Blogs as Teaching aids

With my first post I concentrated on the use of an animation as an embedded application in my blog. the animation was an analogy which compared the different parts of a house and residents within a house to the different structures of a cell and their functions. The animation turned out to be a very useful way to explain cell structures and functions to pupils that had never encountered this section of work before in simpler terms.

I have found that blogs can act as an useful teaching tool that is available to learners outside of teaching hours, a tool that that will have access to in their own time. By posting simplified explanations of sections of work and the use of embedded applications as well as YouTube videos, a blog can act as a powerful medium of education. Students also have access to other blogs relating to other subjects which were not necessarily posted by their teachers yet can also be used to aid the learning process.

Unfortunately not all the information on every blog is accurate in every case and even when used as a medium for education the opinion of the author can hamper or distort the student's learning. The use of blogs by students to learn should be mediated to a degree by their teachers in order to ensure efficient use. I suggest that pupils should only fully rely on blogs suggested to them by their educators after their educators have reviewed them. 

Part 1
Learning Outcomes:

• Learners must be able to label the structures within a common animal cell
•  Learners must be able to associate which structures perform which specific functions

A Practical example of cell structures using a house as an analogy is a useful LTSM, the analogy is given by the embedded animation on the right and is continued by being clarified by what is below.  
Structures within the cell and their specific functions:

(With reference to the diagram )

1 - Vacuole: Transport and osmoregulation

2 - Mitochondrion: Synthesis of ATP (Adenotriphosphate) during respiration

3 - Ribosome: Key factor in Translation (a stage in Protein Synthesis)

4 - Rough Endoplasmic Recticulim (Rough E.R.): Transports protiens

5 - Chromatin network: Consists of bundled strands of DNA which contain the genetic make-up of an organism

6 - Golgi Body: Packages proteins, lipids and other macro-molecules of transport inside and outside of the cell.

7 -The Nuclear Envelope: Encases the nucleus, protecting the chromatin network.

8 - The Nucleus: Houses the chromatin network, controlling the metabolic functions of the cell. 

9 - Smooth Endoplasmic Recticulum (Smooth E.R): Synthesizes  and transports lipids