SWANbiology

Parents: Progress Book

Mr. Swan — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:04:11 +0000

Following the Oak Hills High School open house on Wednesday night I wanted to be sure to reach out to all of the parents that were able to attend and to those who were not. One of the things that was discussed was the use of Progress Book to monitor your student’s progress – being notified when there is a missing assignment or an assignment with a low grade added to the gradebook. In addition, you have the ability to customize what constitutes as a “low grade.” In fact, you can even select to be notified for all new grades by choosing an “A” as the “low grade” notifier.

This document will guide you through the process.

Chapter 22 (Class Presentation)

Mr. Swan — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 23:49:34 +0000

Just like with Chapter 1, I have included the Chapter 22 in-class presentation to our resources here.

Evolution, Unit Trailer

Mr. Swan — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:00:07 +0000

I love evolution, I think I have mentioned that before. In order to get everyone ready for the exciting world of natural selection, the evolution of population, the origin of species, and the history of life on Earth, I have pieced together a short “trailer” of the subject. The “trailer” looks at some of the influential figures in evolution, elements that influenced major evolutionary theories, and just a bit of this and that. While this is certainly not as thrilling as the latest big-money box office smash, I hope that this will get you thinking about the subject we will be discussing over the next couple of weeks: EVOLUTION!

Characteristics of Life

Mr. Swan — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 01:25:05 +0000

Over the past few days we have examined the characteristics that nearly all living organisms share. Although our book gives eight characteristics, there are other sources that describe seven, or even six. The key to understanding what all living organisms have in common is to really take a look at all the list and examine the overlap and/or duplication of characteristics – determining how you would best describe the features of living organisms.

To review what our book described as the Eight Characteristics of Life I have added them below and provided a link that may help you better make sense of each.

Living things:

Are made up of units called cells.
Reproduce.
Are based on a universal genetic code (DNA).
Grow and develop.
Obtain and use materials and energy.
Respond to their environment.
Maintain a stable internal environment (homeostasis).
(Taken as a group) change over time (evolution).

Chapter 22 Resources

Mr. Swan — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:50:42 +0000

With Chapter 1 behind us, at least for the most part (thank you technology fail), we can begin to look ahead to our next chapter, Chapter 22: Descent with Modification. As you prepare for our discussion of Chapter 22 on Wednesday, the same day that chapter’s book quiz is due, wanted to be sure to include the same resources that were made available for Chapter 1.

Just as before I have included the Learning Objectives for this chapter as outlined by the textbook publishers. Like I mentioned before, these objectives would be good to print out and include in your notes for each chapter. This will help guide you as you prepare for each unit exam, and of course, the AP exam in May.

Below you will find an embedded PowerPoint presentation developed by the publisher of the textbook. Looking through the slides you should see the connections to the textbook and eventually our in-class discussions. Obviously this slideshow is much longer than what was presented in class, but you are not confined by the duration of class to view it.

Chapter 1 (Class Presentation)

Mr. Swan — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 19:47:59 +0000

The following presentation is the Chapter 1 PowerPoint that we went over in class.

Honors Biology: Lab Notebook Needed

Mr. Swan — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:42:22 +0000

As we move towards our second week of school it is very important that all Honors Biology students get their essential classroom supplies. Most important of these is a dedicated composition notebook that will be used as your laboratory notebook (and only your lab notebook) throughout the entire year. As scheduled, at this time, we will begin our first lab on Tuesday, and it is very important that we are able to discuss the process of setting up and using an effective lab notebook prior to working on the lab.

If you do not have your composition notebook on Monday, you will need to rewrite all the work that we do in your lab notebook once you have it purchased. Please realize that I will only accept and grade proper lab notebooks for all labs.

If you have any questions please let me know as soon as possible.

Utilizing Social Media

Mr. Swan — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 16:24:38 +0000

With the power of the Internet and growing wave of social media use, there is no longer any excuse to be out of touch. This goes for the classroom as well. In order to provide as much up-to-date information about the happenings in our class, I have leveraged the power of some of the biggest social media outlets to help. I believe that that the more I can be available, across many different platforms, the likelihood that some of you may actually contact me when you need help will increase – and helping you be successful is my job.

Below you will find a collection of links that will hopefully provide everyone an opportunity to connect with me regarding assignments, due dates, upcoming exams, questions, and any other communication that you may wish to have with me throughout our year together.

Email: swanbiology [at] gmail [dot] com
Twitter: @swanbiology
Google Buzz: swanbiology
Facebook: AP Biology Page, Honors Biology Page, Biology for Life Page
Blackboard Announcements

Blackboard Fail!

Mr. Swan — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 11:03:53 +0000

Isn’t technology a wonderful thing. As many of you noticed Blackboard crashed and burned Friday afternoon making it impossible to take Chapter 1 quiz. Because I consider myself a reasonable person, the option to take the quiz we be extended until Monday at midnight. This will give everyone who was unable to take the quiz the opportunity to either get it finished this weekend or on Monday – just in case you were not notified of this change.

I apologize for this problem and greatly appreciate everyone’s communication and patience during this small glitch.

Chapter 1 Resources

Mr. Swan — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 00:27:18 +0000

With the first chapter, Chapter 1, in full swing (the chapter quiz posted on Blackboard) I have included some resources that will not only help you prepared for the chapter quiz, but also help you organize your notes and study for the unit test.

The first item is the chapter’s learning objectives. Each statement is a specific learning objective for that chapter. While some chapters have more than others, if you have a general understanding of each statement, the likelihood that you will do well on the exam will greatly increase.

Chapter 1 Presentation