Old and New World. We are also involved in a number of biology education initiatives and research projects, which are aimed towards helping students understand the relationships of genotypes, phenotypes, Mendelian genetics and biological evolution. One major project involves the design, implementation and assessment of a set of cases for evolution education that integrate principles from across biology's sub-disciplines. Another involves having students experiment with digital organisms, using the computer program Avida-ED, to explore how evolutionary processes play out. And, of course, we are always trying to figure out ways to teach our courses so that our students maximize their learning and enjoyment of biology!!

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