While billed as a “basic” overview of the topic, the text is quite advanced and covers the content of BIOL 190 thoroughly. The updated text means that newer topics such as CRISPR are included. However, the advanced nature of the text means that there are topics that may go beyond the scope of BIOL 190 …
Author: Selena Silva-Ortega
A collection of 21 labs relevant to a botany course. Google docs are provided, so editing of material can be done easily. Illustrations by Nikki Harris are excellent, and help to maintain a cohesiveness to the visual presentation. All visuals are in black and white, and many are intended to be colored in by the …
Botany Lab Manual (Morrow, 2020) – ASCCC OERI (CC BY-NC) Read More »
A well put together overview of botany. The text is not ordered in the more “traditional” phylogenetic manner. However, this enables the text to show cross-cutting concepts more clearly as a result. The text includes organisms outside of plant phyla such as fungi and algae.
This text takes a more phylogenetic approach to the field of botany. After a chapter covering an introduction to the field, 7 chapters discussing plant (and other organismal groups) is provided. After, plant structure and function are covered, with ecology and conservation being the last section of the book.
A brief, but well-written series of laboratory exercises related to Zoology. With only 6 laboratory exercises, it does not seem long enough to sustain a semester long course, but a word document version of the text is available to allow for remixing and addition of content.
Biology II Laboratory Manual (Faculty of College of the Redwoods and Tidewater Community College, n.d.) – LumenLearning (CC License Varies) Includes 31 laboratory exercises with numerous additional, optional ones. This collection fits very nicely into a 2-semester Major’s Biology sequence. Ancillaries such as preparatory sheets, safety guidelines, and lab report rubrics are included to make this …
Principles of Biology II Lab Manual (Burran and DesRochers, 2015) – GALILEO (CC BY-SA 4.0) A comprehensive collection of laboratory exercises for students. Accessible PDFs and Word versions are available for ease of use. Each exercise is prefaced by an introduction which allows for the lab manual to stand on its own independent of a textbook. …
Perhaps one of the closest examples to a “turnkey” open education solution for the major’s biology sequence. This text is in a similar vein to mainstream publisher offerings such as Campbell Biology and Mader’s Biology. The organization is consistent with those texts, and can easily replace them. Likewise, instructor materials such as lecture slides, end-of-chapter answer keys, etc., …
OpenStax Biology 2e (Clark et al., 2018) (CC BY 4.0)Read More »
Diverging from traditional biology texts, Biofundamentals fills in many of the “gaps” that these texts leave. Perennially misunderstood concepts such as the Scientific Method and nature of science, and Hardy-Weinberg Equilibrium are addressed with careful consideration for comprehension. The text is also organized in an engaging manner that starts with fundamental questions of biology (e.g., How did …
Biofundamentals (Klymkowsky and Cooper, 2021) – LibreTexts (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)Read More »
Incorporates many elements from Biology published by OpenStax. It augments that with other resources such as Wikimedia and its subsidiaries (e.g., Wikipedia, Wiktionary, etc.). The organization of this text might be more palatable for students. For example, LumenLearning provides the text split by semester (e.g., Biology I and Biology II). Content in Boundless Biology is collected from various sources …
Boundless Biology (Boundless, n.d.) – LumenLearning (Licenses vary.)Read More »