Note to reader: I want to assure readers that you do not need an in-depth understanding of the protein purification process in order to benefit from this case study. However, to more fully understand the ways in which Jeanette Mowery's use of learning technology affects student learning, click to the section entitled "What is Protein Purification," which gives a simple explanation of the process.
To get an explanation of what Andrew Booth's Protein Lab does, and how it is used, see the section of this case study entitled Creating the Learning Environment and look under the sub header "Protein Purification Simulation Software."
The hyperlink Protein Lab takes you to the software's web site where the software can be downloaded for Macintosh or Windows. You can also run the program directly off the web by clicking either on the link The Java version (application, awt 1.0), or The Java version (applet, awt 1.1, Swing 1.0.3) depending on what java version you have.
Special terms appear in the Glossary. The first time one of these terms occurs in a major section, it appears underlined and the definition is available in a mouse-over box. These definitions appear as lettered footnotes.
All citations to which the case study refers are listed in the References.
Lengthy quotes from participants that illustrate a point often are available in mouse-over boxes (and also as lettered footnotes), for the benefit of the reader who prefers to read the participants' own words.
Various topics introduced in the study are developed at greater length in Discussions (specified by number) to which the reader is referred at relevant points.
The reader is referred at relevant points to various other Resources (specified by letter). Among these is a short description of the Methods Used to Produce this Case Study (Resource C).
Of note for users of the web version: Clicking the "previous page" button will take you to the previous linear section of the case study, not necessarily to the page which you last visited. Clicking the "back" button of your web browser will return you to the section last visited.
We use pseudonyms for the students who appear in the quoted material. To help avoid confusion, the researchers are identified as "interviewer" the first time their voice appears an interview segment. Lengthier quotes appear in italics.
