Biology Support

This assignment was extremely difficult for me. I must have subscribed to 30 listservs and got few responses. In addition, the assignment says to like the listservs to their page, however I have found this impossible. I have looked at some of the other students' pages and links, but I never saw any pages when I was looking - just huge lists of which I picked some that sounded good and subscribed. If and when I got a response, they were only email responses. So, I will link the addresses that I have for listservs and describe them, but they don't have any webpages to link to. Just a quick note about my choices - I am an undergrad biology major at UD and am currently taking my final education class, methods, to become a teacher. Therefore, my choices were all based around biology to help me plan my unit and lesson plans.

Of the two responses I got from this listserv, they were both teachers discussing the standards and the curriculum they were dealing with in Kansas. Although the conversation between the two of them seemed great, and they did say a few things about how they try very diligently to add in activities to the state required curriculum, the overall subject matter was pointless to me. I didn't have any interest in the Kansas curriculum. I do think, however, that the point of the listserv was great - teachers collaborating with other teachers. I know from listening to experienced teachers that is a huge problem. It was nice to see this collaboration was positive, instead of the usual moaning about their jobs, students, and administrations. They were trying to help each other work with their standards to run a successful classroom.

I think that if this site was a little more active, or the subject matter related more to myself, I would have enjoyed it more. I found that reading this posts were interesting, though I would have been much more apt to respond if there was something that I could have more directly used.

When subscribing by email link provided, the subject line should read subscribe biosupport.

I have used this National Science Teacher Association website via my methods professor a number of times and decided check out the listserv. Since you have to be a member to get onto the site, she was kind enough to register for the lists and forward the emails that she got to me. I received about six emails from the week and a half that I was subscribed, dealing with national standards versus state standards. Being that I am first learning about the standards now, it was interesting to read this emails. They were saying how national standards often differ from state standards, and how teachers are left to flounder as to which ones to address. I'm guessing it is often difficult to reach all of the standards, especially when they don't concur with one another. In discussing this situation and the listserv as a whole with my professor, she said that this is one of the many reoccurring issues that comes up with this list. Some of the other big topic areas are alternative assessment, inclusion classrooms, and professional development opportunities.

Bio Netbook

To preface these search tools as I did with the listserv links, all of these search engines provide science based information, most specifically biology related. I have found these sites useful, especially on creating activities in the classroom in teaching an AP Anatomy and Physiology class, a regular core Biology class, and an Ecology/Environment Science Class and finding specific articles that will help students read in depth about topics.

This site is set up similar to how library databases are set up. I woudn't classify this as an easy to use site, as the site just isn't as friendly as some others. I found that you had to be very specific as to what you typed in to search for, and it took some time to go through all the hits because many were advanced journal articles or published papers that were PhD level. However, it was a very comprehensive site, especially when researching specific areas. This would not necessarily be useful for broad topics such as Ecology, but would be great if a very specific subject matter in ecology needed to be researched.

This site was so interactive - I had to stop playing with it so I could complete my assignment! This website is a very interactive way for students to learn about plant structure and functions, as well as the important factors for their survival. It also lets students experiment with plants as they are related to the effects of the environment. For example, you choose the variable conditions such as the amount of rain and the temperature, and let the plant grow. Then, you get to analyze the results.

Find a site like this was such a gift, as in a regular high school science classroom, there isn't time to construct and follow through on an experiment like this. Discussing the reality of variables on plant success only goes so far - but the ability for students to do an online lab that takes you through the whole experiment rather quickly allows the students to come to their own conclusions as they watch what happens instead of simply telling them what would happen.

This site is great for a regular biology class studying plants as well as an environmental science class discussing the effects of the environment on the success of organisms.

I got to perform open heart surgery! This virtual trip takes you to visit the human heart and see how circulation works, allows you to read about patients with possible heart disease, perform medical tests, diagnose them with disease, and treat their medical problem. You get to perform a heart catheterization and bypass surgery, and then read about prevention of heart disease.

This site was so interactive. There are little "quizzes" to make sure that you know the steps in circulation, the proper sequence to prepare a patient for surgery, picking and placing a new vein for bypass surgery, and making sure that you know how to keep your heart healthy.

Though this site is not for someone in a medical profession to learn about heart disease, I think it would be great for my anatomy and physiology class, where many students are interested in medical fields. I think this site would best be used in a classroom by supplying students with a worksheet to fill out as they follow through the field trip. There is a lot of information and would probably be difficult for a student to remember all of it, or pay attention to the important points for class without a guide, such as a worksheet.

This site is like a virtual calculator for weather conversions. There are four different abilities for this site - to convert temperature from one form (Celsius) to another (Fahrenheit), to calculate wind chill and heat index, to calculate dew point and relative humidity, and to convert the measurements of pressure, similar to that of temperature.

This data tool is great for any science class studying these areas of weather, for example, my environmental science class. Though I believe it is important for students to know how these conversions and calculations are made, I think that once they are comfortable with that and can manipulate the numbers on their own, this is a great tool for them to use. It's a great time saver when students are asked for data in a measurement that they don't have - it's a plug and chug equation that they don't have do (so long that they understand how it is being converted).

Again, I think it is important for teachers to be careful when using such tools to make sure that students understand how these conversions are being made by the computer. I think it is important that teachers physically have students do these calculations on paper before offering them a computer to do them.

This site allows you to enter in, or paste, a genetic code and have the computer program translate it into amino acids. This a great tool to have, instead of having to read a genetic code chart, which is much more time consuming. The site also gives you a few options as to strict or wobble sequences and the size of the reading frame.

This tool can be very helpful in an advanced biology course where the teacher is delving deep into genetics. There are some definite prerequisites to using a site like this, such as having the students understand how sequences of DNA are translated into amino acid triplets, what a reading frame is, and the idea of wobble.

This tool can be helpful to allow students to compare the protein sequences of varying animals when trying to see how close of a genetic relationship there is amongst them.

This project allowed students to test water samples in their school's area and discuss the hypotheses created, results discussed, and theories decided upon across the nation of schools that join the project. This project is recommended for high school students, specifically those in an environmental science course, due to the intensity of the tests that are required. This project outlines the water tests that are to be done - temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrate and phosphate levels. In hypothesizing about the theories, student are involved in a number of curriculum required activities - inquiry, population dynamics, ecosystems, diversity, and adaptations.

This project offers an interesting addition to a classroom, as students get to participate in extensive laboratory experience, and then get to discuss and compare their results with other classrooms of students that are participating in the experimental procedures thousands of miles away.

This project also offers teachers extra activities to engage their students in, to broaden their understanding of the curriculum objectives.

The biggest precaution of this telecollaborative project, stated in the project website, is that of equipment. All of the water tests that must be done require specific tools and pieces of equipment. If the teacher involved does not have this equipment, the experiments cannot be done and participation is not possible.

This project allows students to experience the real-life ecology, biology, and niche of the Tundra Swan. Students use the information provided by scientists to create graphs, interpret maps, investigate locations of the swans, and look at their habitats. These ideas contribute to a student's better understanding of the sawn's migration behavior and needs, and extend those ideas to other animals.

In addition to getting more experience using the scientific method, students are able to talk to scientists and other classrooms that are participating in this research, asking questions about what they are doing and hopefully finding answers to further their knowledge and understanding.

I thought this site had a great addition to it, in that it provides lesson plans for teachers to use in explaining the curriculum concepts of niche and biomes. This project allows many different aged classes to use this project. The parts described above are outlined for a high school level class, again environmental science preferably, but can also be used in different ways for middle and elementary school students.

I don't believe there to be any precautions for use, as there are no physical demands of this research project. However, it is important for the students to have a good understanding of niche and habitats, as well as the ability to create graphs and interpret maps before this project should start in a classroom.