Sort and filter lists to practice identifying any species you choose. Plants can be sorted taxonomically by botanical family or genus, or morphologically by leaf features. Within the course-facing tool, plants can also be sorted by the week in which they are taught over the semester (see that link in Moodle).
Each species featured in the tool can be clicked on to view multiple photos of the different morphological features students are required to know. Viewers may browse through varying photos of leaves, bark, twig, bud, fruit, cone, and form of each species to which these features are applicable.
Choose from a selection of pre-made quizzes or create a custom quiz by adjusting settings within the tool. Quizzing helps reinforce sight-recognition of species and allows students to practice the spelling of botanical names to help prepare for in-field lab quizzes.
About ILEX
Learning Dendrology is practice, not magic. But the ILEX (Identify, Learn, EXplore) tool is the result of a magical collaboration!
With the outbreak of COVID-19 and course delivery moving online in 2020, the teaching staff took thousands of photos of leaves, branches, fruits, cones and bark that they used to teach and assess student identification skills. We needed a virtual study tool that would supplement online course lectures, labs, and videos.
In Fall 2020 we adapted the Virtual Learning - Plant Identification (VL-PI) software created by Dr. Bruce Kirchoff at UNC Greensboro to help students review and quiz plant species. TAs Duncan Fraser and Maccoy Kerrigan took thousands of images, enabling students to study and practice from an image pool of curated, verified images. Dr. Kirchoff was generous with his time and instrumental in helping us quickly get this software up and running for our students.
With the help of a DELTA Critical Path grant, we sought to create a similar practice tool online. Using the same curated images, David Tredwell and Yan Shen, with NC State’s Digital Education and Learning Technology Applications (DELTA) team developed ILEX (Identify, Learn, EXplore), an online practice tool. The online tool does not require students to install software or download large sets of images, it is accessible from anywhere with an internet connection, and updates are available to all users simultaneously. Additionally, the designers built in many user-friendly options to sort and practice different sets of species.
Students in the Fall 2021 class piloted ILEX, and an end-of-semester survey showed that over 90% of students used the ILEX tool. Students reported doing better in the course with the aid of the tool, especially when it came to remembering botanical names and spelling them correctly, as well as immediate sight recognition.
In Summer 2022, Maccoy Kerrigan added taxonomic updates, species range maps, and additional species information, and we created a public version of the tool, which we hope reaches other Dendrology classes and a broad public audience. More trees for everyone!
The 2020 Dendro teaching staff chose ILEX as a favorite genus name, standing for the acronym Identify, Learn, EXplore. Special thanks to Duncan Fraser, Rachel Jessup, Anna McCallum, and Maccoy Kerrigan for their above-and-beyond efforts delivering the online Dendrology class, and all who assisted in the vision and development of this tool.
Reach out to us if you would like to collaborate or adopt use of the ILEX tool at your school or organization. Please contact Dr. Steph Jeffries (steph_jeffries@ncsu.edu). If you would like to use the tool, please complete this registration (which will give you a link to ILEX as soon as you submit it), so we can track usership and continue to improve ILEX. If you are interested in collaborating and adding species and images, please send me a note.
Spot an issue with the program or an inaccuracy in the information presented? Let us know and we'll get right on it.