Bizarre Clouds

One of the ways I started class back in the day was by bringing up current science events - no matter whether it was biology or something else. The only prerequisite was that it had to have a high resolution picture so I could put it up on the projector. Today I heard about a cloud on Saturn. Here's the link. Quite the head scratcher.

Open Post

Biology Help is a click away

Biology For All

From the initial looks of it, this blog may be construed as a place for students to get help. That is certainly one of the uses of this blog, but I don't want to limit it to one use yet.

I am a "Stay at Home Dad" (or SAHD for short - thank you Stephen Colbert) and recently while I was at a "function" with my 20 month old, I had a conversation with a mother of an 18 month old. We talked about what we were doing in the meantime while our professional lives were on hold and I told her about this blog. She said "That's great, because I have spoken with so many parents who want to do more science stuff with their kids."

Now short of starting my own "Science Birthday Party" company, I want to help parents do what hopefully I am doing with my own two kids - instill an enjoyment of science. Whether it's going on a nature walk, playing with dinosaurs, or going to the local science museum, I intend to make this blog a home for enjoyable biology and science activities and discussion.

So How Does It Work?

The purpose of this blog is to create a community of people interested in biology - students, teachers, parents, professors - who wish to have a conversation about biology in their lives. Go to a post, type a comment, see the responses you receive. If you are having problems with a particularly sticky biology topic, post a response anywhere and see what happens. Homework answers will not be given out on a platter, but hopefully the conversation that ensues will provide a better understanding to the concepts at hand.

Let's go - Try it out.

Welcome to the Biology Mart

A little about me. Ten years ago, I was a rookie biology teacher who was teaching at a suburban Twin Cities Catholic High School, getting my cute, little ears wet. After getting married, having kid one, then having kid two, my wife and I decided that I should stay home with the two peanuts, whilest she have a go at the working world.

Things have worked out nicely, but I miss teaching and being part of the "educational landscape" (outside of teaching my own kids). Having a slight background in technology got me thinking about how I could teach, but still stay home. Therefore - four tiny letters later... BLOG.

The Biology Mart was the name of my class web site when I taught. I figured I'd keep the name - I'm pretty attached to it. I would like to use the resources I have spent ten years developing, and start a conversation with biology students (and science students for that matter) that will keep me plugged into what they're doing, all the while helping students get the most out of what they're studying.

I hope this fulfills a need for some folks - and if it does, thanks for having me. Check back often for "conversation starters"