Educational Resources

Overview

Many educators have incorporated data, tools, and information they found on allencell.org into how they teach biology. While we recommend browsing the rest of allencell.org to find pages that may uniquely fit your curriculum, you can get started with pages we highlight below that have content other teachers use most frequently. At a recent conference, three educators presented how they use various features of allencell.org in their classrooms and have graciously allowed us to share the presentations and related articles below.

CourseSource Virtual Lab

A virtual laboratory on cell division using a publicly-available image database
Shelden EA, Offerdahl EG, Johnson GT. CourseSource: Evidence-based teaching resources for undergraduate biology education, May 2019.

Presentations & Educational Resources from ASCB | EMBO

Three educators who use various features of this website, allencell.org, in their classrooms presented their curricula and data applications to an audience at the American Society for Cell Biology's 2018 ASCB | EMBO Annual Meeting. We recorded the entire one hour seminar and have separated and described the presentations here for your convenience. Although the data, tools, and approaches used in each presentation are applicable to most levels of teaching, we present them below in the order they have been applied, from high school through advanced studies in college.

Overview of allencell.org resources

Cell Data in the Classroom: Using the Allen Cell Explorer in High School & College Education
by Graham Johnson & Kaitlyn Cosimo

The Allen Cell Explorer (allencell.org) is the Allen Institute for Cell Science data portal. It provides an unprecedented view into the organizational diversity of human stem cells, giving public access to large-scale 3D imaging data, predictive models, detailed methods, cell lines, and analysis tools. In this video, we describe resources useful for teaching and introduce three educators who use various features of allencell.org in their classrooms.

3D cells for AP Biology in high school

Using the Allen Cell 3D Viewer to prepare AP Biology students for cell culture
by Tom Martinez

At the high school (AP Biology) level, we guide students through human cell image data on allencell.org that show variation in cell shape, structure, and dynamics. These lessons enhance the proteins and cellular pathways unit of the AP Biology curriculum with research-grade data and a view into the process of real-life science.

Case study planning for college classes

Using the Allen Cell Explorer to introduce high-throughput approaches & image analysis through interrupted case studies
by Carlos C Goller

At the introductory college level, we expose students to high-throughput approaches (HTA) and high-content microscopy datasets to engage them in the analysis of novel data. Students demonstrate applications of HTA via the analysis of image datasets from allencell.org during their transition from classroom-based learning to research positions.

A virtual lab for college instruction

A quantitative virtual laboratory on cell division using the Allen Institute's 3D Cell Viewer
by Eric Shelden

Advanced college/early graduate school students conduct virtual experiments using image-based cell data. In one virtual experiment, students analyze fluorescence microscopy images to categorize cells into cell cycle phases. They must then calculate the relative durations of the cell cycle phases while recommending experimental design parameters to maximize the accuracy of this approach (see article below).

Pages on allencell.org frequently used for teaching

About our Cells

A written hiPS cell biology overview & cell structure observations

Visual Guide to Human Cells

An interactive overview of hiPS cell 3D structure & function

3D Cell Viewer

Web browser gallery & viewer with 7,059 3D cell colony & 24,928 individual cell images

Cell Feature Explorer

Plot & view any of 39,200 3D cell images sorted by measured features e.g. organelle volume