Teaching Resources: Google Classroom for Educators
Welcome to teaching STEM / STEAM and biotechnology with Amino Labs!
To help you get started and facilitate your teaching journey, we have created a Google Classroom just for you!
This Google Classroom includes links to the instruction manuals, lesson guides, slides shows, pop-quizzes, follow-along and discussion prompt videos, biotechnology careers information, supplementary activities, answer keys, certificates and more.
Please feel free to make copies of the classroom and resources to modify at your need, and to reach out if you'd like a specific resources created/added. Note that you may need to log in with a personal email if your school email is locked to a google education account.
Join the Google Classroom For Educators
Looking for wiki.amino.bio? The new Lesson & Resources Center is being updated this summer! It will be back shortly. Email us if you are looking for resources on a specific topic
The Google Classroom is arranged according to the Chapters in our Zero to Genetic Engineering Hero journey:
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Chapter 1 - Isolating DNA, the Blueprints of Life:
- extract and see real genomic DNA from strawberries using the DNA extraction kit,
- assemble a DNA structure utilizing a drag and drop simulator,
- discover 'What is DNA?', 'What is DNA's function?', and 'What is DNA made of?',
- learn about the history of DNA, its evolution, the road to precisely editing DNA and its future,
- understand how DNA can be used in biotechnology to create products,
- understand how atoms, molecules, macromolecules (nucleic acid), and nucleotides come into play.
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Chapter 2 - Safety & setting up your Genetic Engineering Hero Space
- learn about the 4 Biosafety levels & how to stay safe & responsible during your biotechnology science projects,
- discover the rules & regulations in biotechnology,
- set up your own lab - What type of laboratory equipment is necessary? What kind of locations can be used for a safe & responsible biotechnology lab,
- learn how to inactivate your biotechnology science experiments and clean up your laboratory,
- download a laboratory safety checklist, a biosafety poster, and a biosecurity poster,
- understand the ethics, lab safety & best practices surrounding genetic engineering and biotechnology.
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Chapter 3 - Growing E. coli cells
- grow colorful, friendly lab-strain of bacteria and use it to make bioart in a virtual simulator and then in real-life using the Canvas kit (optional hands-on),
- learn the difference between safe laboratory E. coli vs. ‘bad’ E. coli and its history,
- learn 'What is a cell?'
- tour the cell structure using the Cells as (micro) factories analogy - a comparison between factories and cells.
- discover the role of macromolecules: carbs, lipids, proteins
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Chapter 4 - Genetic Engineering your E. coli cells
- engineer bacteria (cells) with a pre-made DNA program in a virtual simulator and then in real-life using the Engineer-it kit (optional hands-on),
- learn the primary operating environment of a cell,
- start understanding how cells read DNA: How do cells know how to start, do and stop reading DNA (transcription),
- discover 'What is a gene?'
- find out what DNA plasmids are and how to use them in biotechnology.
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Chapter 5 - Extracting your engineered proteins
- extract the proteins created by your engineer bacteria in real-life using the Extract-it kit so that they can be used in the 'real-world' (optional hands-on),
- continue understanding how cells know how to start, do and stop reading RNA (translation),
- discover proteins & enzymes, promoters vs. the ribosomal binding site and the other RNAs (rRNA & tRNA),
- learn and use the RNA to protein cipher.
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Chapter 6 - Processing Chemicals with Enzymes
- engineer cells to created small molecules and enzymes to create products like smells and color-changing molecules using the Smell-it kit and the Blue-it kit (optional hands-on),
- learn the basics of enzymatic chemical reactions,
- understand the Four B’s of cell function in action,
- discover protein enzymes as catalysis in cells,
- learn the basic structure of atoms and the four major types of bonds,
- explorer metabolic pathways and how they are used in genetic engineering and biotechnology.
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Chapter 7 - Manually turning on genes in situ
- engineer cells or use pre-engineered cells and manually turn on genes using light, chemicals, and heat to understand genetic switched in real-life using the RGB kit, the Induce-it kit and the Heat-it kit (optional hands-on),
- learn the mechanisms of gene expression,
- revise and apply the coding and non-coding regions of genes knowledge from Ch. 4-5,
- explore a DNA plasmid map,
- start setting the stage for you to design your custom DNA plasmids.
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