Project Module: Infographic on Microbe and Peer Review

You did it, you made it to the end of the semester! At this point, you should be very familiar with the lifestyle of your microbe. But the microbe you researched is not the only microbe out there. For this class, there are 9 other microbes that have been researched by your fellow students Here, you will have the opportunity to learn about those other 9 microbes and teach your colleagues about your microbe.

1) An infographic or brochure-style PowerPoint slide (8.5 x 11-inch size; vertical/portrait orientation) that describes your microbe in sufficient detail that other students can learn enough to answer questions.

2) Completed worksheet that addresses questions about the other microbes in the class.

3) Peer evaluation of the other infographic or brochure-style slides in your group, evaluated on their ability to teach you the relevant information.

4) Extra credit opportunity – A 2-6 minute video where you explain the content in your poster. This will be seen by other students in your group.

1) Create a PowerPoint slide that fully describes your microbe to other students. One of the main objectives for this entire project is for you to learn enough about your microbe to be able to describe it to your peers. Here you will create a single PowerPoint slide (infographic or brochure-style) that will show your peers information about your microbe.

-You will be assigned to a group with other students, all having different microbes

-A link to your shared slide deck will be sent to your @csus.edu email.

-The slide deck will only be available to the instructor and the other students in your group.

-Each student should use only a single slide. 

-The dimensions of the slide are 8.5 x 11 inch and oriented as portrait.

-Do not change the general settings for the slide deck

Hint, it will probably be easier to create the slide (or parts of it) in a private, separate PowerPoint presentation. When you are done, you can then import it to the shared deck.

-You will want to balance out visualizations with text. Do not simply have a giant paragraph of text. Instead, try to have images with short legends.

-While you can use clipart or similar images from the internet, do not overdo it with images that are not your original art.

-Your peers should be able to generally understand all relevant details after looking over your document in 3-5 minutes.

What to turn in

-There are many infographic templates available online. Feel free to experiment a little.

-A brochure-style document basically requires you to break up the subjects of your poster into sections. Each section will have a figure/illustration and a figure legend.

1) Find the information to include in your document

-The following information must be included in your document (not necessarily in this order)

a. Full Latin name of your microbe and common name, if applicable

b. The model and figure legend from Project module 3 or a similar illustration with similar info (note, you can make changes on the one you submitted earlier based on instructor feedback)

c. Location of human body your microbe can be found

d. Description of disease caused by your microbe (if applicable)

e. Description of how your microbe may be used as a probiotic (if applicable)

f. The virulence factors or metabolites used to interact with humans

Hint: Look at the questions on the worksheet and ensure that other students can clearly find that information on your document.

-Optional extra credit: create a video presentation of your document (5 points)

-Must be a minimum of 2 minutes, max of 6 minutes.

-Include the video or link to the video on the shared presentation so your other group members can see

-Must help other students to understand the content of your document. Do not just read off the information, but explain it.

-Must be submitted by 11/21

-A free program I use is called Loom (loom.com). You have to create a free account, but this will allow you to record your screen and voice. You can also choose to include a video of yourself giving the presentation. Note, I believe there is a 5 minute limit to how long the recording can be using Loom.

2) Look over the slides of the other students in your group and answer the questions on the worksheet.

-Each student in your group has a unique microbe.

-Use the information presented in their visual slide and/or video presentation to answer the questions on the worksheet

-You should not need to look up information to answer your questions outside of your group member’s slides

3) Answer the questions in the peer review worksheet.

A fundamental part of this module is the ability of you to teach your peers about your microbe. Thus, your peers will evaluate their ability to learn about your microbe based on your infographic/poster and/or video. Your final grade in this module will be in part based on this evaluation.

-The peer evaluation will be due before the Final Exam.