Interactive Web-Based Tool for Nutritional Microbiology in Applied Agriculture Outreach

Abstract

The interconnection of microbiology, biology, and agriculture poses unique challenges for dissemination of basic science research data in an applied format. Further, audiences including the general public, stakeholders, agricultural commodity producers, and students to which information is directed often possess various backgrounds and educational training. In response to technological advances, and the benefits of web-based learning tools to deliver complex information, an integrative approach to deliver microbial content information was developed. Through the constructed web-based interface, an interactive format to highlight the microbe of interest consisted of a main image with strategically placed hotspots to illuminate the location/environment/organ where the microbe can be found. As each hotspot is accessed, an additional image and description of the role and function of the microbe at the location is presented. To encourage regular user access with the learning tool, monthly features were created to focus on various concepts in nutritional microbiology. Monthly themes were selected by the educator to cover a specific microbe, environment, and physiological or nutritional function. Facilitation of educator operation of the interface was achieved through development of an easy-to-use dashboard, allowing for uploading of main, monthly, and hotspot images, along with information on the overview of microbe function and with details contained within the hotspot descriptions. Additionally, an archive feature was created to allow access to information that was previously covered within the learning tool. Application of this web-based interface can span across classroom settings, outreach educational events, adult and youth learning within Extension, student recruitment, and many other non-traditional learning settings to impact production agriculture with research-driven microbiological and biological concepts.