Vernier data logging - first impressions
Having already struggled to use Phillip Harris, Data Harvest and XLlogger data loggers with students, it was with an expectation of rushing around solving lots of little problems that I embarked on a...
Interesting ways of using Mesocosms
Since the publication of the new IB guide I've been puzzling over Mesocosms. The guide says, "Setting up sealed mesocosms to try to establish sustainability. (Practical 5)" So what is a mesocosm exactly?...
Backward Planning with the new IB guide
Planning activities with the new IB Guide - using the Understanding by Design format The 2014 IB guide has been written with a new focus on concept based learning and for this reason the command terms...
Zygote body: a resource for human anatomy
This free web resource, an now an ipad app called Atlas is a wonderful 3D viewer of the body. It could really help students during the topic on human biology. Zygote body claims, "you can dissect anatomy...
Can Foldit teach IB biologists about protein structure?
Foldit is an online game in which humans try to solve one of the hardest computational problems in biology: protein folding. That is building the tertiary structure of proteins. Surprisingly you don't...
Biology Guide Pre-publication
The most reassuring thing is that there is no great change to the Biology content of the new guide. Lots of the sub-topic titles are familiar and there isn't any revolutionary change to the topics. There...
IB graduates have a greater chance of university success
One of the highlights of teaching IB is to speak to students who return from university in the holidays. "How are you getting on?", is a question which always presents itself. Many students describe...
Data logging dilemma
Some of the best data logging equipment you can buy comes from Vernier and the Labquest interface has been around for a while. What are the advantages of the new Labquest2 and its little partner the Labquest...
Chasing creativity in Biology Lessons
After a recent workshop on differentiation, where we looked at nurturing creativity to enhance differentiation, an art teacher said to me, "It is important to remember that creativity is a set of behaviours....
An embarrassment to biology education?
The latest advances in genetics have begun to unsettle the science behind many of the common examples of genetic inheritance biology teachers have been using for decades. Simple inheritance of characteristics...