Instructions+for+using+Digital+Microscopes

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Calibration
7. VERY IMPORTANT! When you are measuring your amalgamation, you must be sure the calibration is checked for the power that you actually used when making the pictures or the sizes will be way off.
 * 1) Obtain a Calibration Slide from your instructor. Open Motic Images Plus software on your computer and connect your computer to the microscope using the USB cable.
 * 2) Center the cross hairs on the slide in your view under low power using the ocular lens, manually.
 * 3) In Motic Images Plus, Select File> New> Live Video. You should see: [[image:callibration_1.png width="192" height="176"]]
 * 4) Select Measure> Calibration Wizard.
 * 5) Under Objective Lens, select "10x". Under circle diameter, type in "0.20" mm. Click "Calibrate". [[image:callibration_2.png width="479" height="302"]]
 * 6) Follow the same procedure for high power. Move the objective lens to high power and get the circle in focus. In the Calibration Wizard,under Objective Lens, select "40x". Under circle diameter, type in "0.20" mm. Click "Calibrate".

If you are starting with a new slide, then go to: File: capture or new.: then choose Live video and hit OK. This will bring up a new screen of what is on your microscope stage. .
 * TAKING A STILL IMAGE**


 * 1) Take a still photo in Motic Images Plus
 * 2) Find the view you would like to save. High power is best for detail.
 * 3) Go to: File: Save as.
 * 4) as: lastname. organismname. mix
 * 5) Save to Desktop [[image:yhsbiology/Screen Shot 2013-10-16 at 8.31.35 AM.png width="158" height="207"]] [[image:yhsbiology/Screen Shot 2013-10-16 at 8.36.22 AM.png width="245" height="95"]]
 * 6) Open the file from Desktop and edit for labels (see below).
 * 7) Label the power at which this was taken
 * 8) Measure size on photo on the low power view only. (See instructions below for measuring.)
 * 9) Label parts of the organism. Use high power if possible. (See instructions below for labeling.)
 * 10) Print this and attach to your lab.
 * 11) Complete the other sections on your lab handouts ( questions, movement diagrams.)

Movement VIDEO

 * 1) Capture **video** of organisms moving.
 * 2) Go to File/New
 * 3) Click on Live Video
 * 4) Make sure you are on low power . Find the best view of your organism. It is best to be sure it is in a corner and proceeding across your slide.
 * 5) Click on the video camera (3rd over icon at top of your screen) [[image:Screen Shot 2013-10-16 at 9.09.31 AM.png width="132" height="48"]]
 * 6) Before you continue change the settings:
 * 7) Save as: __lastname1.organismname.mov__
 * 8) Change the time limit to 15 sec.
 * 9) Save to Desktop
 * 10) [[image:Screen Shot 2013-10-16 at 9.11.06 AM.png width="265" height="104"]]
 * When you click "Save", it will start recording**. The recording is complete when the bottom left says 100%.
 * 1) NOTE: Time your movie to begin so as to include as much of the organism as possible. Be sure enough of the organism will be on the screen during the recording time
 * 2) ===Auto Capture and Amalgamation (skip this unless asked to do this)===
 * 3) When you are ready to capture, click on the middle icon with the stopwatch (or File:Auto Capture)
 * 4) Here you will need to choose the interval you want (how often it takes a picture) and the total images (how long it will go). The time should be based on fast your organism moves. A slow moving organism should have a longer interval and can have fewer images.
 * 5) Click OK to start the Auto Capture
 * 6) This will save to your Motic Library folder.
 * 7) Open the Motic Library.
 * 8) Go to File/open and click on the first ".mix" picture.
 * 9) When the picture shows up in the choose box, the choice will be highlighted in the list in beige- you can now drag the icon next to the picture number (not the picture itself) down to the open white space below.
 * 10) Repeat this for each of the captured pictures. Be sure to do it in order of the numbers on the files. (Be patient as this takes a slow, careful touch. Pause a moment before dragging or you will highlight it all at once).
 * 11) When complete, click on Amalgamation and choose __Each__ of these amalgamation choices: **Add, And, DIfference, Darkest**. Click "OK" after each and go right back and do the next amagamation type. Do not click out or try to see the amalgamation yet or you will have to redo your lineup of pictures. If you have a slower organism, you might choose every other picture to see the images more spread out.
 * 12) You will be given a name to find each amalgamation in your Motic library. Choose the best choice for your organism. "Darkest" seems to work for most organisms. Use your amalgamation to calculate rate of travel. (See instructions under measurement). Post your amalgamation to the class wiki, saved as:__.organismname.amal.bmp__ On the wiki, record the time elapsed. (Example: you took a picture every 2 sec for 10 pictures, so time elapsed is 20 seconds. Or you took 1 picture per second for 15 sec, but only used the first 5 pictures, then time elapsed is 5 seconds).

Using the measuring tools

 * 1) Under the tools, choose show tool palette, **choose the measure line** and click on one end of your organism, drag to the other and release. IMPORTANT: Go to measure: calibrations: then be sure the correct (10x or 40x) objective is chosen or your measurements will be scaled incorrectly.
 * 2) A large white box will appear with the actual microns measurement at the top. Record this in your lab. Drag it to a spot at the bottom of your screen and hide all but the micron size part by pulling it below the bottom edge. [[image:Screen Shot 2013-10-16 at 8.56.34 AM.png width="363" height="234"]]
 * 3) **To label** the parts, use the **T for text box**, which can then be sized to be a small box and moved to the right place, then connect to the body part by the line found on the paint row. [[image:yhsbiology/Screen Shot 2013-10-16 at 9.02.48 AM.png width="366" height="293"]]
 * 4) You can brighten the color of your organism by choosing **adjust** under __Image__ - there are 3 options to play with to enhance your photo and make it easier to see. This is important to do before trying to print it as they will be too dark otherwise.

AMALGAMATION (if assigned) 2. In the amalgamation use the same tool, measure each photo from the same point each time- ie. from the front end of the first figure to the front end of the next or the same part in each picture. Add the distances traveled(round to one decimal) in the time span you chose and calculate distance per second.Record in your table. The following was done using __difference__ for the amalgamation choice. Note the blue arrows on the edges pointing downwards. See the Volvox section for an example using __darkest__ as the choice. . 3. Repeat for each of the posted pictures for your organism and calculate a final average. 4. Repeat for the other 3 kinds of organisms which other classmates have posted. 5. Compare the rates of locomotion and rank order them from fastest to slowest.


 * If you do a measurement, and wish to remove it, click on the arrow, then go to edit and choose undo or delete. Undo also works for actions and will let you go back several steps if wanted, just click undo over and over.
 * You can click on the white measure box and move it with the "hand".
 * You can choose under "measure" to check on the measure table where they will all be listed.
 * Experiment with the various tools and options- let us know if you discover anything cool- we are all just learning how to use this!