2010 February » Dr. Fleetwood's Blog

Cell Membrane Project

Biology Comments Off

Feb 202010

Create a 3-dimensional model of a section of the cell membrane. (examples shown in class) This model should include all the proteins we discussed in class (non-gated, gated, carrier, pump, glycoproteins, etc…) as well as an example of an item that passes through that protein, if applicable. (i.e. sodium, alcohol, etc…) It should also include any other item in the cell membrane, such as cholesterol. You may make the model out of the material of your choosing (but not food items). You should create a separate key that denotes what each item on the model represents.

The table below shows the items you must include and what you will be graded on.

Due: Monday 3/1/10

Parts	Diffusing Items	Overall Quality
phospholipid bilayer	O2, CO2, or alcohol	3-D
non-gated channel/aquaporin	H2O	labeled properly (with separate key)
gated channel	Ion (ie. Na+)	construction quality & effort
carrier protein	glucose
pump	Na/K
glycoprotein/antigen
cholesterol

Flashcards, Learning and Spaced Repetition

Neuroscience Comments Off

Feb 192010

Your task is to create one good flashcard on ediscio.com in our neuroscience cardbox. You should create a card based on the things you have learned thus far in the case study. You may not repeat a card or create a new card for the same information so read through any cards that have already been created first. Basically, this means first-come, first-served in terms of choosing your card topic. Before you create the card you should read the websites listed below. They give a background on how to study, what spaced repetition is, and how to create good flashcards that enhance learning rather than hinder it. Use this information to make your flashcards educationally sound!

This first link is a single link that can be used to read all the websites. Once you load the page you will see right and left arrows to cycle through the other pages. Even if you use this link you should read the brief description of each web page below so you know why you are reading it.

http://fur.ly/f10/

Alternatively, you can load each page separately by clicking the links below.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070829122934.htm – This site discusses why ‘cramming’ doesn’t work.
http://www.mnemosyne-proj.org/principles.php – This site sums up ‘spaced-repetition’ and provides a free computer program if you want to use this technique on your own computer rather than the web. It probably uses a better algorithm than the ediscio website too, but I am not positive of that yet.
http://www.supermemo.com/articles/power.htm – This is the first of 3 ‘Supermemo’ links. Supermemo is another computer program to create flashcards using spaced-repetition, but their full version is not free (like mnemosyne above). I believe this was the first computer program to do this sort of thing. I do not agree with everything this site says but this particular page sums up some steps you can take to be more successful in learning.
http://www.supermemo.com/articles/20rules.htm – The second Supermemo link. I am not peddling their program (in fact, I prefer other software) but their site does have some good information on how to effectively use this technology to learn. This page explains how you should format your flashcards to be most effective. It is a long page but doesn’t take too long to read and has quite worthwhile information.
http://www.supermemo.com/help/faq/ks.htm – And finally, the third Supermemo link. This page is a question/answer page that may help you make better flashcards and understand how to apply the technique to specific subject matter. For example, two of the top three questions deal with how to learn anatomy and diseases.

Crossing the Cell Membrane

Biology Comments Off

Feb 172010

Create a table in your Google spreadsheet that summarizes the ways various items cross the cell membrane. The table should be formatted as follows:

Method	Items That Cross	Advantages & Disadvantages

Antibiotic Misuse Causes Superbugs

Anatomy 27 Responses »

Feb 132010

Whenever a doctor prescribes an antibiotic they will tell you to be sure and finish the whole prescription, even if you are feeling better. But why? And what about all those antibiotics that they give to, or spray on, animals on farms. Science Daily serves up a new study to explain the dilemma.

After you read the article add your thoughts in the comments section below.

ScienceDaily (2010-02-12) — A new study by biomedical engineers indicates that treating bacteria with levels of antibiotics insufficient to kill them produces germs that are cross-resistant to a wide range of antibiotics.

Read the full article here.

Update: After reading some of the comments below I thought I’d add a poll. Please vote after you read the above article.

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See Your Creations Online

Main Comments Off

Feb 132010

A new page has been added to display and celebrate students’ various creations. As I get more projects, I’ll add more to the wall. Checkout some of the work by clicking on the “Student Work” link on my home page or by clicking here. If you want something you’ve done in the past to be displayed on the wall just come see me.

Take the poll below to let me know what you think of this new feature. Feel free to add a comment in the comments section if you wish.

Do you like the idea of seeing your work displayed online?

Yes (89%, 8 Votes)
No (0%, 0 Votes)
Doesn't matter either way (11%, 1 Votes)

Total Voters: 9

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Any Questions?

Anatomy, Biology, Forensics, Main, Neuroscience Comments Off

Feb 122010

I have scheduled two online meetings in case you have any questions about your assignments or need any extra help. Here is how this works…

Go to www.dimdim.com
Click “Join Meeting” – you don’t need to register or install any special software – it should just work.
In the “Meeting Room” box, type in “docfleetwood” (without the quotes)
Put your name in the “Your Name” box
Click “Join” and that should do it. If you have a microphone, you can speak to me. Otherwise there is a chat box.

The meetings are scheduled for 12:00 Friday (2/12/10) and for 11:00 Saturday (2/13/10). They are scheduled for an hour each but you can just pop in and out as you wish. So stop in and ask any questions you might have and then go about your day

From a technological perspective, I’m interested to see how this works – so feel free to stop by and say hi even if you don’t have a question

Imaging Technologies

Anatomy Comments Off

Feb 112010

Reproduce the document below in a word processor and fill it in. Include the full name of each technology if it is abbreviated. (i.e. CT) Be prepared to hand in the typed version when we return to school on 2/16/10.

Adult Neurogenesis Reading

Neuroscience 19 Responses »

Feb 112010

Read the following Brain Briefing on adult neurogenesis from the Society for Neuroscience.

http://www.sfn.org/index.aspx?pagename=brainBriefings_adult_neurogenesis

After reading you should add a comment to this blog post (see bottom of page for comment section) discussing your opinion of the article. You can address such questions as…

Did anything in it surprise you? Was it an interesting read? What are the implications for the future? etc…

You may also comment on other people’s comments. Unless, of course, you are the first to comment

You must also summarize the article in 7 words. That’s right, 7 words. The summary should be as accurate and complete as possible, so be creative!

Be sure to put your name in the ‘name’ field so I know to whom the comment belongs.

Ediscio Signup

Neuroscience 1 Response »

Feb 102010

Go to the following website and create an account..

www.ediscio.com

Once you have an account, complete the following steps…

Login with your newly created username and password (please remember them)
On the right hand side you should see a “school area” link – click it.
Click on the number 18 and look for “Wilmington”. Click it. (if you don’t see it, try 17 or 19)
You should see the Charter School of Wilmington. Click it, then 2010, then Neuroscience.
Enter the password in the box to join the class. The password is the same one used for the computers in my room. (I’d rather not post it here online) If you do not know it, email me.
Once you have accomplished this, you should be able to click on “your cardboxes” on the left and see a neuroscience cardbox.
Click the green “learn” box on the right.
You may then have to select all cards for learning. Do that.
Click “learn” at the bottom and start the cards. You do not have to type an answer in the box, you can just say it in your head and click view answer. Then select ‘yes’ or ‘no’ and continue through all seven.

These are just some quickly made up cards to get us started and see if it works for everyone. We will be making some cards together as a class for everyone to study from. Right now I just want to get everyone signed up and able to use the cardbox. If you get stuck, you can click “instructions” at the top of their website and follow the directions. If you want to practice making your own flashcards, please create a new cardbox and practice in that one, not in our neuroscience box.

Chapter 4

Biology Comments Off

Feb 102010

Due to the snow and the fact that the material I want to teach you for chapter 3 is not in the book, we are going to jump to chapter 4. You task is to read chapter 4 and complete the questions in the document below. Answer the questions in the appropriate section of your notebook. This will save us time when we return to school next week.

You can print the above document directly by clicking the print icon or you can click here to open a pdf version of the same document.