We’re pleased to announce our new resource Ensembl for Educators! This resource brings together practical teaching materials, walkthroughs, and support to help educators keep pace with a browser that is updated regularly. Designed to make teaching easier, it gives instructors a central place to find resources they can use, adapt, and reuse in their own teaching. This first edition of Ensembl for Educators contains content and materials for the latest Ensembl version – Ensembl 116/Ensembl Genomes 63.
Ensembl is a dynamic resource that is regularly updated to reflect new data, improvements to the interface, and changes in functionality. For educators, this creates a familiar challenge: how do I teach a platform that continues to evolve while ensuring that learning materials remain accurate, accessible, and relevant? The Ensembl for Educators resource has been developed to meet that need.
This resource brings together teaching materials, walkthroughs, and supporting content in one place, with a clear focus on helping educators teach Ensembl more effectively. It is intended for anyone involved in teaching or training, whether in undergraduate education, postgraduate instruction, research training, or outreach. By providing a central point of reference, it helps educators work more efficiently and maintain continuity in their teaching.
Why did we create this resource?
Teaching Ensembl requires more than an understanding of the browser itself. It also requires teaching materials that keep pace with changes in the platform. Screenshots, examples, and instructions can quickly become outdated, particularly when the interface is updated or when the underlying data changes.
The Ensembl for Educators resource was created to address this challenge. It supports educators by providing materials that are aligned with the current version of Ensembl and that can be adapted for different teaching contexts. This reduces the need to rebuild sessions from the ground up and allows educators to focus on the scientific and analytical concepts they want students to learn.
What does the resource provide?
The resource is part of the broader Ensembl Training site and includes a range of materials that can support teaching and learning. These include walkthroughs, tutorials, videos, webinar recordings, exercises, and workshop materials.
Together, these resources offer flexibility for a variety of teaching formats. They can be used in live demonstrations, classroom activities, self-directed study, or preparatory reading. They are also useful for supporting learners with different levels of experience, allowing educators to direct students to material that matches their needs.
Ensembl Outreach supporting effective teaching
The value of the resource lies not only in the materials it contains, but also in the way it supports teaching practice. It helps educators plan sessions more efficiently, provides reliable content that can be reused across cohorts, and offers a stable reference point in a platform that changes over time.
This is particularly important in Ensembl teaching, where keeping materials current can otherwise require significant time and effort. By making high-quality resources easier to access and reuse, the page helps educators concentrate on teaching biological interpretation, data exploration, and practical use of the browser.
Teaching across versions
Throughout the transition to the new Ensembl Data Platform, a common question when teaching Ensembl will be whether to use the older interface (i.e. Ensembl 116 / Ensembl Genomes 63 and earlier) or the newer one. You may find that the current version is the most appropriate choice, as it reflects the version learners are most likely to encounter in practice and currently has the functionality that your audience may need. Archived versions remain important when teaching historical examples, reproducing published analyses, or working with older materials.
The Ensembl for Educators resource helps educators make these decisions with greater confidence. It supports teaching during periods of transition and encourages clear communication about which version is being used in a given session. This is especially helpful when adapting materials for different audiences or for courses that span more than one release.
Part of the wider Ensembl Training offer
The educators page sits within the wider Ensembl Training website, which provides online resources, practical exercises, and supporting materials for learners at different levels. Together, these resources reflect a broader commitment to making Ensembl accessible not only to researchers, but also to those who teach and support its use.
For educators, this means there is a growing collection of materials designed to make Ensembl teaching more manageable, more consistent, and more adaptable. The Ensembl for Educators resource is intended to be part of that effort: a practical tool that supports good teaching and helps educators respond to a changing platform.
Get started
We encourage educators to explore the resource and consider how it might support their own teaching. Whether you are preparing a lecture, a practical class, a workshop, or a training session, the materials are designed to be reused and adapted to suit your needs.
As Ensembl continues to develop, the Ensembl for Educators resource will help ensure that teaching can keep pace. By providing reliable, current, and reusable materials, it offers educators a stronger foundation for teaching Ensembl with confidence.
Author: Louisse Paola Mirabueno
Editors: Jorge Batista da Rocha, Aleena Mushtaq