Geniverse vs StarGenetics

Geniverse was free, web-based software for learning heredity and genetics by breeding and studying virtual dragons. Its interactive models used real genes to support simulated experiments and generate genetic data. Dragon genes and traits were based on anole lizards, mice and fruit flies. Activities covered heredity and genetic diseases, asking students to produce evidence and present findings through writing and classroom scientific argumentation. Teachers were expected to guide the work and connect it with real-world genetics. The project described audiences across middle school, high school, higher education and informal learning, with high school biology as its stated focus. Concord reported effects on science knowledge and evidence-based argumentation, while noting classroom implementation influenced outcomes and only 25% of students in one study reached the minimum level. Geniverse has been retired because it became too difficult to maintain after National Science Foundation funding ended. Its Lab resource ran in a browser, including listed Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Internet Explorer and Edge versions.

StarGenetics is a free simulator for Mendelian genetics crosses, intended to teach genetics concepts and experimental design. Its stated audience ranges from high school biology to advanced undergraduate biology. Students can use visualizers for cows, fish, flies, peas, a smiley face and yeast. Instructor resources cover genetic crosses, Punnett squares, complementation, epistasis, gene linkage and mapping, and tetrad analysis. Instructors can customize exercises using Excel workbooks in XLS format. The Punnett Square tool summarizes expected genotypic distributions for monohybrid and dihybrid crosses. Fly mating results can be viewed individually, sorted by sex and phenotype, or summarized by phenotype; DNA markers for genetic mapping are available in the Fly and Fish visualizers. Experiments can be saved to a file and reopened later. Excel export is limited to Fly exercises. StarGenetics is accessible through the web and downloadable for Linux, Windows and macOS. MIT recommends Java Web Start and provides operating-system downloads for users with limited internet connectivity. Users can submit bug reports, feature requests, comments or questions through the in-app suggestions form.