Sometimes you can't keep a good idea down. That's what Richard Hallick and William Grimes discovered after developing computer tutorials in 1985 for their introductory biology course, Cellular Biology 181.

These days, students throughout the world reap the benefits of the two UA professors' innovation, which has grown into a popular online resource called the Biology Project. The site gets more than 300,000 hits on an average weekday, and on its most active day ever -- Feb. 11, 2002 -- got more than twice that number.

"The goal of the Biology Project is to improve biology understanding worldwide by providing free access to high-quality learning materials for all levels," according to the site's home page at www.biology. arizona.edu. Recognized as "one of the top biology learning resources on the Web," the Biology Project attracts students and faculty at other universities, elementary and secondary students and teachers, and "interested lay persons," says Hallick, a professor of biochemistry and molecular biophysics.

"We are used in home-schooling, and by the public and private sectors in employee training," says Hallick. "We're also aware of extensive use of our materials in the Third World, where traditional educational resources may not be readily available."

Branching out
Hallick wasn't seeking a global audience when he and Grimes created the initial tutorials and activities. "Our original goal was to supplement and enhance the educational experience in traditional lecture and lab courses," says Hallick. "Biology courses at state universities are typically taught in large classes, with not enough time for students to have as much personal contact with faculty as would be ideal. We viewed technology as one way to address this problem. We try to provide as much personal contact with each student as possible, and we use technology as a supplement."

Before most students had access to the Internet, they called up the tutorials on computers in the on-campus Biology Learning Center -- now a 1,200-square-foot facility boasting 36 iMac workstations with high-speed Internet connections. Everyone who logs on to the Biology Project, from whatever location and for whatever purpose, "has access to the latest biology research data, incorporated into interactive learning activities" that require them to "interpret the data and make conclusions," Hallick explains.

With a grant from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Hallick and his colleagues took the Biology Project online in 1996. Since then, the site has earned an international reputation for educational excellence. It has been partially translated into three languages and remains fresh and relevant thanks to new technologies, learning materials, activities and partnerships.

Now an active member of the Biology Project steering committee, Hallick chaired the committee for its first four years and worked on the grant applications for early funding. He responds to many of the dozens of questions e-mailed to the Project each week and he created or contributed to 22 of the Biology Project's 50 learning modules, which include:

• Blood Types
• Color
• Blindness
• Using Computers to Explore DNA Structure
• Using Computers to Study Molecular Structure
• Environmental Tobacco Smoke and Lung Development DNA Profiling

The Biology Project is continuously evolving. "A current goal," says Hallick, "is to obtain funding for a major new component on nutrition, obesity, and human health." Obesity, he explains, is an increasingly common health liability that contributes to type II diabetes, arteriosclerosis, and other serious disorders.

The Biology Project, he adds, can "educate interested learners at all levels about the causes of obesity, methods of prevention, and associated diseases."

Access, too, will increase, thanks to new technology "to enable collaborators from anywhere in the world to translate our content into their local languages using a Web-based interface," says Hallick. The technology, he says, "will also be used for authoring new materials in English."

High praise The Biology Project has received dozens of awards and accolades. The site was rated "indispensable" by BioMedLink and was a Learning in Motion top-10 site. It has garnered praise from the SciLinks program, a service of the National Science Teachers Association, plus:

• WannaLearn directory
• National Biological Information Infrastructure
• Discovery Channel School
• Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
• SciWeb - The Life Science Home Page
• International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences
• BBC Education Web Guide
• Cyber-Teddy Top 500 Web Sites
• New Scientist
• Medsite

...and many others.