Educational Materials

Teaching online? Check out this crowdsourced list of algae-related online resources.

The PSA Education Committee (chair: Bridgette Clarkston) is dedicated to promote and improve teaching and research in phycology through such activities as seminars, conferences, workshops, and production of educational materials, such as films and electronic media items; and recommend contracts to the Executive Committee for approval.

#TeachAlgae Contest 2020

We had entries from around the world for our first phycology education contest. Ten excellent entries were awarded a prize by our Education Committee. A selection of submitted resources can be downloaded here for educational use; please credit the author.

Activity – Algae challenge! A Pair-Matching game: English & Portugeuse versions (N. Ghilardi-Lopes)

Activity – Algae into Art: Transforming Macroscopic Freshwater Algae into Handmade Paper (D. Bowne, K. Arnold)

Activity – Eutrophication Mystery (J. Landin)

Activity – From the Kitchen of Dr. Isabella Abbott (H. Spalding, C. Smith)

Activity – Herbarium Collection Guidelines (K. Hind)

Activity – LAMPS: Lowcountry Algal Monitoring Program for Students (E. Sotka, H. Giddens)

Activity – Phycology: An Illustrated Study Guide (A. Khan, L. Lewis, J. Smith)

Activity – Phycology Guess Who? (A. Lecher)

Activity – Phycological Nicknames (R. Fitch)

Activity – Remote Isolation of algae as well as people (K. Capistrant-Fossa, S. Brawley)

Activity – Slimy Cards: Card Game for Introducing Algal Taxonomy (D. Dande, R. Thengodkar, A. Bhavsar, S. Sawant)

Activity – Spot Algae (R. Thengodkar, S. Sawant, S. Dhondga)

Syllabus – Graduate Phycology Course (H. Spalding)

Syllabus – Marine Botany Course (J. Muhlin)

Syllabus – Pharmaceutical Discovery from Northern Michigan Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria) (A. Fraley, A. Tripathi, D. Sherman, A. Robertson, R. Lowe, P. Kociolek)

Syllabus - Undergraduate Phycology Course (H. Spalding)

Syllabus - Undergraduate Phycology Course (J. Achankunju)

Video – Pharmaceutical Discovery from Northern Michigan Blue-Green Algae: Video / Resource Info (A. Fraley, A. Tripathi, D. Sherman, A. Robertson, R. Lowe, P. Kociolek)

Additional Education Materials

Video on macroalgae

This video was developed at the Bishop Museum as part of the NSF funded Macroalgal Herbarium Digitization Project

Seaweed Exhibit at the Natural History Museum, London, UK

These videos are part of a project to create an exhibition to recreate kelp forest

Part 1 Part 2

Time Lapse Video: Pressing the seaweeds

Porphyra Identification Material

Check here the lesson "Identification for North Atlantic Porphyra sensu lato at the genus and species levels using restriction enzymes" by Klein et al.

The SilicaSecchiDisk

From Connecticut College, a Lucid key to identification of freshwater microbes (including algae) as well as a number of video clips of microalgae.

http://www.conncoll.edu/academics/majors-departments-programs/departments/academic-programs/environmental-studies/silica-secchi-disk/

Downloadable PSA Bookmarks

Bookmarks Information

ALGAE-L Listserve

This ALGAE-L listserve provides a venue for discussions on algae, information on phycological activities, and announcements. Visit Michael Guiry's Seaweed Site to subscribe to the list

Archives of past ALGAE-L messages

Making Multicoloured Alginate Beads

Alginate Gel Beads Information

Curriculum Ideas

PSA Education Workshop Report (2006)

Algae and the Broader Impacts of Science by Gisele Muller-Parker and Rich Triemer, July 8, 2006 Juneau, Alaska. Download Report (PDF)

Research Tools

ARS-Medi is a free program developed by T.J. Evens and Randy Niedz. ARS-Media utilizes a linear programming (LP) optimization algorithm to determine the combination of salts, acids and bases that satisfies any given target solution of ions. This allows researchers to construct experimental designs that use ions, as opposed to salts, as independent factors. Download the free program.

Diatoms of the United States: Diatom identification guide & ecological resource for water resource managers, ecologists, taxonomists, analysts, systematists, students, and the public. By early 2011, the site will include more than 100 species pages, reaching over 200 pages by April 2011. In 2011, we will continue to fund expert contributors to include the most dominant diatom species (and species that are easily confused with them). Detailed images of genera, as well as the number of genera is also expanding.

Euglenoid project: The purpose of the Euglenoid website is to provide a research and teaching resource for students, teachers and researchers interested in the group of protists commonly known as, the euglenoids. The general features of the group and examples of cellular organization are provided. The classification systems used to separate these protists into definable groups are shown along with interactive keys which can be used to identify organisms to genus or species.

Publications

Keys to the Seaweeds and Seagrasses of Southeast Alaska, British Columbia, Washington and Oregon by P.W. Gabrielson, T.B. Widdowson & S.C. Lindstom. Phycological Contribution #7. PhycoID. July, 2006. This publication is a revision of the "Keys to the Benthic Marine Algae and Seagrasses of British Columbia, Southeast Alaska, Washington and Oregon" (Gabrielson et al. 2000). As was true in the previous edition, there have been name changes to many of the common seaweed genera and species found along the shores covered by this publication, e.g. Ulva in the green algae, Laminaria in the brown algae and Mazzaella in the red algae. Major changes in this new edition are: 1) significant revision of many of the species keys, especially in the green and red algae, and 2) the updating of names of all taxa as of May, 2006. Download order form.

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