School of Anatomy & Human Biology

PRIMATE BIOLOGY

Available on CD

An interactive, computer-based, self-study program on the biology of primates.

ABOUT THIS PROGRAM

This program offers the student an opportunity to learn, in an interactive way, about the following aspects of Primate Biology.

It has proved very beneficial for secondary school as well as first year university students.

1. a selection of anatomical terms used to describe non-human, primate skull features, together with their functional significance

2. a selection of terms used to describe superficial (external) non-human primate features, together with their functional significance

3. certain behavioural characteristics displayed by a variety of non-human primates, including diet, mode of locomotion and social behaviour

4. the geographical location and current conservation status of this selection of non-human primates

5. how all these features can be used to classify the non-human primates into various taxonomic groups, according to one specific classification scheme (taxonomic hierarchy), chosen by the authors from several that are currently in existence

STRUCTURE

From the Title Screen, advance through three Introductory Screens to the Classification Screen.

From the Classification Screen the visitor can access all the Taxonomic Groups within the program by clicking on the animal image. The visitor will be projected into a series of screens containing interactive features which facilitate learning about the biology of the chosen primate group.

All terms used in the program are explained in the Glossary. Use the glossary to be referred to the relevant Primate Taxonomic Group(s) in the program for illustration and clarification.

The Quiz is available from within each of the selected taxonomic groups. The quiz randomly generates 20 questions on ANY aspect of the ENTIRE program.

SPECIAL FEATURES

Roll-Over Explanation
Some of the taxonomic group names on the Classification Screen are shaded in blue. An associated explanation will appear in a dropdown box when the cursor is rolled over the name.

QTVR Skulls
QTVR images of primate skulls can be rotated to the left and right, thus turning them through 180 degrees.

Interactive Features

Click on these to see that particular feature highlighted on the image and read the accompanying explanation beneath the image.

Video-Clips Of Zoo Primates

These illustrate various behavioural characteristics including, diet, locomotion and social behaviour. Quiz is available from within each of the selected taxonomic groups. The quiz randomly generates 20 questions on ANY aspect of the ENTIRE program.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Julie Hill and Jassie Tunstill have been teaching Human Biology at UWA for many years and are familiar with the needs of today’s students. Primate Biology is a module in first year Human Biology. This program was developed by the authors as a self paced study aid to supplement the laboratory class on Primates. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the program shows that it has a significant positive effect on student learning outcomes and is judged as enjoyable and easy to use by students. It has also proved to be beneficial to secondary school students.

MINIMUM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

Windows - Intel Pentium II 200 running Win 95/98/2000/XP/NT version 4.0 or later. 32 MB RAM. Netscape Navigator 4.0 or later. Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or later. AOL 4.0 or later.

Macintosh

Mac OS X - Power Mac G3, System 10.1 or later. 128 MB available RAM. Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.1 or later.

Mac Classic OS - Power MAC 180 running System 8.6 or later. 32 MB of RAM. Netscape 4.0 or later. Microsft Internet Explorer 4.5 or later. AOL 4.0 or later.

Quicktime version 3.0 or later.

Ó 2001 The University of Western Australia

COSTS:

1 CD $ 25.00
10 CDs $150.00

Available from:

The School of Anatomy & Human Biology
The University of Western Australia
35 Stirling Highway
Crawley WA 6009

Telephone: 08 6488 3290
Fax: 08 6488 1051