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Managing large-scale projects in biomolecular visualization education presents unique challenges, especially when involving many contributors who generate resources over time. BioMolViz is a diverse group of faculty from multiple institutions promoting biomolecular visualization literacy, and our goal was to create a collaboratively designed repository of assessments to allow evaluation of students’ visual literacy skills. As we expanded our network and engaged large numbers of educators through online and in-person workshops and working groups, assessment ideas and revisions became challenging to organize. Our growing repository required a method to 1) track revisions, expert-panel reviews, and field-testing results, and 2) ultimately publish hundreds of visual literacy assessments. As we navigated this new space, we sought to streamline our approach, while continuing to engage valuable colleagues with varying levels of comfort with technology. Through collaboration tools, project management software, and a series of fits and starts, the internal team established a structured workflow that efficiently guided assessment items from development to public access. Project management software enabled effective collaboration across team members and ensured transparency and efficiency in tracking each item’s progress. We detail the trial-and-error process that enabled collaborative assessment design, our breakthrough in the identification of software that suited the project needs, and the process of guiding developers to create the repository we envisioned. Our workflow analysis offers a model for leveraging project management tools in similar educational contexts and optimizing database design.
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This content will become publicly available on July 25, 2026
Development of Teaching with Molecular Visualization: A BioMolViz Guide for Educators, an Open Educational Resource
The initial aim of the BioMolViz project was to produce a repository of validated, visualization-based assessment questions that any instructor could use. However, as assessment-writing workshops began, it became clear that participants varied in their ability to create molecular visualizations. Some could easily generate precise custom images for new assessments using modeling programs, while others could not and wanted to be trained to do so. Through an NSF grant supplement, BioMolViz was able to incorporate two virtual modeling program training sessions for faculty. We developed a two-day online workshop that trained participants to navigate the Protein Data Bank, find resources for structures, and model a macromolecule of their choice. In breakout rooms, participants specialized in one of three popular molecular modeling programs (PyMOL, ChimeraX, or iCn3D). The wealth of training materials developed and used for the workshops remained in an online folder until members of the BioMolViz working group began designing formative assessments that utilized molecular modeling. Upon revisiting the materials, the working group noted there were enough resources to develop an online manual to help instructors take the first steps toward bringing molecular modeling into their classrooms. Group members organized activities into chapters and identified concepts that required elaboration to be translated from a workshop format to an open educational resource (OER). Here, we present the structure of the book Teaching with Molecular Visualization: A BioMolViz Guide for Educators. With chapters authored by over a dozen different members of the working group based on their specific expertise, the OER is a model for a network-wide collaboration for broad dissemination of educational material outside of the traditional publication avenue. This work showcases how a near-forgotten wealth of resources provided the basis for a creative work shaped by authors across numerous institutions and strengthened the BioMolViz community.
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- Award ID(s):
- 1920270
- PAR ID:
- 10643933
- Publisher / Repository:
- ASBMB : Transforming undergraduate education in the molecular life sciences (TUEMLS)
- Date Published:
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Location:
- St. Paul, MN
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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