Protists are fascinating organisms. They are classified as separate from plants, animals and fungus. Most protists are single-celled organisms with a nucleus and specialized cellular organelles that perform various functions. I designed the Interactive Protist Explorer to help students learn the detailed information about how these fascinating organisms survive.
Detailed graphics show the structures that have been identified in each organism. The euglena shown above has many interesting structures, for example, the stigma and a flagellum. As students dive into the information they will discover the names of important organelles and also learn about the functions that these structures perform.
Students can call up even more information by tapping buttons and swiping the screen. When studying the euglena for example, they will learn how this amazing organism has some characteristics that make it like an animal and others that make it like a plant. Like an animal it can move around in its environment. Euglena move by making a whip-like motion with it flagellum. Like a plant, the euglena can produce chemical energy through photosynthesis. And again, like an animal, euglena have a primitive eye-like structure or photoreceptor that senses light. And conveniently, light energy is needed for photosynthesis.
Despite their diminutive size, protist can wreak havoc in the bodies of other organisms, including humans. An infection of plasmodia in the human circulatory system can be deadly. This disease, known as malaria, is spread when an infected, female Anopheles mosquito bites a human. Plasmodia from the saliva of the mosquito are transferred when the bite occurs. A detailed diagram, shown above, helps explain the Malaria Cycle.
Like the other apps in the Interactive Explorer series, teachers who use the app with students will like the comprehension quizzes that are available for each organism. For example a fill-in-the-blanks style quiz prompts students to key in the missing word in a sentence.
A true/false and multiple choice style quiz can also be selected as a follow-up to studying using other parts of the app. Percentage scores for each quiz are reported on the screen.
Interactive Protist Explorer is available with a volume discount for educational institutions. Interactive Protist Explorer can be purchased worldwide exclusively through the Apple App Store. It also available through Apple’s volume purchase program. Schools get a significant discount when purchasing multiple copies of Interactive Protist Explorer. Contact Apple Education for more information about the volume purchase program. Please visit Ventura Educational Systems’website for more information about this and other iOS and tvOS apps for education.
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