Bioscience Resources on the Internet (BRI): A Model Solution for Remaining Current on Internet Resources and Technology

Chin Hoon Lau#, Zev Leifer*, Sophia Kossida§, and I. Richard Schaffner, Jr.¶

#Lagenda Knowledge Systems Sdn Bhd. 1A, 15th Floor, KOMTAR, 80000 Johor Baru, Malaysia. E-mail chlau@emile-21.com Fax: +60 7 2239540 (Corresponding author)

*The New York College of Podiatric Medicine, New York, New York, USA

§Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX13PS, U.K.

¶ GZA GeoEnvironmental, Inc. ,USA

All the authors are administrative members of Internet Biologists

Abstract

Internet literacy is an important skill for professionals in most scientific disciplines, and it has become a prerequisite and necessity for bioinformatics or biocomputing. "Bioscience Resources on the Internet" was organized to provide a guide to recent developments in biology on the Internet and as an avenue for exchange between professionals in that area. In this 4-week intensive course, international participants are introduced to selected biological World Wide Web (WWW) sites for biology resources, basic Internet techniques, an on-line conferencing system, and techniques of scientific networking. Mailing lists and the WWW, basic capabilities of the Internet, which have both low entry barrier and negligible entry cost, were the main medium for delivering course guides and non-synchronous discussions. Weekly guest lectures were delivered synchronously through BioMOO, a Multiple user dungeon Object Oriented (MOO) text-based learning environment. To date, two editions of the BRI has been offered at no cost and both had been organized on a voluntary basis by a group of international collaborators and contributors who have never met. Besides intellectual input, physical support was provided by various organizations world wide. This course is a showcase of truly virtual teaming made possible by the community spirit on the Internet, and the utility of Internet in advancing both science and education. This paper gives an overview of the course structure and organization.

1. Introduction

Biological sciences are advancing at a rapid rate and biologists today are benefited with more available information than at any time in the past. Conversely, especially for scientists working in smaller research groups or in isolation, there is increased likelihood of missing information critical to one’s research. As the Internet rapidly replaces traditional communicative media, Internet access becomes increasingly more important to the scientific community. However, keeping up with the hybrid of rapidly evolving Internet technology and biological resources (we refer to this hybrid as "biological Internet") has become a daunting challenge to researchers and educators, aggravated by the mounting cyberspace noise and litter. "Bioscience Resources on the Internet" (BRI) has been organized to assist biological scientists in dealing with this information overload and technology challenge. It also aims to develop models of Net-based collaborative learning equally applicable to other disciplines.

2. Background

To date, two editions of the course has been carried out. The pilot edition (15 December, 1996 - 20 January, 1997) was organised by the Singapore Society of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology for its members. For the purpose of developing capability and structure for international delivery of future courses, two students based in the United States of America (USA) and members of the VSNS-BCD (Virtual School of Natural Sciences- BioComputing Division) Translation Group from Italy, Mexico, USA and the United Kingdom were accepted as consulting participants, providing technical assistance to the course. The total number of course participants was 16.

BRI was initiated by Mr. Chin Hoon Lau who has previously been a participant in the VSNS-BCD BioComputing Course (Summer 1996). BRI was, in a sense, a pioneering showcase of the transfer of know-how and approach (from VSNS-BCD in this instance) which was carried out entirely via the Internet.

After the pilot edition, the administrative capacity continued to build, leading to the formation of Internet Biologists, a platform for the development of online biological programs. The course was revised and enhanced with online interaction capabilities. The 1^st International Edition of BRI was organized as part of Internet Biologists and Mr. Christian Frosch joined in as the other coordinator. The course was delivered from 9 June, 1997 - 6 July, 1997. A total of 15 participants were accepted from USA [Yale University (2), Harvard University (1), University of Missouri (1), National Institute if Health (1), Industry (3)], Portugal (1), Ireland (1), France (1), Sweden (1), and Germany (3).

3. Orientation and Professional Input

BRI is more an example of a collaborative learning forum (e.g., similar to a graduate-level seminar) than to conventional one-way instructional courses. Biological Internet covers a wide range of subjects that could not possibly be manageable by only a few individuals. To make BRI high quality and keep it current, we rely on three professional sources of input: BRI staff, participants, and guest lecturers.

The BRI staff includes senior scientists in various research/academic organizations, and biologists experienced in research, user-applications of Internet technology and on-line conferencing, teaching, and collaboration. They provided the course direction and well researched, up-to-date documents that gave much useful information to the students (and to each other, as all gained from the exchange).

It is generally acknowledged that the academic life of a professor is extended by students. The same is true for BRI. As this course is not funded and was offered at no cost, we rely on the reciprocation and contribution of participants to help build up BRI. As such, we have designed a stringent application process to select for the small number of participants. These include registration at BioMOO, and submission of research interest and statement of purpose.

The third element was the presentation of special material by Guest Lecturers. These were people who were more advanced professionals, noted for accomplishments in their respective fields.

4. Course Organization

4.1 Scope

BRI covers 4 areas which the organisers thought are crucial to prepare the participants, normally postgraduate and post-doctoral researchers, to make use of the Internet effectively in their scientific careers:

• Bio-resources and services;
• Internet techniques;
• Online Conferencing System; and
• Scientific networking.

4.2 Instructional Components

The course lasted for 4 weeks and 10-hours per week of workload is expected from participants.

4.2.1 Electronic mail and World Wide Web

In addition to facilitating communication among research teams, e-mail was the platform for discussion groups via electronic mailing lists. We prefer course materials and pointers to be delivered through email rather than WWW. The main reason is that participants will be directly and constantly reminded of their involvement with the course. WWW requires an additional level of access and a Web-based information dissemination tends to get neglected amidst "real-life" commitments.

The emphasis of the course was on interactive discussions rather than formal lectures. As such, class mailing lists become a critical medium. Two class mailing lists were set up to cover the needs of the course: one for the course guides and administrative matters, and another for technical discussion. Subscription to the mailing lists was a prerequisite for proceeding with the course.

Every week participants were pointed to a few Websites to explore selected bioscience resources and services, which included gateway pages, research project databases, and data retrieval services. They were also guided on Internet related techniques, like the installation of a MOO client, management of bookmarks, effective use of browsers and search engines.

BRI relied a lot on the participants' motivation to cover the material, initiate discussion and complete the course. As in other virtual community settings, the roles of instructors and participants were often interchanged, depending upon skills and competencies, creating a friendly atmosphere suitable for constructive learning and the fertile exchange of ideas..

By being exposed to these selected Internet resources and familiarising themselves with the services and /or tools provided, participants were given the opportunity to use the Internet in a collaborative project reflecting their own scientific interests.

4.2.2 Online conferencing at BioMOO

On-line administrative and class meetings took place at the Electronic Conferencing system BioMOO, a virtual meeting place for biologists. BioMOO is a place to meet colleagues in biology and related fields and to hold colloquia and conferences. All BRI instructors and participants were registered in BioMOO and they had the chance to explore this tool for scientific communication. Besides the administrative and class meetings, on-line guest lectures were given in BioMOO.

Despite the limitation of text-based interaction, BioMOO offers several advantages over conventional meeting. There is a special MOO psychology. One wouldn't walk over to a renowned speaker at a meeting but here one can. One wouldn't interrupt the people around the speaker but in a MOO one can whisper or talk privately, even while general discussion is taking place. In addition, taking notes is always difficult, but with the right MOO client, one can log the entire session.

5. Collaboration and Scientific Networking

BRI has many useful features that help in research collaboration. Useful features include, but are not necessarily limited to, the following:

Content. An assemblage of material, cutting edge, in one convenient format. Geared for the newcomer to the Internet, albeit fully a professional in his respective area of expertise but one who still has much to gain in this new area of Internet tools.

E-mail Interaction. Much of the discussions occurred via e-mail i.e., not just passive reading of a text on the screen but with comments back and forth during the course.

BioMOO Collaboration. BioMOO provided a chance to communicate with participants virtually in real time. A request for email of materials discussed but not readily available in that country often followed.

Significantly, the MOO format selects for participants who are open to meeting new people. It is easier to make networking since it is possible to obtain specific information on each speaker and other participants.

6. Future Outlook

It will likely be many years before Biological Internet is incorporated into formal graduate curriculum in most universities, yet the need for information such as is provided by the BRI course will continue to grow. BRI also provides an entry point for international collaboration on the Internet that traditional programs could not offer.

At present, the organisers of Internet Biologists are preparing an advanced version of BRI, "Doing Biological Research on the Internet" which is scheduled for January, 1998, as well as a series of public online lectures and workshops.

Currently, the course relies on voluntary resources to operate an expanding platform (the Internet Biologist) and to maintain the quality of the course. As we have a reservoir of capable providers, the next logical step would be to secure funds so that the organisers can be freed from routine administrative work like Web site maintenance, scheduling, and can concentrate on developing the program. The organisers are also looking into the possibility of co-organizing future programs with other established institutions and providing services as a way to achieve self reliance.

7. Conclusion

In short, BRI has many advantages. It provides important information to an international audience, many of whom could not otherwise network with their peers due to constraints imposed by limited time and/or financial resources. BRI enables participants to network in an environment that is conducive to learning and to developing lifelong professional contacts.

The emphasis of BRI on team learning and the design of the course will continue to be a model for collaborative learning of fast-evolving, complex subjects.

Paul Gould, CTI Biology Network Support Officer (P.W.Gould@liverpool.ac.uk)