Biology—the Science of Life

Gr 9 Up—In this age of frequent achievement testing, a number of companies have developed programs intended to assist students who have had difficulty achieving desired performance levels. This film attempts to utilize atypical pedagogy which might be more successful with those students. However, the attempt to appear "cool" results in a very disjointed presentation—just the opposite of what might be appropriate in this setting. The narrator essentially reads from a PowerPoint presentation on a background monitor while a single, hand-held video camera attempts to link text with image, generally unsuccessfully. Every other sentence is curiously punctuated with a loud "Hello!" and at least one "OK?" Then, the on-screen instructor abruptly stops every ten minutes or so and begins to sing some of the vocabulary terms he has just introduced. The content is divided into two broad areas—the nervous system and the skeletal system. The anatomical and functional roles of each system are covered, but in a disorganized manner that might frustrate students. There is an 11-segment chapter selection option. The online teacher's guide is skimpy, even though it is often referred to during the program.—Dwain Thomas, formerly Lake Park High School, Roselle, IL