Jim and plant edders,
I have found several ways to avoid setting up lots of microscopes. My
original, and still preferred, method was to use 35 mm slides, most of
which I had taken myself, but some were from Carolina. (They don't seem
to have as good a selection anymore and sell them only by sets.) The
second method my GTA likes is to use the gooseneck camera that will focus
through the microscope or on full sized objects across the room - a
wonderful device with a tremendous range of focus. It costs about $1200
complete and is available from most of the biological supply houses. The
image is projected on a VCR screen. The third I just used last week for a
class of 6 (not practical for a larger class). That was to load images on
the hard drive of the computer, then show them one at a time on the
screen. I made a bat file in dos ahead of time that ran image alchemy to
place the images on screen. The advantage to all three methods over
microscopes (besides saving time) is that you can point more clearly to
what you want students to see (this entire structure vs this tiny part of
the structure). In all three cases, you have to have good images. The
slides are the most flexible and least time consuming over the long haul,
but it is a small investment in time to take the pictures, and you have to
have the right equipment to get the images. However, that will be true
using power point or other software as well.
Janice
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Janice M. Glime, Professor
Department of Biological Sciences
Michigan Technological University
Houghton, MI 49931-1295
jmglime at mtu.edu
906-487-2546
FAX 906-487-3167
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