Continuing with the theme... In my last post I showed a blood model that I use to help my students understand that oxygenated blood tends to be a red color and deoxygenated blood tends to have a deep red color with the blood model. blood models Here is another way I use simple materials to demonstrate a concept to my students. I use baby pop-it beads to show the relationship between amino acids and proteins.     Each bead represents an amino acid (I wrote the names of different amino acids on each in permanent marker) and a long chain of them represents a protein.     I keep my eyes pealed for these babies at garage sales because eventually someday I would like to have so many "amino acids" that I can make a protein chain that is long enough to twist and make a shape that would be a better representative of a protein's tertiary structure. What do you use as models in your class? originally posted on ballinwithballing.blogsp...

   My students often copy their notes quickly in class and/or may lose a page or forget their binder at home so now I have found a way that my students can read the notes online. I use a website called Flipsnack www.flipsnack.com  (they also have a quizsnack, bannersnack, and other tools that I recommend checking out). flipsnack's website On Flipsnack.com you can upload .pdf documents and turn them into a virtual flipping book. You can even choose the color of your cover and other features such as a solid hardcover book or a spiral book. My students really seem to enjoy it and it affords them the freedom to look up information even if they left their notes in school. originally posted on ballinwithballing.blogspot.com To view this flipping book you need to have Flash Player 9 or newer installed and JavaScript enabled. Flipsnack is a flash video player that allows you to create stylish flipping books out of your PDF document.

     Last year I was introduced to a fantastic web-based software known as eDoctrina .       If you're a data junkie like me, this program will fill your life with not only hours but days of enjoyment. Since I teach a New York State Regents-level biology class (The Living Environment) I have analyzed the BOCES statistics about every single question on every single exam but I was looking for a way to analyze the different components of the curriculum and my in class assessments. I am also an avid user of technology in my classroom and I want to be able to help every student in my class be the best they can be in the class...so this is how I got hooked on eDoctrina . They like to call people like me "Super-Users" but really I see myself as a "Heavy-User" it is actually more of an addiction than something I am forced to use. It is important for you to know that my district is supporting eDoctrina but is in no way forcing me to use it. ...

     Often teachers find everyday materials and find a new way to use them in the classroom. It's a part of the job that sticks with you and even in the summer I see items in a new way and try to find new ways to help my students learn difficult concepts.  I have noticed that even retired teachers can't turn their brains off and even though they may not have a class anymore they still continue to look for new materials for the classroom. Here is one of my examples from my classroom: skein of yarn (AKA: Chromosome) it might look like a skein of yarn to you...but to a biology teacher (like myself) and to my students it represents a chromosome. Because it is just like DNA that has been all coiled up and packaged so that it is easy to move in the cell.      Could you imagine if they sold yarn uncoiled in the store like this? Uncoiled yarn (AKA: DNA in the cell in Interphase) Yarn uncolied a...

     I started by putting the main topic that we have been studying in class (in this case it was Transport) and  the main categories to get them started. put the main ideas of the concept map on the board Up at the board I placed 6 black expo dry erase markers like these:      I wanted everyone to have the same color so the focus was on the content, not how pretty it looked. My students use the computers almost everyday so I told them that while their computer was starting up  I wanted them to work together and build a "Silent Mind Map" for the unit. They were not allowed to talk.  All of the communication must happen in the writing on the board.  the beginning      Even after they started working online they would look up and still come up to the board and add something, or erase and change something. It was really amazing to see them all work together.      In m...

     Often in biology you need to show the students something and it's small and very difficult for them to see from their seats. One such situation is when you need to show them how to make a wet mount slide or how to use a dropper and a paper towel to change the water under the coverslip.       If you know me, you'll know that I love hardware stores. I love the way you yourself can use a little  elbow grease and fix something yourself. I even love just wandering the store for new ideas. Well, this is one of those ideas. I was at the hardware store and I had an ah-ha moment. I had the clerk cut me two pieces of plexi-glass....one approximately 9 inches by 20 inches (to make a large slide) and the other approximately 6 inches x 6 inches (to make the coverslip).  plexi-glass slide, coverslip and dropper Here's a baster for sale at Kohl's            I used a piece of sandpaper to smooth down the edges...

     Like any other teacher I am constantly revising my curriculum based on student likes/dislikes, new motivation strategies, incorporating new labs, review games, etc. It is very overwhelming to keep it organized so here is the method I have devised.      I have a folder where I keep all ideas for future units. In that folder there is a separate sheet of paper for each unit. a separate sheet for each unit Any random ideas I generate throughout the year that would apply to that unit are jotted down on a post-it note and stuck onto the sheet of paper. post-it notes with ideas post-it notes with ideas      What did we ever do before paperclips and Post-it Notes? Any labs that I want to rewrite or handouts I have found are paper clipped to that sheet of paper. This way I am more likely to revise the units as I go through the year. labs, handouts for rewrites and modifications paper clipped to it.  This i...

Do you ever wonder what other teachers in your discipline are talking about? Do you ever wonder what is happening in their districts? How they are conducting their pre-assessments, APPR's, SLO's? Join a list serve and find out.  I have been a member of the BioForum Listserve hosted out of the State of New York College at Oneonta and I have found it very valuable for acquiring new ideas and new perspectives on teaching Biology. Warning...once you join you will receive a LOT more email but soon you will learn to filter out what is useful to you and what is not.  Click here to sign up to join a science listserve           “I'm a great believer that any tool that enhances communication has profound effects in     terms of how people can learn from each other, and how they can achieve the kind of freedoms that they're interested in.” Bill Gates [Founder of Microsoft Co.] This post originally featu...

9/21 9/21    There are few things that my students love more than going outside. The weather was nice, we had some iPods so we went outside to our school's Memorial Grove. Each tree has been planted in memory of a student or employee who has passed away.  The iPods were on loan from our local Boces but some of my students downloaded the app onto their own iPods at home and brought them in the next day. This worked for us because they did not need the internet to do this lab. (our school does not allow personal devices on the district's wifi)          You can buy an iPod Touch here   or you could use an iPhone or an iPad Here are some screen shots from the app on the iPod: The Tree ID App Identify a Tree Search by different characteristics Images to assist you Choose the correct one add more Your results locations in US pictures fruits   T...