MicroWorlds Cell Project

Gather information about the different parts of plant cells and animal cells. You can use the following website. http://www.cellsalive.com/cells/cell_model.htm

Step One: Create a interactive plant cell diagram

Start up the MicroWorlds program. Go to File and Open the Cell Diagrams project. You will see a background with a plant cell diagram. Use the Save As command to save the project as Cell Diagrams in your Work to Hand In folder.

You are now ready to make your interactive cell diagram. We want some information to appear about each part of the cell, but only when you clicked on it. To do this we will make information in a text box appear, then disappear.

1. First, freeze the background so you can edit your changes without erasing the background. In the Command Window type in: freezebg and press enter.

2. Go to the Pages menu and switch to Page2, you should be on the Plant Cell Diagram and again in the Command Center type in: freezebg and press enter.

3. Create a text box and name it chloroplastinfo. In MicroWorlds everything has to have a ONE WORD name!

4. Place it in the top left comer of the screen and make it large enough for several sentences. Import the text file from the handouts folder about the chloroplasts into the text box.

5. Make sure all the text is showing. You may want to change the style, size or color of all or part of your text. Use the text menu to do this.

6. If you need to resize your text box, click on the arrow icon and draw a box around your text box. Resizing corners will appear, and you can adjust your box size to fit your information. Then hide the text box.

Step Two: Making it User Friendly

Rather than typing instructions, it would be easier if the text appears and disappears by clicking on the part of the cell you want to identify. To do this, you must create a turtle and set it so that when you click on it, the text appears for a few seconds and then disappears.

1. Hatch a turtle and set the shape to the chloroplast from the project Shape tab.
2. Move it to where a chloroplast should be. Refer to the web page if you’re not sure where to put it. Right-click on the turtle and open it’s Backpack. On the State tab, Edit the name and make it chloroplast.
3. Switch to the Rules tab, and in the Onclick area set it to Once and in the instructions box type: chloroplastinfo, showtext wait 80 hidetext and close the turtle’s Backpack.
4. Copy the turtle and paste three more on the cell. Right-click on them and Freeze them in place.

Wait makes the computer wait for 80 before hiding the text box. 80 is equal to 8 seconds. You can adjust the amount of time the text box is showing by changing the number; higher to wait longer and lower to wait less (10 for every second).

Step Three: Adding More Words

Now, follow the same steps to create turtles for the golgi bodies, lysomes, mitochodrion, nucleus, reticulum, ribosomes, and vacuoles. Program each of the turtles in the diagram so that each should present information about that cell part. Remember to try each turtle to make sure it works. Clicking on each part should display its information.

Step Four: Helping the User

1. Create another text box to give instructions about how to find the information in the diagram. Give your text box the name; Instructions.

2. Type in: Each part of the cell has a different job. Click on each of the different parts of the cell to read about the part’s function.

3. Program a button to make the text box appear: Select the button icon. Click and draw a small rectangle on the place on your page where you want the button to be.

4. When the dialog box appears, type in the Label box: Information. Leave Do It: set to once and in the instructions box type Instructions, showtext wait 80 hidetext Click OK.

5. Before clicking on the button, type in the Command Center: Instructions, hidetext

6. Make your button large enough to see the word "Information". To adjust your button size, click on the arrow icon, draw around your button to get the adjustment squares on the comers of the button and drag to make larger or smaller.

Step Five: More pages

1. Go to the Pages menu and rename the page Plantcell (all one word).
2. Go to Page2.
3. Look at the cell diagram at http://www.cellsalive.com/cells/animcell.htm
4. Follow the same steps to add cell part turtles to the animal cell diagram, but leave out the chloroplasts (only plants have chlorophyll).
5. Go to the Pages menu and rename this page Animalcell (all one word).
6. Create a button to go to the plant cell diagram page; label it Go To Plant Cell Diagram and make the Instruction: Go to the Page menu and rename the page Plantcell (all one word).
7. .
8. Click on it to try it, and then back on the plantcell page make a button to go to the animal cell page.

Congratulations! You have completed the first part of the project!

Remember to: Save your project.