The BEN (BiosciEdNet) Digital
Library Portal Overview
What is BiosciEdNet (BEN)?
 A collaboration of professional societies that is
building an online library of digital resources for
pedagogic materials pertaining to biology
 Established in 1999 by the American
Association for the Advancement of Science
(AAAS)
 Funded by NSF grants
 Serves as a catalyst for strengthening teaching
and learning in the biological sciences.
Aims of BiosciEdNet (BEN)
 Focused on undergraduate level
 Promote active learning
 Materials are peer-reviewed before
being made available
 Access is through
http://www.biosciednet.org
BiosciEdNet (BEN) Collaborative
BEN serves as a catalyst for professional
societies or coalitions that seek to:
 Build biological sciences education-focused
digital libraries that include high quality,
inquiry-driven, active, and engaging STEM
education
 Contribute resources to the BEN portal.
 Collaborate in terms of pedagogy, authentic
assessment, and development of
multidisciplinary biological sciences
BEN provides resources for...
Guided Inquiry
Open Inquiry
Inquiry online
Inquiry as part of a learning cycle unit
Transforming “Cookbook” labs into
guided/open inquiries
2005 Practice
 Portal for biological sciences
 ~10,000 peer reviewed resources
 11 societies and centers
 National Science Digital Library
NSDL Pathways Slide
coming soon…….
WHY USE BEN?
Peer-reviewed resources:
• Active learning activities
• High-quality images
• Data sets
• Animations
• Assessments
• Journal articles
• Lesson plans
• Laboratory activities
• Teaching strategies
• Rubrics
WHY USE BEN?
Diverse biological fields represented:
• over 75 fields of study
• over 21 professional societies
including:
AAAS
ESA
AIBS
APS
BSA
SICB
ASM
ASCB
Collaborators (*Founding Collaborators)























AAAS-American Association for the Advancement of Science (EHR, STKE, Science)*
ABLE-Association of Biology Lab Educators
AIBS-American Institute of Biological Sciences*
APS-American Physiological Society*
APS-American Phytopathological Society*
ASBMB-American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology*
ASCB-American Society for Cell Biology
ASM-American Society for Microbiology*
BCC-BioQUEST Curriculum Consortium
Bio-Link-the NSF Advanced Technological Education Center for Biotechnology
BSA-Botanical Society of America
ESA-Ecological Society of America*
EntDL-Entomology Digital Library
FUN -Faculty for Undergraduate Neuroscience
HAPS-Human Anatomy and Physiology Society
MLER-Microbial Life Education Resources
NABT-National Association of Biology Teachers*
NAHSEP-National Association of Health Science Education Partnerships
NBII-National Biological Information Infrastructure*
NLM-AE-National Library of Medicine-Access Excellence*
SDB-Society for Developmental Biology
SICB-Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology
SOT-Society for Toxicology*
WHY USE BEN?
Efficient search engine:
• Advanced search feature
• Browse by
subject and topic
resource type
audience level
How can faculty benefit from BEN?
 By downloading and utilizing existing
resources from the library
 By contributing pedagogic materials to
the library
 By collaborating in terms of pedagogy,
authentic assessment, and
development of multidisciplinary
biological sciences resources.
What if you want to contribute
a resource?
 Generally go through collaborator society
 Submission involves completing online form
 Copyright may be claimed, but generally
disseminated for free
 Item will be reviewed, based on society’s protocol
 Accepted items can count as a form of
publication!!
Resource is not worth collecting
if it can’t be…
FOUND
SHARED
Catalogue
Info
Catalogue
Info
ASM Server
Catalogue
Info
ML Resource
ML Catalogue Info
AAAS Server
ML Catalogue Info
Learning Resources Types
Animation
Application
Audio
Diagram
Digital Presentation
Discussion Group
Graph/Chart
Illustration
Image
Map
Online tool
Photograph
Simulation
Software
Table
Video
Abstract
Book
Book Chapter
Journal
Journal Article
Meeting Presentation
Memo
Newsletter
Non-journal Article
Pamphlet/Brochure
Proceedings
Report
Bibliography
Database
Dataset
Dictionary/Glossary
Discussion Archive
Index
Manual
Review
Assessment: Exam
Assessment Tool
Assignment (non-lab)
Career materials
Course Syllabus
Education Standards
Field Trip Guide
Laboratory Manual
Lecture/Lecture Outline
Lesson Plan
Teaching Strategies
Topics
agriculture & aquaculture
anatomy
anthropology & archaeology
bacteriology
behavioral science
biochemistry
biocomplexity
biodiversity
bioengineering
bioethics
bioinformatics
biophysics
biostatistics
biotechnology
botany & plant science
cardiology
cell biology
conservation biology
cryobiology
developmental biology
ecology
education
endocrinology
entomology
environmental sciences
epidemiology
evolutionary biology
exercise & kinesiology
exobiology
forestry
gastroenterology
genetics & heredity
genomics
geography
glycobiology
hematology
histology
human biology
hydrology & water resources
immunology
invertebrate biology
marine biology
metabolism
microbiology
molecular biology
mycology
natural history
nephrology
neurobiology
nutrition & food sciences
oceanography
paleontology
parasitology
pathology
pharmacology
phylogeny
physiology
population biology
proteomics
psychology
public health
range science
reproductive biology
respiratory biology
sociobiology
soil biology
structural biology
systematics
taxonomy & classification
theoretical biology
toxicology
vertebrate biology
virology
wildlife science
zoology