A picture is worth a thousand words. A personal view of using images in the teaching of the biological sciences

Abstract

This article is a personal essay on the use of images in the teaching of biology. Topics covered include the use of 35 mm slides in lectures and the development of ‘image centred’ teaching materials in the form of computer assisted learning (CAL) packages and an interactive resource of biological images for school children and teachers. The most effective ways of digitizing images are discussed and some of the ways in which images are then used in lecture presentation packages is described. Finally, some of the imaginative uses of the Web as a teaching resource are discussed, and a brief guide to Web-based sources of biological images is presented.