Close the Textbook & Open “The Cell: An Image Library”

Abstract

Many students leave the biology classroom with misconceptions centered on cellular structure. This article presents an activity in which students utilize images from an online database called “The Cell: An Image Library” (http://www.cellimagelibrary.org/) to gain a greater understanding of the diversity of cellular structure and the correlation of a cell’s structure to its function. Additionally, students develop an awareness of the structural variation of organelles across organisms.