 Please read the rest of this page before beginning. Reading this information will ensure your online lab experience is enjoyable and that you will derive the most benefit from the materials presented. The Menu Bar The menu bar to the left, has a button for each exercise in this lab. Clicking on an exercise button will drop down a menu with the following items: Title Shows the exercise title, which when selected, ‘opens a window explaining what you are expected to learn from this exercise and why its important. Overview When selected, Overview opens a window containing general information about the biological system you are studying. Most Overview items in a given lab group are the same, so you may see this same information listed each exercise in the group. Background Backgrounds are specific for the exercise that you select. They contain information you will need to understand in order to execute a particular lab exercise. Setup The setup item opens information about the equipment that will be used in this exercise, as well as dissection information. Videos will usually be located here and are designated with a (XX). Most of these movies are between 1 and 3 MB, so on a 56K connection they will take from 8 to 24 minutes to download. If you are not on a DSL, Cable or LAN connection, you might want to avoid opening these. Procedure Electing the Procedure item opens a window explaining the steps you will need to perform and the order to perform them. Procedure will also explain which measurements to make, how to make them and where to store them. Procedure is specific for each exercise. You must read this item for each exercise that you undertake. Questions Questions on the Questions Page should be copied and pasted into the Journal where you can type in your answers. The measurements you make from the data together with the answers to questions will make up your lab report which can be printed saved or emailed from within LabsOnline. Conducting the experiment and using the Data Player Window The object of LabsOnline is to allow you to execute labs over the web. This requires a Data Player application similar to a chart recorder or oscilloscope. Selecting any of the menu items described above will launch the Data Player appropriate to a given exercise. The Data Player is always in the background once an exercise has been started. To view it, click the "Close Window" button in whatever window you have selected from the exercise menu. The data player works just like a data recording program. The following paragraphs will explain how the Data Player is used.  Main Journal Expand Compress 2 Cursor 1 Cursor The Data Player window has several groups of controls. At the top of the screen you will see a tool bar similar to the one pictured above. The "Main" and "Journal" buttons toggle. That is, when you are in the Main window, the left most icon will be for the Journal. Conversely, when you are in the Journal window, the left most icon will be for the Main window. The Main window is where you will record your data. All viewing, measuring and recording will occur in the Main window. The Journal is like your lab notebook. All of the measurements that you make will be automatically saved here. You can also write your own observations and the answers to questions that appear in the exercise. When you have completed the exercise the journal can be printed saved or emailed to your instructor. The next two buttons in the tool bar labeled "Expand" and "Compress" in the figure above, expand or compress the x axis of the recording. Use these tools to get a closer look at an event or to zoom out and get some perspective. The amount of time represented by one screenful of data is displayed below the tool bar as "DSPL (Display) TIME". The final two buttons in the tool bar are used to select "Single" or "Dual" cursor measuring modes. Single cursor mode uses a single horizontal blue line. The value at the intersection of the blue line and the recorded trace is displayed for each channel. In Dual cursor mode, two horizontal blue lines are used. The difference between two cursors is displayed. In the Procedure menu item of each exercise you will be shown how to position cursors to make the required measurements. The Main Window Controls  Acquisition Controls :START/STOPThe Control Panel Located to the right of the Data Player frame, the Control Panel allows you to choose which measurement conditions will be in effect when you record data. In the case above, The Control Panel contains stimulus parameters. By changing the Frequency or Amplitude of the electrical stimulus applied to a frog muscle, different responses can be observed. In other exercises, the Control Panel allows you to select which drug will be delivered or which subject you record from. The Data Panel The Data Panel is located to the right of the Data Player frame, just beneath the Control Panel. It determines what measurements will be made on the recorded data and provides a means to send the calculated results to the journal. In all exercises you will be given a menu of measurement choices to pick from and a button that will send the labeled data to the journal. |