RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 TeachEnG: a <span class="underline">Teach</span>ing <span class="underline">En</span>gine for <span class="underline">G</span>enomics
JF bioRxiv
FD Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
SP 111054
DO 10.1101/111054
A1 Minji Kim
A1 Yeonsung Kim
A1 Lei Qian
A1 Jun S. Song
YR 2017
UL http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/02/23/111054.1.abstract
AB Motivation Bioinformatics is a rapidly growing field that has emerged from the synergy of computer science, statistics, and biology. Given the interdisciplinary nature of bioinformatics, many students from diverse fields struggle with grasping bioinformatic concepts only from classroom lectures. Interactive tools for helping students reinforce their learning would be thus desirable. Here, we present an interactive online educational tool called TeachEnG (acronym for Teaching Engine for Genomics) for reinforcing key concepts in sequence alignment and phylogenetic tree reconstruction. Our instructional games allow students to align sequences by hand, fill out the dynamic programming matrix in the Needleman-Wunsch global sequence alignment algorithm, and reconstruct phylogenetic trees via the maximum parsimony and Unweighted Pair Group Method with Arithmetic mean (UPGMA) algorithms. With an easily accessible interface and instant visual feedback, TeachEnG will help promote active learning in bioinformatics.Availability and Implementation: TeachEnG is freely available at http://song.igb.illinois.edu/TeachEnG/. It is written in JavaScript and compatible with Firefox, Safari, Chrome, and Microsoft Edge.Contact: songi{at}illinois.edu