Preparation and followup for the the 3-day course on: "Introduction to Molecular Biology Information Resources." (revised March 1, 2007) The course is taught from the course web site: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Class/MLACourse/index.html Please ask the host site to prepare the computers in the teaching classroom according to the information in part 1, below. Parts 2, 3, and 4 are just for your information, so you will be aware of how registration works and what materials you can expect to receive from NTCC about 1-2 weeks before the course. Please do part 6 after the course is finished. 1) Computer lab setup -- Software and files needed on computers in teaching room 2) Registration via NTCC web site 3) Registration confirmation letter sent by NTCC to participants 4) Confirmation e-mail returned to NTCC by registrants 5) NTCC will send to you (the instructors for a particular regional course) items 6) Course follow up (procedures for instructors) ============================================== 1) Computer lab setup -- Software and files needed on the computers in the teaching room ============================================== Below is a list of the software and files that will need to be pre-installed on the computers in the teaching room: - Items A, B, C should be on all computers in the lab, including the instructor's workstation and all the student computers. - Items D and E only need to be installed on the instructor's workstation. A) Recent version of Internet Explorer (or other commonly used and up-to-date browser) B) Cn3D - most recent version -- download instructions accessible from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Structure/CN3D/cn3dinstall.shtml the lastest version is Cn3D 4.1 Instructions for testing Cn3D after installing -- In the Entrez Structure database, search for: 1TUP In the search results (docsum) window, click on "1TUP" to view the structure summary Press the "View 3D Structure" button (using the default settings in the pop-up menus beside that button) If a dialog box pops up with the options: Open/Save/Cancel/More Info press the "open" button Cn3D should then launch. It will open two windows: one window showing the 3-D structure and another window showing the corresponding sequences C) multimedia software -- all the programs below: Flash Player Quick Time Windows Media Player D) video/animation files: Before the course begins, to ensure smooth playing of the following videos, please download the video onto the instsructor's workstation desktop and test them (using the steps below) to make sure they work. It is best not to use streaming video because the buffering causes the video to be played in a very uneven and jagged way. It works just fine, though, if you first download the videos onto the desktop: 1. NHGRI video on "Exploring Our Molecular Selves" 1) Begin at http://www.genome.gov/Pages/EducationKit/download.html 2) Scroll to bottom of page: "Exploring Our Molecular Selves". 3) Right click on "VIDEO WIN" to save the file locally (It is in .wmv format). 4) On your desktop, right-click the movie file (called 3D or something similar) and select the option "Open With". 5) Select Windows Media Player OR (after saving the file to your desktop): 4) Open Windows Media player 5) Go to File > Open and navigate to the 3D file to play the video 2. NHGRI video on "How to Sequence A Genome" 1) Begin at http://www.genome.gov/Pages/EducationKit/download.html 2) Scroll to bottom of page: "How to Sequence a Genome". 3) Click on "DOWNLOAD PC" to save the file locally (It is in .exe format). 4) On your desktop, right-click the movie file (called 3D or something similar) and select the option "Open With". 5) Select Windows Media Player E) FTP software (such as WS_FTP) FTP softare is just needed to download the complete set of course HTML files onto the instructor's workstation (not the student workstations). They just serve as a backup in case any internet connectivity problems occur during the course. Such problems are rare, but if they happen and if you have a local copy of the HTML files on the instructor's computer, you can keep going through the slides (even if the links to the live search systems didn't work). Of the 24 times the one-day course version of this course was taught around the country, the backup files were needed only one or two times, and only for short periods (e.g., 15-30 minutes). But they helped to avert a loss of teaching time and kept the class going smoothly until the internet connection was back up. The course files are at ftp.ncbi.nih.gov in the pub/renata directory. Just download the complete "MLACourse" directory, then you should be able to read/diplay a local cpy of the course files if needed. Delete the directory from the instructor's workstation after the course, though, because the files change and it would be unfortunate to have an old copy of the course hanging around. F) Course materials We do not distribute hard copies of the course materials. All materials are maintined online at the course web site (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Class/MLACourse/). In particular, the teaching slides (which are in HTML format, not powerpoint) and hands-on exercises are accessible from the Modules and Exercises portions of the course web pages. As shown in the note about course materials in #3, below, registrants are notified that all materials are online at the time they receive the registration confirmation letter. Therefore, the host site does not have to be concerned about looking for a Fed Ex or other package prior to the course. As noted in #5, below, the instructors receive Fed Ex packages containing a list of registrants, course evaluation forms, and MLA CE certificates from the NTCC staff. The intructors bring those materials with them to the course site. So we just need help from the host site in preparing the computer classroom as noted above. Thank you! ============================================== 2) Registration via NTCC web site ============================================== Course participants will register via NLM's National Training Center and Clearinghouse (NTCC) web site: http://nnlm.gov/ntcc/classes/register.html ============================================== 3) Registration confirmation letter sent by NTCC to participants ============================================== Sample -- Subject: Registration for Nov. 17-19, 2003 NCBI 3-day Intro Course CLASS: NCBI/NLM Training: Introduction to Molecular Biology Information Resources DATE: November 17-19, 2003 TIME: 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM each day PLACE: Pacific Southwest Regional Medical Library (PSRML) Louise M Darling Biomedical Library 12th Floor Computer Training Lab 12-077 Center for the Health Sciences UCLA Los Angeles, CA 90095-1798 Dear Colleague: We are pleased that you have been scheduled to attend the above class. "Introduction to Molecular Biology Information Resources" is a three day course that provides an introduction to four domains of information generated by the field of molecular biology. The course format combines lecture, demonstration, and hands-on experience, and concludes with a discussion of various levels of molecular biology information services provided by librarians. In a separate message, you will receive a "Confirmation Form". Please complete and return that form by the date indicated. Failure to return the form may result in the cancellation of your registration. Please notify us immediately if you are unable to attend. Below are additional details below about: Local information Course start time and attire Course materials Prerequisite reading Questions We look forward to providing this course for you. Sincerely, Maureen Czujak, Associate Director National Training Center and Clearinghouse ---------------------------- Local information ---------------------------- Some local information relative to transportation, hotels and parking is available at [give URL to web page that contains digitized version of the site-specific travel/hotel/etc. info that is generally sent by postal mail]. ---------------------------- Course start time and attire ---------------------------- The course begins promptly at 9:00 AM each day. Please feel free to dress comfortably. ---------------------------- Course materials ---------------------------- In order to keep the course materials up-to-date, all of them are web-based, and we do not distribute hard copies. The course modules are currently accessible from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Class/MLACourse/modules.html Most participants take notes on standard note pads. However, if you would like to bring printouts of some of the pages to the course, you are welcome to do that. Please note that the materials are under continuous development and revision in order to reflect changes that occur to the systems, and in order to enhance materials as time allows. Therefore, some of the web pages might change after your printouts made. If you do make printouts of the course web pages, we recommend doing that a few days or a week before the course, not sooner. ---------------------------- Prerequisite reading ---------------------------- It is important that each participant read the web pages listed in the prerequisites section of the course home page: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Class/MLACourse/ ---------------------------- Questions ---------------------------- If you have any questions about the class, call NTCC at 212-822-7396 or 800-338-7657 (press 2) and speak to Eva Daniels (edaniels@nyam.org), the Online Assistant. If you have questions concerning the __(course)__ site, please contact ______ at ______. For more information on NTCC, direct your web browser to the following: http://nnlm.gov/ntcc/ For more information on the ______ Regional Medical Library (______): http://nnlm.gov/___/ ============================================== 4) Confirmation e-mail returned to NTCC by registrants ============================================== Subject: Confirmation Form for Nov. 17-19, 2003 NCBI 3-day Intro Course National Training Center & Clearinghouse CONFIRMATION FORM NCBI/NLM Training: Introduction to Molecular Biology Information Resources Please complete and return this confirmation form by ____DATE_____ to edaniels@nyam.org and cc: renata@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Class Site: Pacific Southwest Regional Medical Library (PSRML) Louise M Darling Biomedical Library 12th Floor Computer Training Lab 12-077 Center for the Health Sciences UCLA Los Angeles, CA 90095-1798 Date: Nov. 17-19, 2003 Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM each day CHECK ONE: I PLAN TO ATTEND:____ I DO NOT PLAN TO ATTEND:____ FAILURE TO RETURN THIS FORM BY THE SPECIFIED DUE DATE MAY RESULT IN THE CANCELLATION OF YOUR REGISTRATION ======================================================================= NAME: JOB TITLE: ORGANIZATION: STREET ADDRESS: CITY,STATE,ZIP PHONE: FAX: E-MAIL: ======================================================================= Please reply briefly to the the questions below. They will help the instructors to better understand your background and goals. 1. Have you taken the original, 8 hour version of the course? If so, when (year) and where? 2. Approximately how often do you currently receive questions about molecular biology databases and software (e.g., once per month, once per week, daily, have not yet received any)? 3. What is an example of a molecular biology question that you have received? Who asked it (e.g., student, postdoc, faculty)? If you have not yet received questions, just write "none." 4. How do you plan to apply this course? 5. Please briefly describe your background in science (education and/or experience). If you do not have a science background, please let us know what field you studied as an undergraduate/graduate. ======================================================================= Please return this form by e-mail to: edaniels@nyam.org Questions? Call 212-822-7396 ============================================== 5) NTCC will send to you (the instructors for a particular regional course): ============================================== A) the following items will be sent to you by Fed Ex approximately one week before the course: - sign-in sheet listing registrants names/institutions - MLA CE certificates (each certificate will bear the name of a registrant) - copies of the MLA CE course evaluation form (class set) B) NCBI will send the following items to you by e-mail approximately one week before the course: - copies of the confirmation letters returned by registrants with their profile information ============================================== 6) Course follow up (procedures for instructors): ============================================== A) At end of course, please 1) distribute MLA CE course evaluations to class 2) collect completed MLA CE course evaluations 3) distribute MLA CE certificates B) After course is done, please send: 1) the original sign in sheet and completed course evaluations to: Renata Geer National Center for Biotechnology Information National Library of Medicine 8600 Rockville Pike Bldg. 38A, Rm. 3S314Q Bethesda, MD 20894 Phone: 301-435-5947 Fax: 301-480-9241 renata@ncbi.nlm.nih.gov 2) a copy of the course sign in sheet and completed course evaluations to: Kathleen Combs Coordinator, Continuing Education and Career Services Medical Library Association Suite 1900, 65 East Wacker Place Chicago, IL 60601-7298 Phone: 312/ 419-9094 x29 Fax: 312/ 419-8950 mlapd1@mlahq.org Of course, please keep a copy of those items for your records, if you'd like. (This doc was last revised on March 1, 2007)