JohnBurrell

Untitled

2012-01-29T18:40:00.001+07:00

Flowers growing in Northern Thailand

The simplexity of lung tissue

2012-01-24T18:50:00.001+07:00

Taken with a digital microscope from a prepared specimen. The delicate relationship between blood vessels and epithelial alveoli is revealed. Nothing like the standard textbook diagram.

Drosophila melanogaster

2012-01-22T21:49:00.001+07:00

Drosophila melanogaster (x40) and recoloured. The image was shot by placing an iPad

On the end of the eye piece....the things students do!

Digital microscopy

2012-01-18T15:48:00.001+07:00

T.S. Leaf mesophyll/ colour enhanced

"Crocodiles, what Crocodiles

2012-01-16T21:14:00.001+07:00

students take time out from field work to search the Haew Suwat waterfall area for Crocodiles and possible Leonardo DiCaprio. They found neither!

In search of gibbons-Khao Yai

2012-01-13T19:48:00.001+07:00

The author searching for white handed gibbons on the Biology fieldtrip to Khao Yai

(image; Susama Kitiyakara)

Gibbons Khao Yai.m4a Listen on Posterous

A forest Giant

2012-01-13T06:07:00.001+07:00

Trunk polished by elephants

2012-01-10T11:54:00.001+07:00

The bark of the tree is shiny polished by elephants scratching . Khao yai bio fieldtrip

Day 1: Another tropical dawn

2012-01-10T06:44:00.001+07:00

Field trip day 1: observation and recording

Fieldtrip to Khao Yai

2012-01-07T16:07:00.001+07:00

Making the final preparations for the fieldtrip to Khao Yai on Monday

44 seconds in which to learn how to save life

2012-01-06T11:49:00.001+07:00

Amorphophallus sp.

2012-01-04T23:54:00.001+07:00

My suggestion that this was a parasitic plant was an error. Daniel Nickrent and evolutionary biologist from SIU USA put me straight, pointing out the green colouration in parts of the infructescences. You can read more about these extraordinary plants at the International Aroid Society website. From this site I would suggest that the species name is Amorphophallus kachinensis.

Coffee growing in the hills of Thailand

2012-01-03T08:51:00.001+07:00

RUBISCo

2012-01-01T18:36:00.001+07:00

A canopy of photon harvesting systems. Magnificent.

Lantern rises into new year sky

2012-01-01T09:03:00.001+07:00

p319.mov Watch on Posterous

Traditional lantern lighting in north Thailand . The paper lantern rises on the heat from burning tree resins

Lateen rises into the new year sky

2012-01-01T08:45:00.001+07:00

p263.mov Watch on Posterous

Traditional new year celebration warmed by the hot air of the burning wood resin

Egg boiling in the geyser

2011-12-31T18:46:00.001+07:00

Hot springs boil to the surface just outside Pai. North Thailand . Kids boil eggs demarurinf the egg whites .

Dipterocarp forests near Mae Hong son

2011-12-30T12:50:00.001+07:00

Quick stop for coffee and post cards Thai style

Dipterocarp forest Mae Hong Spn

2011-12-30T12:35:00.001+07:00

A quick morning stop for coffee and noodles

Holoparasitic plant

2011-12-29T20:39:00.001+07:00

Sp identification when I get home. Unless you would care to I'd for me. Growing at about 500 m in dry dipterocarp forest Doi inthanon Chang mai Thailand.

Obluang gorge

2011-12-29T08:22:00.001+07:00

Start of our trip

Holidat tine to stand and stare

2011-12-23T00:58:00.001+07:00

What is this life if, full of care
We have no time to stand and stare.
No time to stand beneath the boughs
And stare as long as sheep or cows.

No time to see, when woods we pass,
Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass,
No time to see, in broad day light,
Streams full of stars, like skies at night

No time to turn at beauty's glance And watch her feet, how they can dance.
No time to wait till her mouth can
Enrich that smile her eyes began.
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
W. H. Davies from Songs Of Joy and Others (1911)

Seasonal greetings

2011-12-22T14:43:00.001+07:00

Fossil Dino Eggs

2011-12-17T21:33:00.001+07:00

Seasonal greetings

2011-12-14T21:03:00.001+07:00

Student Digital MIcroscopy

2011-12-08T11:36:00.001+07:00

Class Panorama

2011-12-03T17:37:00.001+07:00

IB Class Panorama

2011-12-03T17:14:00.001+07:00

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Pan 2

2011-11-23T22:12:00.001+07:00

Shelterbox on Thailand

2011-11-17T16:04:00.001+07:00

2.25 Energy and diet

2011-11-15T11:27:00.001+07:00

2.25.docx Download this file

Empathy: Understanding with Action

2011-10-23T15:08:00.001+07:00

PLease Help!

2011-10-23T14:48:00.001+07:00

Dear Click4biology visitor.

I need your help today! Please visit Shelterbox and give generously

I have provided this site free of charge for many years and never asked for subscriptions or put in petty charges. Now need you to step up to the mark and support the people around me in dire need of assistance. I live in Thailand and teach in an International School, the country is flooded and hundreds have died due to the flooding, the Govt has declared a disaster zone. Please Please visit Shelterbox and make a donation.

Help a family sleep in the dry tonight by visiting Shelterbox and making a donation.

PS I have seen Shelterbox in action in Thailand around the flood region this is a genuine quality organisation. Please, Please help

John

Ribulose

2011-10-22T18:31:00.001+07:00

Glucose

2011-10-22T18:22:00.001+07:00

3.1.2 Types of Reaction

2011-10-20T23:17:00.001+07:00

Contributors start your Posterous mobile

2011-10-08T19:31:00.001+07:00

During the conference I will be going around posting up reports on the individual presentations. Of course if you have your Andriod or iPhone loaded with the free mobile app then we can all add stuff.Many hands make light work. John

Top 20 microscopes images of the year

2011-10-05T18:10:00.001+07:00

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2011/10/nikon-small-world-2011/?pid=2232&viewall=true

How many different kinds of bases are found in DNA?

2011-07-26T12:18:00.006+07:00

Was your answer 4? Wrong!

Read this and try again!

Notice that most of the new bases are versions of the old 4 but with things like methyl groups added. The effect of these other bases is really interesting but for the purposes of the IB Biology examination the answer is still 4.

Freedom is more powerful than fear

2011-07-23T23:34:00.001+07:00

"Freedom is more powerful than fear"

Biochemistry

2011-07-11T21:35:00.000+07:00

Explore the basic elements of Biochemistry.

Just download a QR reader for your smartphone, scan the image of the element and connect to the video.

Perhaps content is still King

2011-07-10T20:50:00.022+07:00

“ I want you to think outside the box"

What a strange request to make of a student.

The box I will assume represents the sum of human knowledge and understanding or at least the sum of the stuff you are trying to teach.

If you request that the student think outside the box then are you not asking for the student to undertake thinking which is unconnected to current thinking.

What value does that have?

The only examples that comes to mind of unconnected thinking might better characterised as madness.

Thinking 'Outside the box' is what might be called creative thinking. Creative thinking is connected to the box, has knowledge of the box, and extends understanding at the edges of the box. To be connected is to have knowledge that is within the box, what might otherwise be known as content.

Yet some teachers, educational reformists and political pundits advocate that we ditch the content and focus on creative thinking skills. Content they argue is only a search engine away. History shows that whether we are dealing with big "C" or little "c" creative thinking there are always connections to what is already known. Give me any example of creative thinking that has value but is unconnected to the rest of human knowledge and understanding. Struggling? Just as I thought, you can’t.

So here's the thing. Every new synthesis with its necessary creative thinking add to the box but extended the edges. The regular shape of this box of human understanding becomes distorted into a living flexing dynamic blob. The blob of human understanding.

Our metaphor seems to be failing us but not as much as ignoring the value of content.

Perhaps content is still King.

reference: Five Minds for the Future by Howard Gardner

Time to stand and stare

2011-06-28T17:46:00.003+07:00

Holidays are here and so now we have time to stand and stare.

Please check back in the new academic year for yet more resources and some big development on this site.

Evolution: In cartoon form, a quick read.

Building a dinosaur from a chicken

2011-06-15T22:06:00.002+07:00

IB Marking finished

2011-06-11T12:04:00.002+07:00

This Eastern Courtier was observed frequently at Pang Soong Lodge Field Station.

The rain is falling hard in Thailand and the forests are alive with butterflies.

Marking IB papers is finished time to get back in the forests. Off tomorrow to Sa Kaew and the Pang Sida

Stay focused!

2011-06-05T14:45:00.001+07:00

Pollination: endless forms most beautiful

2011-05-20T15:51:00.001+07:00

Tomorrows P1

2011-05-17T13:49:00.002+07:00

Are you trying to predict questions yet?
Look at P1 Sl and HL the first question for the past couple of years has nearly always been about statistics topic 1 (but no guarantee).

Are you ready for questions about:

1. What is a t -test
2. If you see something about 68% of the data...what are you thinking about?
3. What is a correlation?
4. Mean, medians and modes?

Take a look at the past couple of years of examination papers, check out the answers.

It's cool to achieve

John

3 days left...its cool to achieve

2011-05-14T22:02:00.008+07:00

While you have been studying I've been in the northern forests of Thailand with my students. These spectacular forest and their creatures (left) are a challenging laboratory for any Biologist never mind an IB Biology student.

A challenge and complexity are things that most IB Biology students are familiar with. Like my own students in the forest I know you will not panic and commit to quality revision in these last few days before the examination. Perfect preparation prevents poor performance but just in case I wish you luck with the questions and hope that this site has been supportive in your study of IB Biology. Its so cool to achieve. John

I'm off up the jungle!

2011-05-08T23:05:00.005+07:00

Off to the North of Thailand to carry out field studies with students .Perhaps we can do some work on foraging Swordtail butterflies or puddling Swallow Tails.

Recently in Khao Yai I sat in the middle of over a hundred butterflies after 2 hours the species total was conservative 16 including a Club Beak (left) or a much better image and great information

Still sometime left to make an impact on your IB Biology , remember 'Its cool to achieve'.

Finishing touches to revision

2011-05-01T15:28:00.001+07:00

If you are looking to put the finishing touches to your revision I hope that you have been accessing Science Video Resources by Stephen Taylor.

This site is a must for all IB Biology students and teachers. Add some class to your revision by visit the site today.

Nymphalidae

2011-04-22T20:47:00.004+07:00

The rainy season has nearly arrived in Thailand and with that increasing number of butterflies are emerging. This male Cesthosia cyane (Leopard lacewing) was drying out in the garden after a short rain shower. Each time you see a beautiful butterfly give a thought to the caterpillar stage which will require a particular food plant. The larvae of this species of butterfly feeds on plant like Adenia, Hibiscus and Passiflora. Food plants are a major determining factor in butterfly distribution.

Nymphalidae

A visitor

2011-04-15T12:56:00.006+07:00

There's always some interesting animal or plant around in Thailand.
Rhinoceros beetle (Coconut beetle), Oryctes rhinoceros (L.)

Turned up in the yard last night. This beetle is a well known pest of the palm plantation. All sort of control methods have been deployed including 'biological control' with a virus

It's very cool to achieve

John

Today on Click4Biology

2011-04-14T21:53:00.002+07:00

X-axis are days of April

Y-Axis number of......

Q1. What days of the week are not popular for studying Biology.

Q2. How many visitors will have accessed click4biology for the month of April.

Clearly many of you are heavily engaged in revision. Stay focused and stick to the syllabus.

Its Cool to Achieve

John

Revising for the exam?

2011-04-14T10:14:00.002+07:00

check out the link by twofootgiraffe retweet to the right

beautiful animation on size of cells etc

could be worth a mark in the exam
John

Adding Value

2011-04-13T21:26:00.002+07:00

Seth Godin says "Business people add value when they make things happen, not when they seek to hire cheap."

I say "teachers add value when they make things happen for students not maintain a monolgue"

Students add value when the engage, assimilated, synthesis and publish their best guess

Its still cool to achieve

John

One Half Million Visitors

2011-04-12T07:26:00.000+07:00

Our 500,000 visitor to Click4Biology was from Liechtenstein or Berlin, difficult to tell

(Bangkok Time)

I would like to thank all of our visitors from Namibia to Ohio and from London to Beijing. Your support is greatly appreciated.

There are lots of new features planned for the 2011-12 academic years but before that there is a little matter of the 2011 examinations. Remember the 5P's:

Perfect Preparation Prevents Poor Performance

Its So Cool to Achieve

John Burrell

Bangkok April 12 2011

500,000 and still exponential

2011-04-03T17:43:00.000+07:00

Thanks for all the recent correspondence and constructive criticism of the site. I always think of the visitors to click4biology as an army of proof readers. Very soon we will pass the landmark half a million visitors not bad for a bunch of static html.

I have to admit to being a little surprised that Click4Biology has survived so long. I had anticipated that a combination of multimedia and the power of big publishing houses would have stolen the thunder by now. Instead the visitor numbers here are still on a curve of exponential growth suggesting to me that the afore mentioned publishers of textbooks still have not grasped the power of the web.

We'll just have to show them how its done.

Good luck in the forth coming examinations

Its still cool to achieve

John

HL and SL Paper 2 2011

2011-03-26T09:50:00.001+07:00

This year Paper 2 will be electronically marked. This means that the format of the answer box will be a little bit different. Here's a summary of the changes from the IBIS website:

 A box around the space where candidates must write their answers. This is so that the scanner can locate candidates’ responses.
 Orientation marks in the four corners of every page. These help the scanner to align the page image correctly.
 A shaded spine section. These give guidance as to where the completed script will be guillotined prior to scanning, and also deter candidates from writing in this area.
 A dashed grid where candidates are required to draw, or add to a graph. This will enable the scanner to easily pick up lines drawn by the candidate on grid lines or axes.

If candidates are unable to complete their answer in the box given, they should continue their answer on supplementary examination stationery and indicate that they have done this within the box.

Ask your teacher to go through the example which has been provided by the board.

Regards

John

Take your learning to Stage 3!

2011-03-24T20:01:00.001+07:00

Just thinking how Life and learning are an adventure. In 1984 Colin Mortlock authored a a book called 'The Adventure Alternative' in brief he said:

Stage 1: Play: Characterized by little emotion through relatively easy participation in activities which are below the person's skill level

Stage 2: Adventure: (Characterized by enjoyment and excitement, where a person's is using his her capabilities more fully, but the person maintains control over the situation and his/her self

Stage 3: Frontier Adventure: Characterized by peak experience, which emerges from a person experiencing adventurous challenges very close to his/her limits. If the person succeeds, then generally a peak experience is had, but there is real risk of pushing too far and falling/failing, leading to Stage 4.

Stage 4: Misadventure: Characterized by a person choosing or being forced to participate in challenges beyond his/her capabilities, resulting in negative emotions (fear, hurt, etc.), possibly injury and even ultimately death.

References
Mortlock, C. (1984). The Adventure Alternative. Cicerone Press: Cumbria, UK.

Paper 1 HL and SL

2011-03-19T22:47:00.000+07:00

Are you trying to predict questions yet?

Look at P1 Sl and HL the first question is nearly always about statistics topic 1 (but no guarantee)

1. What is a t -test
2. If you see something about 68% of the data...what are you thinking about?
3. What is a correlation?
4. Mean, medians and modes?

Take a look at the past couple of years of examination papers, check out the answers.

Prepare accordingly

John

Final Preparations

2011-03-13T12:53:00.001+07:00

Final examinations are just around the corner.

Are you prepared?

Systematically work your way through the syllabus.

Summaries each syllabus statement.

Commit to memory the 'State' and 'Recall' statements
Bullet point the 'descriptions' statements
Set out the logical steps in an 'Explanation' statements
Tabulate (for/against) for your 'Discussions' statements

You still have time to make a difference......Its Cool 2 Achieve

John

Beware Paradigmians bearing gifts

2011-03-06T14:25:00.000+07:00

Beware of education reformist advocating wholesale reorganisation of our school curriculum.

Their evangelical message is seductive.

Their message is that you (the school) are killing creativity(and teachers are applauding)!

Their message is that in a Google World we no longer need content.

They are wrong!

Without content you have no context.

Mastering the content and becoming an expert in the signature disciplines allows one to find context.

The Google World simply provides a tool which allows greater access to the content and so to your best synthesis.

As Gardner has then explained it is at this point, only within contextual knowledge and conceptual understanding that Creative thinking can occur.
Creativity is not thinking outside the box, its thinking on the outer edges of the box, where innovation has context and value.

Those who advocate ditching the content are advocating innovation without context, chaos.
Resist.

Preparing for the final examination.

2011-02-25T19:20:00.000+07:00

I'm guessing your getting to the end of the syllabus and you have completed your IA/ PSOW.

Now you can turn your mind to preparing for the examination.

Preparing for Paper 1:

You can get copies of examination papers going all the way back. I use those going back to 2000 with my students but you need to be aware of the syllabus changes in that time. for some of the questions the topic is no longer covered in the IB Biology syllabus. You also should make sure that the papers come from a legitimate source such as the IBO.

Complete as many papers as possible with a combination of the following strategies.

a) Complete all the questions and have it marked (you teachers will have mark schemes) and the go over the questions that are wrong. As you do this go back to your notes and the relevant section of the syllabus to make sure you understand the correct answer.

b) 'Open Book' style using your notes, textbook and this site find the answer to the questions and be 100% sure of your answer. Aim is 40/40 or 30/30

Most of my students will complete 15-20 papers. That's something like 800 MCQ. This way you will learn the style and pattern of the MCQ and Paper 1.

Oh and don't forget you cannot use a calculator for this paper.

Get started today

Its Cool to Achieve

John

Blogging on the move

2011-02-16T12:14:00.007+07:00

Sitting in the park beneath a Plumera tree taking in the morning sunshine before more psow marking.

Local parks are a great place to do investigations. It's also easier to set open ended investigations in the 'outdoors'.

a few quick ideas then:

butterflies showing food preference in certain plants

Something on dragon fly territory

Seed dispersal around tree

Niche theory for birds feeding in different parts of. A tree

I'm sure you can think of your own , ok back to the marking
It's cool to achieve

John

How to revise using Click4Biology

2011-02-02T13:27:00.005+07:00

UPDATE: Had an essay writing company post comments here, they're not welcome, I do not support them and think they are a disgrace. As Honourable IB students I know you will never resort to this slippery slope.

Here's the revision cycle used by my own students in their private revision:

Step 1:

Using the current syllabus identify the syllabus statement you are going to revise. e.g. 3.1.1

3.1.1State that the most frequently occurring chemical elements in living things are carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen.

Step 2:

Identify the 'Command term' and its meaning.

State means to give a specific name, value or other brief answer without explanation or calculation.

Ok, now we know what we have to to to complete this syllabus statement.

Step 3:

Watch the relevant Click4Biology video on:

http://www.youtube.com/user/click4biology

This resource has videos for two different courses. The IB videos are on playlists with the topic name e.g. Topic 3 Biochem. (The other ones are for iGCSE course and are good basic revision for you).

Step 4:

Make summary notes on the video using Flash Cards.

Step 5:

Go to the relevant click4biology sections: http://click4biology.info/c4b/3/Chem3.1.htm#one

Check your summary and add more if necessary.

Step 6: Test yourself with past paper questions from your teacher. We cannot provide this material as it is subject to copyright of the IBO.

Should take about 5-15 minutes per syllabus statement.

You should be revising now for the final examinations in May, good luck and thanks for supporting Click4Biology.

It's Cool to Achieve

John

Options

2011-01-24T11:04:00.002+07:00

The options links accessible to the public on this site are:

Option A Human Nutrition (thanks to Stephen Taylor).

Option E Neurobiology and Behaviour

Option H Further Human Physiology

other options are not accessible to the public for intellectual copyright reasons.

Emergence

2011-01-20T18:36:00.003+07:00

Click4Biology Videos

2011-01-14T14:55:00.006+07:00

Today we have the pleasure of announcing the beginning of a project to build video files that will support each syllabus statement.

Search YouTube for 'Click4Biology'.

The Click4biology channel is http://www.youtube.com/user/click4biology?feature=mhum#p/p ( you will need to open this in a new window).

This project has only just begun and there are just a few videos at the moment. More will be added in the coming weeks and months.

Each video is a summary of a syllabus statement and a good source for revision or lesson preparation.

It's Cool to Achieve

John

Focus using the syllabus

2011-01-11T18:10:00.000+07:00

A student without a syllabus is like a ship without a rudder.

Biology is a huge subject area and textbooks tend to introduce stuff that frankly is not relevant to your assessment.

Any revision session, preparation for an examination must include a syllabus.

Get a copy of the syllabus today and stay focused on the understanding that is specified in the 'command terms' of each syllabus statement.

Command terms are listed on Page 11 of the syllabus guide.

It's Cool to Achieve

John

Video Revision

2011-01-04T10:06:00.002+07:00

These videos may be a useful revision before beginning your IB Biology study of:

1. Heart Structure and Function
2. Cardiac Cycle Introduction

Or Photosynthesis:

Introduction/ revision of basic Photosynthesis

These are part of a growing series of videos to support my own students taking Edexcel Biology. Once more, please be aware that these are pre-course revision and the numbers DO NOT have any correlation to the IB Biology syllabus.

There may be a development of IB Biology ones for Click4biology.

Christmas Trees and New Years resolutions

2010-12-15T21:14:00.000+07:00

I suppose after 10 years in South East Asia I'm getting used to not seeing beautiful Douglas firs in a winter coat. Though I love the tropical trees somehow the dipterocarp trees don't bear the trinkets of Christmas with the same style as a health Pseudotsuga menziesii.
So very soon now we will be back of to the North of Thailand and the dipterocarp forests. I don't know about you but I'm exhausted and if its been hard for teachers it must be doubly so for IB Biology students around the World.

A chance to recover, recharge and ready yourself for the challenge ahead. For many 2011 will be the final term before the 2011 examinations. So if you have been promising yourself to 'work harder' now is the time to keep that promise (its not too late). No more grand ideas, no more great intentions, now is the time for action.

Have a great holiday and we will see you all back here for 2011.

As always "It's Cool 2 Achieve". Onward to the first Half Million Visitors!

Never too young

2010-12-13T21:47:00.000+07:00

Time to Stand and stare, here come the holidays!
Some of the truly great days are those spent idling through the forests of Thailand with the kids. On our walk we saw 4 species of swallowtail butterflies along with herons, Kingfishers and Macaque monkeys. Oh and here we have found freshwater crabs.

Helianthus spp

2010-12-11T21:19:00.001+07:00

The sunflower (Helianthus sp), this picture was taken by the side of the road today in Saraburi Provence of Thailand. At this time of the year Thais flock to have their pictures taken with the flowers against the beautiful back drop of the mountains.
Of course no self respecting Thai would miss the opportunity to taste some of the (I counted 14 different) dishes which are made by the sides of the fields.

A brief introduction to the biology of Helianthus can be found on wiki pages

400,000 visits

2010-12-09T08:32:00.002+07:00

Many thanks for the support.
Visitor 400,000 actually came from Toronto in Canada.

Darwin's Dangerous Idea

2010-12-08T18:46:00.010+07:00

From PBS a series of 11, 10 minute videos on Charles Darwin

Download and play one per lesson a superb introduction to the great man.

And a wonderful chance to remember the late Stephen Jay Gould.

400,000 Visits day

2010-12-08T09:07:00.000+07:00

Today or tonight (depends on your time zone) should see the 400,000 visits to click4biology.

The much promised completion of option is coming soon along with an Internal Assessment and Extended Essay section.

Thanks for all the support, suggestions and corrections.

It's cool 2 achieve

John

ABC Activity before Concept

2010-12-07T22:41:00.001+07:00

Thanks to Dr Lee Meadows Ph.D. for drawing my attention to an article written about physics teaching by Arthur Eisenkraft. try to just read this and replace Physics with Biology, and don't get too bogged down in the maths.

Now before we Biology teachers get too smug, is it not the case that Biology experiments all too often follow the teaching of the concept? When this occurs the students work is no more than an attempt to validate the concepts taught by the teacher, there's no development of an explanation through inquiry. Why are we so reluctant to let the students have a go and explore Biological phenomena without prescriptive rules. Let them live with a little uncertainty for a while, sort of scientific adventure in which the outcome is far from certain (Mortlock)?

Don't teach the structure of a fruit then have the student dissect and apple. Pose a problem, image an apple flower and then challenge the students to work out (by dissection) how the flower can turn into the fruit. As Eisnekraft so rightly points out this will lend itself so much more to differentiation.

And if not a fruit what about a heart, lung, stem or leaf. As Dr Meadows comments "Without the ABC approach, students do not see how scientific explanations develop from evidence". Now there's reason enough to give it a go, live a little, take a risk, its in the IB learner profile!

Fruit Dissection

2010-12-06T16:32:00.000+07:00

Fruit get a small mention on the IB Biology syllabus bit for the sake of completeness this will be our next lesson.

There are many floating markets in and around Bangkok this one is on the Thonburi side of the city at Khlong Chak Phra.

One way to remember an orange.

2010-12-06T09:17:00.002+07:00

Everyone is publishing number lists, have you noticed? Something like:

10 ways to motivate underachieving kids

20 ways to crack an egg

100 best IT solutions for teachers

1000 ways for an administrator to make a difference

Curious that nobody uses "stupid numbers" 23, 67, 123.

I'm always amazed at the limited ability of the human mind to visualise numbers. Try this:

1. Imagine a single orange (ok, that was easy).

2. Now imagine two oranges. Got it, well done.

3. Now imagine three oranges. NO stop putting them into a triangle, I wanted them in a straight line. Ok that's better.

4. Four oranges...mmmh see you can't do it without putting it into a 2 X 2 grid. If you try the straight line, you focus on a couple of oranges and then switch back and forth between the others.

5. Makes you realise how difficult it is for a students to have a conceptual grasp of big numbers.

6. Next time you invoke the variation in humans due to random fertilisation at 2⁴⁶ remember the kids (and me) are having problems with 4 oranges.

Birthday party in the Park

2010-12-05T23:30:00.000+07:00

What a great evening in Rama 9 park enjoying the fireworks that celebrates the Kings Birthday.

The kids had real fun with balloons and toy rockets and of course lots of spicy food.

And tomorrows a holiday!

Extended Essay (IB) Writing frame 2

2010-12-05T14:29:00.001+07:00

I understand that there was some problem downloading the writing frame. I have tried to reset the share options and this link to the EE Writing frame should work better (fingers crossed).

When it does not load, click 'Open in a New Window'

I do think you will still need to have some kind of a google account to access.

The document is pretty heavy going but its just not one of those things that can be simplified.

Teachers are advised to work through the rational of the document before giving it to students.

Students, get your teacher to take a look first, they are after all your best guide.

10,5,3, 1 ways to do things!

2010-12-05T10:20:00.005+07:00

There are at least 10 ways to use your iPhone as a tool for inclusive learning
There are probably 5 ways to use blogger as a channel for student performance
I’m sure there are three ways you could use FaceBook to create an academic network of students.

But there’s only way to be happy:
Turn off your computer and spend more time with people
In the park now with the family, don’t you just love mobile technology. Hanging out to see the Kings Birthday Fireworks.

Code breakers and role models

2010-12-04T09:43:00.001+07:00

Here are the lucky winners of the click4biology qr decipher competition.

Deciphering codes and patterns is a common theme in Biology perhaps exemplified by Watson and Crick in 1953 but going onto outstanding examples of code breaking in modern day scientists like Kay Davies.

Young people, young women need positive role models and Kay's story is both inspiring and humbling.

For my students about to go to interview at Oxford and Cambridge and other prestigious universities around the world take heed you are about to walk with the giants. Aspire to stand on their shoulders.

Give the students a voice

2010-12-02T21:25:00.001+07:00

Real simple:

Provide a way for student to register their questions, thoughts or comments as the lesson progresses.

Some students are not comfortable with putting up their hand and bring attention to themselves. Others still will feel they are interrupting the flow of the lesson.

You need to find a way to aggregate all these comments, which is where technology is so useful.

A simple chat room, opened up for the duration of the lesson s a nice way to start the process.

It might be possible for you to use something like Twitter of a Social Network site, even Facebook.

How and when you answer the questions is up to you. Play with the idea and see how things go.

Here's a pretty good video on the topic by Cliff Atkinson

Its cool 2 achieve

John

Metacognition with cheese sticks!

2010-11-30T21:44:00.001+07:00

Great work from the students of GSIS South Korea

Quality links and some fun.

2010-11-29T18:50:00.000+07:00

First an IB Biology site with quality links and a great news letter by Steve Harton (International School of Lyon). If you are an IB Bio teacher you really need to be on the mailing list.

10 reasons to ban ball pens and pencils in the classroom this article by Katie Stansberry will make your day.

it's cool 2 achieve

John

How to write up your IA/PSOW

2010-11-29T13:50:00.005+07:00

Writing up a Biology experiment is challenging at the best of times.

The format for the IA IB Biology assessment is not a secret and should be openly shared with the student.

The student needs to then plug their own research, data, analysis, conclusion and evaluation into this format.

The following writing frame has been successfully used with my students and provided here for your use.

Say it with flowers

2010-11-29T10:16:00.000+07:00

Selecting flowers for the dissection of structure.

The samples will be compared with theoretical structures to secure our knowledge.

This is an opportunity to discuss micro propagation (cultivation method), variation and adaptation.

Also a great opportunity to discuss selective breeding.

Secret Message

2010-11-28T17:37:00.001+07:00

9.3 Flowers in Amazing Thailand

2010-11-28T15:10:00.004+07:00

We got up early today and went to the Pak Klong Talad flower market here in Bangkok.

This week we will be looking at plant reproduction (9.3) and in the particularly the structure of the dicotyledonous flower.

We filled the back of the car with flowers for 12 classes of students and had change from $30 to enjoy breakfast with the locals.

Amazing Thailand!

Time to stand and stare.

2010-11-27T16:34:00.001+07:00

Just another weekend on the tropical beaches of Thailand. One of the joys of International teaching is just hanging out on World class beaches, glorious tropic forests and beautiful marine parks. Ah to be back in the UK...not!

Recharging for Monday.

How complexity leads to simplicity

2010-11-25T11:36:00.002+07:00

Click4Biology QR Code

2010-11-24T21:11:00.007+07:00

Perhaps we should make t-shirt?
Consider how you could use these as posters around school, on nature trails, in the lab to direct the student to relevant web pages or even text..

Whats the advantage, discovery, revealing the unknown, making connections.

All I want for Christmas is an iPhone 4 (or should I wait for the 5G)

So you don't have a SmartPhone (how quaint) then try:

1. Use windows snipping tool to snip the code and save it as a jpg (use this image)

2. Upload it to http://zxing.org/w/decode.jspx to get the answer

or QR Code generator
Applications from thethinkingstick scroll down the page

The Power of the QR code

2010-11-24T12:19:00.002+07:00

Shall I compare thee to a Sequoia

2010-11-23T16:28:00.006+07:00

Topic 9: Plants A big picture question.

Compare and contrast the structure of a 40 story building with that of a 400ft coastal redwood....add to comments and I will add to the list

Ok I'll go first:

1. The trees do not expend energy getting water to 400ft but buildings expend considerable energy doing so. 1-0 trees. (me)

2.The oldest Sequoia is 3,500 years old (Based on the ring counts), whereas 40 story building have probably been around for less than 100 years. (from CHWO) Thanks you I make that 2-0 to the trees

3. Both trees and buildings have foundations - roots for trees, and steel for buildings. However, trees can continue growing and strengthening their foundations throughout their entire (from Lene). I like this one. OK trees 3-0 by my score

9.1.2 Mono or Dicot?

2010-11-22T22:48:00.000+07:00

Really easy just make it part of your routine

9.1.2 Outline three differences between the structures of dicotyledonous and monocotyledonous plants.(2)

As you walk about, drive long in the car, site on the bus, look out the window in Geography lessons, ask yourself the following question:

What is the evidence that this is a monocotyledonous or dicotyledonous plant

Nobody will ever know you are being a cool botanist

And can you spare a though for the great John Ray who made it all possible in his "Method of plants' 1682 . Geoffrey Keynes described Ray's work as 'epoch-making piece of work' of 'historical significance'.

It's Cool to Achieve

Extended Essay Writing Frame (free)

2010-11-21T17:23:00.001+07:00

If you need some guidance to write up your extended essay then you can download this wrting frame.

You will need one of the google accounts to access the documents.
Remember this is my document not an IB document.

The guide also includes a marking rubric for teachers (at the end).

It's cool to achieve

Business to follow Teaching

2010-11-19T23:05:00.005+07:00

Its great to have people like Ken Robinson, Dan Pink commenting on the need for educational reform. It is surprising however to see the number of tweets, blogs and videos by teachers declaring these ideas as revolutionary. Robinson and Pink are suggesting today's curriculum needs to be radically changed, indeed they are looking for a paradigm shift in curriculum structure. Teachers have been arguing these points and demanding these reforms for many year, but nobody wanted to listen. In the past coupe of decades teachers have been expected to stand back in awe of captains of business and industry, after all we hadn't got proper jobs! I would have thought with an ounce of humility these same captains of industry would have had their tails between their legs after the financial fiasco's of last year. But oh no, not a bit of it. Not content with the privatisation of profit and the socialisation of debt, they have the cheek to start telling education what reforms are required.
During the 90's administrators in education adopted the information technologies that had successfully reformed business and industry. With the power of the database at their finger tips and the ability to move information from A to B and back again, school administration enjoyed a boom period. The success of the MIS laid the door open to the adoption of other business models, measures of efficiency, units cost, and models of accountability, After all if it was good for business it must be good for education.

Somewhere along the way we lost site of the fact that our unit of production was not uniform unvarying like some mass produced gadget. Rather our product was the finest, most diverse, most creative, innovative item on the planet, young people. How did this happen? How could we the teaching profession have been so short sighted? You know I think we were all seduced by the wonders of the new technologies.Information processing seemed to incredible, databases all knowing, statistics could be generated in an instant, how could it be wrong, how can you argue, we had data, we had numbers.

We didn't know it at the time but these 'new solutions' the MIS, would actually create sufficient inertia both in out schools that it would stifle the true reforms required of the classroom. The MIS did not reduce but actually increase the bureaucratic burden of the teacher. No doubt there where small victories along the way but these where small and local.

The MIS had a life of its own it became a monolith to progress, unstoppable, immovable. immense edifices to the system.

IT had championed administration but had singularly failed to deliver its promise of learning reforms.
Things changed.

Bill Cameron describes this as the 'democratisation of media', we might know it, as blogging, podcasting, or YouTube. Smartphones, iPhones, Tabs, Ipads, Laptops and other gizmo's.

We all know the rhetoric about the effect of the technology, we all know the potential, we all know where we want to go, the difference is that this time its happening.This time the tools actually work. Here just a few of the technology tools to reform your classroom

Now we have a new problem. Teachers are keen to adopt these technologies realising how they empower the learner. Education is nervous of the empowered student not to mention the empowered teacher. Teachers are unclear about which are the best tools and how these can be deployed. Time to trial and evaluate is limited by the huge bureaucracy generated by the MIS. But the tools do work. The real challenge is that this time business and industry cannot offer model of practice for us (or administrators) to follow. You see the rate of change in technology is so fast that it has caught out everybody. With changes in global economic circumstances the bubble for business and industry has burst. In the new markets out sourcing has left business and industry scratching their heads about how to market. Slowly but surely they are realising that a new strategy is required, one in which the customer is valued and cherished, the personal touch is required. Now they step onto the platform on which teachers have been performing for years. Teachers invest in their students with no though for profit, teacher rapidly evaluate and assimilate new methodology to meet the changing needs of those in their care. This time teacher can lead the way, and business and industry would do well to observe.

Watch out business and industry you might learn something form the professionals

It's cool to achieve

John

Nearly 400,000

2010-11-19T20:11:00.001+07:00

I remember the days when click4biology used to attract about 20 visitors a week.

Now 20 visitors in an hour is poor.

Looks like we will hit 400,000 very soon and in 2011 we may even hit the half million visits.

Not much compared to some sites but pretty good considering the potential audience.

Click on the homepage globe to see the wide distribution of click4biology users, its amazing.

I'm so please to see the growing numbers of users from African countries, the word is spreading there.

Please drop us a line on the Wallwisher link

best regards

it's cool to achieve

John