Enhanced Visualization Tool and Its Impact On Teaching Physiological, Anatomical and Taxonomical Differences in Plants: Integrated Patterns for Programming Cropview.

The multi-media website called CROPVIEW (Comprehensive Resources for Observing Plants in a Visual Interactive Enhanced Window) is a program that can be used to enhance student learning of the top thirty crops that feed the world's population. The CROPVIEW program allows for scientists around the world to upload seed or plant photographs. Thus, this database allows for engaging ways to enrich student learning of seed/plant information.  In addition, one can use Google Earth coordinates to track locations of plants grown which are added to the datebase.   The program database structure and the enhanced visualization window showing details of plant morphological characteristics will be discussed. Teaching students the basic physiological, anatomical, and taxonomical differences can be instructional challenging if there is a limited resource to acquire all plant seeds.  This instructional approach and solution concentrated in achieving the following objectives:  1) Enhance plant/seed database data. 2) Add additional dimensions to the visualization of seeds and deliver high resolution 3D images that promote engaged learning through distance learning. 3) Use geo-coded plant/seed information to visualize where plants are grow in different climate regions. The program has been used in a number of introductory Plant Sciences courses. Classes such as geography and human nutrition can also utilize this website.  No requirements of prior plant and seed identification are required for student learning. It is a very easy program to utilize for distance learning courses.