This week I’ve been at a regional conference for microbiology. Although most of the talks and presentations have focused on research and applied science, we did spend some time yesterday morning on microbiology education. We discussed several strategies for improving microbiology education including collaborative group work, cross disciplinary studies and Read more…
My friends, I must warn you. We are in the midst of an epidemic of epic proportions. Our classrooms are ground zero. The zombie apocalypse is upon us. Every day, more and more of our students are becoming zombies. Not the brain eating, Walking Dead variety, but the mindless, Read more…
Many of my readers may enjoy learning how they can create apps for their favorite mobile devices: ipad, iphone, or Android. The Corona SDK provides an elegant framework for quickly creating applications and games. I have heard stories of middle school students creating rocking games with this tool. Read more…
http://www.flickr.com/photos/cauchipics/4471686868/sizes/m/in/photostream/ I believe that we can agree that the teachers who impacted us the most were the ones that served their students with love and served them with principled discipline. During a road trip with my wife, we listened to a thoughtful podcast from NPR’s “This American Life.” Read more…
I have watched the “Code for America” movement with great admiration. This movement encourages programmers to take a year off to do community service working with government. I believe that this movement is creating a very special community of technology empowered servant leaders. The following TED talk by Jennifer Pahika Read more…
“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important than any other.” – Abraham Lincoln A few years ago I was a miserable post-doc in a microbiology research lab. I was working long hours away from my family with very little pay and my research seemed Read more…
What do we do when the technology, that is supposed to make our lives easier, fails? If we are not adequately prepared it can make us feel incredible vulnerable. Last year the computer in one of my classrooms would not turn on and I was left to lecture on the Read more…
The new semester has begun. I love the beginning of the school year. I always have. When I worked outside the academic world I was always a little bit sad at this time of year. I would get jealous of the people that I knew that were still in school or Read more…
Stop! Take 10 seconds to consider a world where computer programs did not exist. In this world of “no computer programs,” the following is true: The internet does not exist. Facebook does not exist. You would not be reading this blog article. Your phone would just make phone calls… Read more…
I teach at a small college that typically serves non-traditional students from lower income brackets. I find one of my biggest challenges is to get my students truly engaged in the material. I am competing for their attention in a busy world with many distractions. Many of my students have Read more…