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Frequently Asked Questions about
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Frequently Asked Questions about
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Principles of Genetics is a self-paced, self-learning program specifically designed to teach genetics on your computer. This webpage should answer most questions but, if you need more information, feel free to email Dr Jamie Love
The School of Environmental Studies (at the Minnesota Zoo) uses Principles of Genetics to help its students prepare for the Advanced Placement in Biology.
How about a free sample?
Sure!
Email Dr Love to request a sample of Principles of Genetics and he will send you instructions on how to collect it. (The sample is a 0.8 Mb zipped file.) If you want the download instructions sent to an address other than the one you are sending from now, please write the address in the body of the message. Your email address will not be sold, shared or distributed.
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The sample is about a quarter of the course. It's a good introduction to Genetics and the methods Dr Love uses to teach it.
All of Cytogenetics is provided (including the exam) and, because it is the introductory section for all the rest of Genetics, it's a great place to start! Smaller parts of the other sections will give you a feel for what to expect. The chi square lesson has been included because it is the hardest math you will need to do - however, without the other lessons in Mendelian Genetics it might not be clear what is happening. (Regardless, it will show you the "worst math" to expect.) The first lesson in Molecular Genetics is the most complicated chemistry needed for the rest of Molecular Genetics. The randomly chosen lesson from the Medical Genetics section displays the more advanced style.
All these sections of the sample, and the course(s), will make more sense if you read syllabus.
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Who is the author/teacher and what are his credentials?
Dr Jamie Love 
created Principles of Genetics.
Over the years Jamie has taught a wide variety of science subjects (from astronomy to zoology) to a wide variety of students (from thirteen-year-olds to thirty-somethings).
In 1990 Jamie earned his PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology from Louisiana State University Medical Center (New Orleans) and then moved to Scotland - a part of The United Kingdom. (The best part! 
) The UK is home to the oldest, biggest and most distinguished distance-learning university in the world - The Open University. Jamie spent several years studying its methods and worked towards his diploma in Information Technology through The Open University. He earned an MBA by distance learning - completed in 1996 from Heriot-Watt University. In 2000 Dr Love was awarded a Postgraduate Certificate in Teaching & Learning in Higher Education from Napier University. Edinburgh (UK). To fulfill part of the program requirements, he produced "A Web-based Self-study Program Teaching Evolution".
Jamie knows first hand the difficulties one encounters studying alone and what is needed to teach in a self-learning environment.
Dr Love started Merlin Science in 1996 - teaching chemistry over the Internet. The following year he published Principles of Alchemy, his first self-paced, self-learning "hypertextbook". It was very well received and has become particularly popular among homeschoolers.
Being an amateur astronomer, Jamie created an astronomy hypertextbook. Hobbyists and others have enjoyed Principles of Astronomy since it was first published in 1998.
However, Dr Love's PhD is in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology and most of his full-time work has been in genetics research and teaching. Jamie is well qualified to produce Principles of Genetics. Have a looks at his resume (in the syllabus) for details.
When he is relaxing, Jamie (aka Merlin) enjoys bird watching, fossil collecting, and stargazing.
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Each section (course) ends with a self-evaluation exam. The exams are composed of 20 questions answered by multiple choice, totaling 100 questions throughout the five sections. Jamie wrote the three wrong choices to represent common errors or misunderstandings that the student might have. That makes the choices harder but it also means a wrong answer, with the feedback provided, is a learning experience. The only drawback of this immediate feedback is that the student is then free to change the answer. However, that is not the point. Jamie does not write exams that are meant to merely generate a score - they are meant to help the student. Exams without feedback are easy for teachers to grade but provide no learning for students.
Dr Love believes that learning continues into the exams.
After completing the exam, the student submits it and the computer generates a "virtual page" that shows the grade and scores each answer as "Right" or "Wrong". The student can jot down which ones were wrong and close the virtual page. The exam will have been reloaded so all the previous answers have been wiped away. At this point the student has two options - take the entire exam all over again (choosing all 20 responses) or click the web browser's "Back Button" to reload all the previous answers from earlier, including the wrong ones, and change them. Regardless of which method used, the student is given plenty of opportunities to correct errors and submit a "perfect" test. (Please note that the virtual page does not print from most web browsers because it is not "seen" by the printer. It is not a real web page because it is generated "on the fly".)
Of course, the student is on the "honor system" and the exams are meant to encourage the student to continue while providing some incentive to achieve a perfect score. Note: students can take the exams as many times as they like but there is no way to save answers. That is, once you turn off the web browser the answers are gone forever. Dr Love experimented with ways to save these exams on the hard disk but it is difficult to get one method that to work across all platforms (PCs and Macs) correctly and consistently. Also, most folks do not like the idea of software writing on the disk and it tends to set off the virus alerts!
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Exactly what do I get when I buy Principles of Genetics?
You get a complete self-paced, self-learning Genetics course delivered to your computer over the Internet. This hypertextbook is a series of webpages stored on your hard disk. That means Principles of Genetics is "platform independent" - it will run on any computer that has a web browser. It also means you don't have to be constantly hooked up to the Internet to learn genetics!
The first three courses (Cytogenetics, Mendelian Genetics and Advanced Genetics) have been designed to teach genetics to anyone with a reading level above eighth grade. It is harder to judge the appropriate level of math used but high school courses in math should have prepared the student well.
Molecular Genetics is more advanced and relies more on "chemical thinking" but anyone interested in genetics will find this section interesting and learn a great deal from it.
The Medical Genetics has a higher reading level and is more advanced - but it is interesting and useful.
The syllabus provides a more detailed description.
The 2.5 MB zipped file, delivered to you over the Internet along with your password, unzips 758 files which will occupy 4.6 MB of your hard disk space.
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Do I need to buy anything else (besides the hypertextbook)?
No.
The hypertextbook is a stand-alone learning package. (Granted, the student may want to visit some suggested website but even these ancillary projects are not required for the course.)
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What is not included in the course?
Dr Love does not offer tutoring services because the hypertextbook has been specifically designed to allow the student to learn on his/her own. The courses, in various stages, have undergone years of beta testing with students (face-to-face and online) and their feedback has been used to create courses that teach genetics independent of the teacher!
(Also, Dr Love does NOT provide genetic counseling or advice.)
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Is Merlin Science an accredited program? Can I earn credit with this course?
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Nope.
Dr Love has investigated many distance-learning programs. Most are not able to offer credit because they deal ineffectively with testing. Accreditation and the honor system don't mix. To offer credit any (honest) school requires the students to take exams at a local testing center, driving up the cost and thus the price. | 
| In view of this, Dr Love created Merlin Science as a non-accredited, virtual institution. Merlin Scienceprovides low cost, high quality science education via the Internet. |
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What about copyrighted materials, site licences and stuff like that?
Principles of Genetics is protected by international copyright laws. It is unlawful to copy all or any part(s) of Principles of Genetics without the written permission of Dr Jamie Love. All rights reserved.
Homeschoolers (folks educating themselves or their children at home) have a site license for their hypertextbook. Therefore, any family member (and friends) may enjoy the book in the purchaser's home. You may place copies of the program on any and all computers in your home but you may NOT run it on other computers outside the home - and that includes the computers at school. Dr Love is "flexible" and understands that some students may have two homes, due to separated parents, and extends the license to include those circumstances.
The spirit of this license is that Principles of Genetics can be enjoyed by the entire family but it is not meant to be distributed to others.
You are welcome to make a backup copy of your hypertextbook but you may not distribute it to others. Keep and enjoy the hypertextbook forever!
Traditional schools (non-home-schools) require a group license so email Dr Love for details.
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How to Get a copy of Principles of Genetics
You can download a copy of Principles of Genetics on your computer for only $30 or get a CD sent to you for only $35 (plus shipping and handling).
If you chose to download, instructions will be emailed to you explaining how to pick up the hypertextbook and giving you the password you will need to activate it. The transfer technology is designed so you can use your web browser to easily collect your hypertextbook.
Folks whose PC is run on a Windows system will receive a "self extracting" (exe) file while Mac users will get a zipped file (zip). Mac users please note that your hypertextbook (via the Internet) will be a zip file so you must be able to unzip it. StuffIt Expander works and it's free.
| Through SWREG or PayPal or Google (the companies that handle the transaction), it's safe and easy to order a hypertextbook using your credit card and you have a variety of ordering options. |
SWREG
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Or "good old" PayPal
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Or "good old" Google
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You will receive your receipt by email with a few minutes. Credit cards take about 24 hours to be verified and, due to differences in time zones, may take two days to complete - especially on weekends. 
I promise to email you the download instructions and your password as soon as possible (as soon SWREG or PayPal or Google verifies your ordering details).
Until recently, that was too difficult for Dr Jamie Love to offer CDs. Burning high quality CDs and sending them around the world is a complicated business.
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That is why Dr Jamie Love (as Merlin Science) has recently chosen CafePress as the sole distributor of his courses on CDs!
It costs five dollars more to receive this professionally mastered CD in its Jewel Case with Booklet and Tray Card.
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Traditional schools (non-home-schools) require a group license and will probably need to work with Purchase Orders, etc so email Dr Love for details.
If you have any questions, feel free to email Dr Jamie Love.
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