Extreme Biology Blog -high school teacher uses internet to teach biology

Hello!

I recently heard an NPR Science Friday interview of a high school teacher called Stacy Baker at the Staten Island Academy, who teaches biology. She has come up with an ingenious way to teach biology: through blog posts! Her students discuss topics, current research, and help each other study amongst many other things. This is an incredibly creative way to teach; this model seems very simple to reproduce in your own classroom, given how easy it is to start websites and blogs today, along with all the great activities to teach your students with available for free!

You can listen to the NPR show here.

Ms. Baker's blog can be found here.

I first heard about Ms. Baker when I was sent a link to a fantastic video that her students made, which you can watch here. The geoscientists here at UCR were blown away by this, and we are taking notice and trying to fulfill their request here in Riverside!

Best,

Cassy Meyers

Geoscience Education Resources -Geological Society of America

The Geological Society of America provides a lot of free resources online for lesson plans, ideas for activities, and teacher support (try this link here), all of which is excellent material if you want to diversify your teaching a bit. Enjoy the site!

-Cassy Meyers

Barnes and Noble Educator Program -Free for educators!

Hello everyone,

As a disclaimer, I'm not promoting Barnes and Noble or urging you to shop there, but I read today about a discount program for all educators that's free to sign up for. Here's a link to the program on their website:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/bn-at-school/educator.asp?r=1

It's nice to see companies try to help out educators, especially in this recession. I hope this helps!

-Cassy Meyers

UCR GEOP in the news!

In late June, Daniel Garson and I traveled to Baker Elementary in El Monte, CA and gave a GEOP presentation to special education summer school students. We presented Rocks and Minerals and Fossils, and each student took home a mineral and a fossil. Thanks to all the teachers who work so hard for these students! Here is a link to the news article in Mid Valley News, which is also available on the Mountain View District web site. Enjoy!

-Cassy Meyers