Welcome to BIO354 Laboratory. For various reasons, I am choosing to use my own website (this one) for this course, but from time to time you will be required to visit the Blackboard site to submit assignments. If any item in the menu to the left is unavailable as a link, that is because the corresponding page is being amended. When changes have been made, the menu item will become an active link.

You are required to check these announcements daily throughout the semester, and any announcements that appear here will be official. It is a good idea to take a few minutes right now and familiarize yourself with this website. You should also take a look at the global site to see whether there is anything that might be helpful to you in any of your courses. For instance, at the global site you'll find a link to my BIO353 site, which includes my lecture recordings and slide shows. It would be silly not to at least take a look to see what's there that might help you.

Before coming to the first meeting, you MUST download or print a copy of the first meeting's protocol (Exercise 1: Scientific Calculations and Basic Lab Techniques), which you will find under Laboratory Exercises. In ether case, you MUST have a copy at your disposal during the laboratory period. A cell phone features too small a screen to be useful, so I will not count that as an allowable copy. If you view it on a tablet or laptop, that will be acceptable.

You should be aware that BIO354 requires an enormous amount of work for a single credit hour. You might think that this is unfair (and I would agree), but that's just the way it is. Nevertheless, there are ways to minimize what will still be an inordinate amount of work. The very best thing that you can do for yourself is to pay very close attention to all instructions. This means listening carefully to me (and making notes) whenever I'm speaking, and it means carefully reading everything on this website and in the laboratory manual. Put simply, I want you to be able to follow directions. This might sound like a simple request that shouldn't even need to be mentioned. But if you were an instructor, you would realize that, sadly, most undergraduates are either unable or unwilling to carefully read a set of instructions. Reading comprehension will be required not only for this course, but for all of your career. So please keep in mind that you're not here just to get a grade; you're preparing yourself for life after graduation. Do yourself a favor and pay close attention to detail. Doing so will pay off in the short run and in the long run.

I'll see you soon.

Ty

Be sure to IMMEDIATELY read and submit the Rules Consent form. This is also strictly required.