Learning Outcomes
- Describe the various nonspecific innate defenses that protect the human body against infection and disease.
- Explain the process of phagocytosis and the mechanisms by which phagocytes destroy and degrade pathogens.
- Identify the signs of inflammation and fever and explain why they occur.
- Define memory, primary response, secondary response, and specificity.
- Explain the structure and function of antibodies.
- Explain the mechanism of humoral and cellular immunity.
- Compare the various kinds of artificial immunity.
Video-lectures emphasize the most important parts of the textbook material. Please review the tentative schedule for a list of the textbook chapters needed to be studied in this course. Use the power point slides, handouts, labs, and the microbiology textbook for complete coverage of the introductory microbiology.
Lecture Links
Please make sure to review all lecture links available on this page.
| CH 17 Slides | PPT |
| CH 18 Slides | PPT |
| “Vaccination” handout | |
| “Immunity” handout | |
| “How a few scientists transformed the way we think about disease” animation by Tien Nguyen (TedEd.com) | VID |
| “The Curious Case Of Typhoid Mary” animation by BBC Earth Lab (YouTube.com) | VID |
| Crash Course video on Youtube.com about innate immune response | VID |
| Crash Course on Youtube.com about adaptive immune response | VID |
Avery Burn
Summer 2023
Requirement for nursing school
I enjoyed the gram staining labs
Any lab that had multiple steps. Not because I didn’t like the labs, but required a lot of planning on my part.
I will use this for pathology in my nursing classes
More help with labs, clearer lab instructions.
Danielle Gallagher
Summer 2023
Pre-requisite for RN program.
I enjoyed the videos and reading materials because they were informative and fun.
Even though the labs gave you a hands on approach to the class, these were my least favorite. Especially the cost of the kit.
The materials from this class will help link certain symptoms to different types of diseases and infections.
It would be helpful if the lab kit information was given in the description of the class. It took over a week to receive lab kit and put me behind in the beginning.
Benjamin Steffensen
Summer 2023
Prerequisite for Nursing School
I thoroughly enjoyed working with agar plates and observing bacterial growth during this course. It was fascinating to identify the various bacteria present in different areas of my home.
I found the lab quizzes a bit challenging. I believe they should have been more aligned with our lab work rather than focusing solely on the textbook chapters.
The knowledge I gained from this course has applications in my daily life. I am now more conscious of how microbes spread and how to prevent their transmission.
If I were to offer a suggestion, it would be to consider reducing the amount of labs each week or shortening the lab duration. I found myself dedicating an entire Monday to completing the last week’s labs and then starting the next weeks lab. Or even checking agar plates for growth on Thursday or Friday nights. Aside from this I genuinely enjoyed the experience.
Stephanie Blix
Summer 2023
Pre-Req for dental hygiene.
I liked growing bacteria on my own time. The course was easy to understand. I do wish that the labs were in person.
Rose Garrett
Summer 2023
Nursing Prerequisites
I liked the “field trip” assignment. I would probably give an extra week heads up though so that we have time to plan.
The at home labs were a little much, it was very time consuming and I felt uncomfortable growing bacteria in my home. My dog even got a hold of a petri dish when I turned away. I think it would have been better to have an in person lab or online demonstration followed by quiz
How you will be able to use materials learned in BI 234? I will use the knowledge to teach patients about any pathogens and mutations.
Your suggestions on the BI 234 online course improvements. I really like the McGraw Hill application with adaptive quizzing that we use in genetics. I am not sure if there is something similar for micro.
Jaedyn Lewis
Summer 2023
Pre-Requisite for the nursing program
I really liked the lab where we had to watch the growth of mold of bread and apples it was very interesting watching it grow for the weeks we had to watch.
My least favorite activity was the lab quizzes because they did not have a lot to do with our labs I feel like it was more information from the text and videos.
I can identify a pathogen or bacteria that is attacking my patients.
I really enjoyed this class I learned a lot of information about pathogens bacteria etc. I personally would not change anything I really liked the setup of this course it was really fun.
Kylee Carpenter
Summer 2023
Pre-Requisite for Nursing
All of the labs were pretty interesting and fun to do, especially watching bacteria grow through the days.
My least favorite would probably be the lab quizzes, I think more time was needed, and they didn’t always have to do with the lab.
I will be able to use microbiology in my every day life especially the bacteria aspect of it, while becoming a nurse.
I think my only suggestion would be more time on tests and quizzes, but other than that it is a great online course.
Noah Cochrane
Summer 2023
Interested in Microbiology in general, and required for work promotion!
I thought it was really interesting to grow bacteria from my skin and home environment, it was really interesting to see what is all around us!
Personally I sometimes had a hard time with the very long labs, as interesting as the outcome can be, the set up, then incubate, then set up and incubate again labs were very hard to fit into the 1 week time frames.
I am actively working at an environmental water analytical testing lab, so this course directly informed some of my work! It was especially interesting to look at the serial dilutions, MPN and CFU labs!
Personally I think it would be great if some of the long time frame labs could be shortened, or maybe allowed to roll over into the next week.