Assignment: Virtual Dissections Lab

Assignment: Virtual Dissections Lab

If you’re like me, the thought of dissecting a dead animal in your home makes your palms sweat and mind race with a dozen excuses NOT to! Oh sure, a flayed frog was all well and good in the clinical setting of a classroom or lab back in 10th grade… but on my kitchen table? Plus, I’m pretty sure I’m allergic to the smell of formaldehyde, so, thanks, but no thanks! The only thing stopping me from skipping the entire process was the worry that my kids would miss out on an important biology lesson that has become a rite of scientific passage! Do any of my neuroses sound familiar? Well, my homeschooling mommy friends, allow me to introduce you to virtual dissections! All the educational richness, with none of the mess or smell! As it turns out, there are a ton of great online virtual options!
The Science Bank
The Science Bank is an amazing online learning dissection and virtual lab that offers a variety of knowledge and tools for all ages. From Pre-K on up, your student can watch videos or learn from models about the dissection process with ease. There are even options for detailed online options to give your child a realistic learning perspective of the dissection process.

The Science Bank offers over 650 different tools for purchase/use to be able to give your child an amazing learning experience in Science. No matter the age of your homeschooler, you can find something that they’ll enjoy and love learning here!

Froguts Virtual Lab
Froguts (from The Science Bank) is a downloadable learning lab that does a really good job tackling and teaching dissection processes to your middle or high school science student. Audio narration, captioned text, and realistic 3-D interactive simulations of animal dissection and other science experiments come together to deliver key concepts within the theory and foundations of good Biology science education.

Froguts also presents each topic in a layered systems-based approach that integrates inquiry as well as National Science and Technology Standards, making it a great college-prep tool. Students are assessed after each level with randomized quizzes or tests and are given a printable certificate when they complete each module.

The Biology Corner
If a dissection is what you’re looking for, you’ll find it at Biology Corner. Students will have the option to view a dissection of a frog, fetal pig, and rat. There are also virtual dissection options for a cow’s eye and a sheep’s brain as well! Each detailed dissection of the animal will cover the internal and external anatomy, while also providing other information such as anatomy, ecology, and genetics.

It’s also completely free! Find out more information about the Biology Corner right here!

eMind Web
eMind Web is another great place to learn all about the dissection process. And it’s not just frogs! eMind Web also focuses on the anatomy and structure of fish, pigs, cats, and even insects. Your student will have a very well-rounded learning experience when it comes to the offerings of this online virtual lab.

Late Night Labs
The Late Night Labs program is part of the educational publishing group MacMillian Learning. There is a cost to students, but you can watch a demo lesson here.

Dissection videos on YouTube
Feeling like you may need some prep time? Check out these science channels on YouTube! HighSchool Science has an impressive library of science-related content, perfect for advanced middle and high schoolers. Their dissection videos are concise but chock full of information.

Ava Hearts Biology is another great option for high school science content. Most of her videos are dissections so there are plenty to choose from.

More from How To Homeschool For Free

Are you searching for more science lessons and activities? Check out our free AP Biology Resources, free anatomy learning games, and our huge selection of free science resources!

University studies confirm that simulated dissections significantly enhance comprehension of the curriculum objectives when used in conjunction with traditional dissection. Instead of finding reasons to not be a part of the dissection process, log in and join the online adventure. Rich education and learning experiences await you and your homeschooling classroom with the ease of virtual labs!

Important information for writing discussion questions and participation

Welcome to class

Hello class and welcome to the class and I will be your instructor for this course. This is a -week course and requires a lot of time commitment, organization, and a high level of dedication. Please use the class syllabus to guide you through all the assignments required for the course. I have also attached the classroom policies to this announcement to know your expectations for this course. Please review this document carefully and ask me any questions if you do. You could email me at any time or send me a message via the “message” icon in halo if you need to contact me. I check my email regularly, so you should get a response within 24 hours. If you have not heard from me within 24 hours and need to contact me urgently, please send a follow up text to

I strongly encourage that you do not wait until the very last minute to complete your assignments. Your assignments in weeks 4 and 5 require early planning as you would need to present a teaching plan and interview a community health provider. I advise you look at the requirements for these assignments at the beginning of the course and plan accordingly. I have posted the YouTube link that explains all the class assignments in detail. It is required that you watch this 32-minute video as the assignments from week 3 through 5 require that you follow the instructions to the letter to succeed. Failure to complete these assignments according to instructions might lead to a zero. After watching the video, please schedule a one-on-one with me to discuss your topic for your project by the second week of class. Use this link to schedule a 15-minute session. Please, call me at the time of your appointment on my number. Please note that I will NOT call you.

Please, be advised I do NOT accept any assignments by email. If you are having technical issues with uploading an assignment, contact the technical department and inform me of the issue. If you have any issues that would prevent you from getting your assignments to me by the deadline, please inform me to request a possible extension. Note that working fulltime or overtime is no excuse for late assignments. There is a 5%-point deduction for every day your assignment is late. This only applies to approved extensions. Late assignments will not be accepted.

If you think you would be needing accommodations due to any reasons, please contact the appropriate department to request accommodations.

Plagiarism is highly prohibited. Please ensure you are citing your sources correctly using APA 7th edition. All assignments including discussion posts should be formatted in APA with the appropriate spacing, font, margin, and indents. Any papers not well formatted would be returned back to you, hence, I advise you review APA formatting style. I have attached a sample paper in APA format and will also post sample discussion responses in subsequent announcements.

Your initial discussion post should be a minimum of 200 words and response posts should be a minimum of 150 words. Be advised that I grade based on quality and not necessarily the number of words you post. A minimum of TWO references should be used for your initial post. For your response post, you do not need references as personal experiences would count as response posts. If you however cite anything from the literature for your response post, it is required that you cite your reference. You should include a minimum of THREE references for papers in this course. Please note that references should be no more than 5 years old except recommended as a resource for the class. Furthermore, for each discussion board question, you need ONE initial substantive response and TWO substantive responses to either your classmates or your instructor for a total of THREE responses. There are TWO discussion questions each week, hence, you need a total minimum of SIX discussion posts for each week. I usually post a discussion question each week. You could also respond to these as it would count towards your required SIX discussion posts for the week.

I understand this is a lot of information to cover in 5 weeks, however, the Bible says in Philippians 4:13 that we can do all things through Christ that strengthens us. Even in times like this, we are encouraged by God’s word that we have that ability in us to succeed with His strength. I pray that each and every one of you receives strength for this course and life generally as we navigate through this pandemic that is shaking our world today. Relax and enjoy the course!

Hi Class,

Please read through the following information on writing a Discussion question response and participation posts.

Contact me if you have any questions.

Important information on Writing a Discussion Question

• Your response needs to be a minimum of 150 words (not including your list of references)
• There needs to be at least TWO references with ONE being a peer reviewed professional journal article.
• Include in-text citations in your response
• Do not include quotes—instead summarize and paraphrase the information
• Follow APA-7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

Participation –replies to your classmates or instructor

• A minimum of 6 responses per week, on at least 3 days of the week.
• Each response needs at least ONE reference with citations—best if it is a peer reviewed journal article
• Each response needs to be at least 75 words in length (does not include your list of references)
• Responses need to be substantive by bringing information to the discussion or further enhance the discussion. Responses of “I agree” or “great post” does not count for the word count.
• Follow APA 7th edition
• Points will be deducted if the above is not followed

• Remember to use and follow APA-7th edition for all weekly assignments, discussion questions, and participation points.
• Here are some helpful links
• The is a great resource