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27 June 2025 C.E.

BIO156 Examination 2 Statistics %
Historic Low Mean: 33.7
Historic High Mean: 68.0
Historic Overall Mean: 55.3
Current Term Mean: 44.6
Current Term Low Score: 22.0
Current Term High Score: 98.0

14 June 2025 C.E.

BIO156 Examination 1 Statistics %
Historic Low Mean: 45.0
Historic High Mean: 71.6
Historic Overall Mean: 58.5
Current Term Mean: 47.3
Current Term Low Score: 20.0
Current Term High Score: 78.0

The numbers listed as "Historic" are for all of the sections I have taught over the years. The "Current Term" numbers are for your section.

Now that you've taken an examination, it is very important to appreciate how much examinations affect your Total Current Score and all of your other Summary & Forecast numbers. This is because examinations are worth more than any other type of assignment, so your Summary & Forecast numbers will change more (either upwardly or downwardly) in response to examinations compared to anything else. The Summary & Forecast numbers are designed to let you know whether you'll be able to make it through this difficult course, so please have a careful look at all of those numbers (explained on the Summary & Forecast page of Canvas and in the Overview Video).
12 June 2024 C.E.

It takes some time for Canvas to process videos, so today (12 June) is the last chance to submit the Lockdown Practice to ensure that your examination (13 June) will count.
07 June 2025 C.E.

I hope all of you have settled into the course and are used to the arrangement of the websites. Some of you have not yet completed the Lockdown Practice exercise, and some of you who have submitted it did not include an acceptable video. The Lockdown Practice is important, because it minimizes the chance that your upcoming examination will be disqualified. This course is difficult enough without having to deal with disqualification of an examination due to an unacceptable video. That's why you should complete the Lockdown Practice as soon as possible. That will allow time for me to review your video and let you know whether you are good to go on examination day.

If you already received email telling you that your video has been approved, then you are all set (as long as you make an equally acceptable video for the real examinations).

If you have not received email stating that your video has been approved, then please complete the Lockdown Practice as soon as possible. When it comes time to make your video, do the following:
  1. Make sure a light is on, so the video is not dark.
  2. Pick up the camera, and step back from your desk a couple steps (with the camera in your hands).
  3. Point the camera directly toward the desk surface (away from you), and get an overall shot that shows the whole, empty desk surface.
  4. Take about twenty seconds to show the whole surface, moving the camera slowly to ensure that you show all edges (right, left, front, and rear).
After you submit the Lockdown Practice, it will take some time for the video to be process by the website, then it will take some time for me to review the video. You should receive email stating either that your video is acceptable or that it is not acceptable (in which case you would have to redo the Lockdown Practice exercise).
03 June 2025 C.E.

It appears that several students in the class have not watched the Overview Video. I'm basing that on the fact that several students have not submitted the Rules Consent Form. This is a quite demanding course, and it is definitely worth your time to carefully watch the entire Overview Video before you proceed in the course. It can reduce frustration, and it can improve the efficiency of your time spent on the course. Please consider it to be a requirement of the course to watch the video today. Thanks.
03 June 2025 C.E.

Now that you've gotten through the first day of the course, you've had a look around, and you've completed the First-Day Attendance assignment (to assure that you remain enrolled), it's time to settle in and learn biology. When you look at the Canvas navigation menu, you'll notice the section called Sources of Points. These are the categories of assignments. The weighting of those categories (how much they are worth) is indicated in the Course Syllabus, which you should already have read on the Hoffman Site.

The Examinations are the assignments that are worth more than any other. They also are the most difficult of the assignment types. To prepare for Examinations, you must carefully review the Lectures (linked in the menu under Required Learning Resource). Please do not think of the eTextbook (OpenStax) as being the primary way of studying for the Examinations. All of the information for the Examinations comes directly from my recorded lectures, so the Lectures are the way to prepare for Examinations. It takes quite a bit of time to review the Lectures, so you must budget your time and spread out the studying for each unit's Examination. It is not posible to squeeze the preparation for an Examination into a night or two before the Examination. Please don't fool yourself and think that it is possible. Have a carefull look at the Assignment Schedule, so you know when each Examination is scheduled, then set aside times throughout the week so you can review the lectures and take notes for study (just as you would in a face-to-face course).

Unlike the Examinations (and the Laboratory Practicum, which is also an examination), the other types of assignments are available to you to complete any time you like (before the due dates, of course).

Each Laboratory Activity is an interactive assignment with specific instructions built into the assignment. You should expect these to take quite a bit of time to complete, so you should have a look at each one well before it is due. You don't need to finish in one sitting, so have an early look to assess how much time you will need to budget to complete it before its due date. This is why you need to keep a very close eye on the Assignment Schedule throughout the term. Do not lose track of any due dates. Every point is precious in this demanding course, so you don't want to lose any points foolishly (for example, by not knowing something is due).

Each Laboratory Quiz corresponds to a Laboratory Activity. That's why you should never attempt a Laboratory Quiz before completing the corresponding Laboratory Activity. The Laboratory Activity provides you the information for doing well on the Laboratory Quiz, so complete them in the proper order (Activity first, then Quiz).

The Topic Quizzes require two sources of information for proper preparation: my Lectures, and the chapters in OpenStax. Have a look at the name of each Topic Quiz, and consult the Lecture and the OpenStax chapter that cover that topic. You may take each Topic Quiz up to three times, but be sure to complete them well ahead of the due date, so you can take advantage of the multiple attempts allowed.

The OpenStax Quizzes consist of publisher-generated questions that come directly from chapters in the OpenStax eTextbook. For each chapter's assignment, you should review the chapter in the eTextbook first (before attempting the homework), then you should consult that chapter as you complete the assignment. If you are unsure of any question's answer, look up the information in the chapter before submitting your answer. This can drastically improve you scores. It takes more time, but it is definitely worth it. Doing a text search (of the eTextbook) for specific terms or concepts in the questions will allow you to work efficiently.

The only assignments that feature limited access are Examinations and the Laboratory Practicum. Each of those will be available only on a specific date (indicated on the Assignment Schedule). Also, those are the only assignments that are NOT open-book, which is why the Examinations and the Laboratory Practicum require the Lockdown Browser. This is why you should complete the Lockdown Practice as soon as possible (ideally today), so you can assure yourself that you have all of the technical requirements in place for the first Examination. All of the other types of assignments (Laboratory Activities, Laboratory Quizzes, Topic Quizzes, and OpenStax Quizzes) are open-book, and they are available continuously. Please take very seriously the need to properly budget your time throughout the term, so you can succeed in this important but demanding course.

Thanks for reading, and have an enjoyable and productive term.
02 June 2025 C.E.

The word for the First-Day Attendance assignment is smillishpween.
15 February 2025 C.E.

Introductory Remarks

Welcome to BIO156. If you've never taken this course before, the most important thing you can do to help you succeed is to realize IMMEDIATELY what you are in for. BIO156 is a very demanding course that will require many hours outside of the classroom to learn the huge amount of information that will be presented. Please do yourself a favor and just believe me on this, regardless of how easy your other courses might have seemed.

Since BIO156 is going to consume so much of your time just to stay afloat, it is worth taking some time right now looking at the various items that are on this website. After the term starts, you will be very busy, and if by then you already know what's available here to help you, you'll be able to work as efficiently as possible.

Although this site and Canvas might not yet be complete at the time your are reading this, you should fully explore both sites to see what's there and to get a feel for how things are organized. Click on every menu item to explore the contents. This includes the Rules Consent Form, which is absolutely required. If you do not submit it, then you will receive no credit for your work, and you will not be able to see your total score.

You should also realize that checking the websites FREQUENTLY is absolutely required. If you would like to receive automated email notifications of new announcements, then simply join the list.

Even if no announcements are posted for several days, you still need to check for new announcements, because announcements will be official (and therefore binding).

It's also important to be sure that you are enrolled in the correct course. BIO181 (which I also teach and which is very similar to BIO156) is for biology majors, whereas BIO156 is for allied health majors.

If I sound like I'm trying to scare you, that's because I'm trying to scare you. But I only want to scare you into believing me about how demanding this course will be, because I want you to succeed, and I want you to get a lot out of the course. I certainly don't want to imply that you cannot enjoy this course. It'll be a lot of work, but it's also a very good course, and I think you'll learn a lot and have some fun.

Since this is an online course, you will be required to demonstrate your attendance (for the first day only) by completing a quiz on Canvas that will ask you to enter a specific word. That word will appear on 02 June. It will appear on this Announcements page, because this course will require you to use this website in addition to Canvas throughout the term.

On 02 June, visit this site to find the word, then go to Canvas to complete the quiz, which will appear as a link in the navigation menu for this course's Canvas. The link will appear as "First Day Attendance".

The quiz will be automatically graded, so you will be able to look at your grades on Canvas to verify that you have successfully submitted the quiz. If you fail to submit the First Day Attendance quiz, and if there is a wait list, then you will be withdrawn from the course.

If you are trying to get into this section (i.e., if you are not already registered), then you should immediately ensure that you are on the wait list. Do not wait until the first day of the term to do that; do it right now. Once you are on the wait list, you must also demonstrate your attendance the first day. However, you will not have Canvas access. Therefore, send me email (directly to thoffma1@yc.edu) and include your full name, your student ID, and the word revealed on 02 June). Only students on the wait list should demonstrate attendance by emailing me; all registered students must do so by submitting the First Day Attendance quiz on Canvas.

I will request that students on the wait list who have demonstrated attendance be added to the course, but the college will not allow me to exceed 24 students, so this can occur only if there are registered students who do not demonstrate attendance on the first day, and the order of names on the wait list will be used to determine the order of students to be added.

Some Very Important Requirements:

  • I will be offering all of the lecture examinations through Canvas. However, to be eligible to take those online examinations, there are strict requirements that must be met, and you must convincingly demonstrate that you meet those requirements.The lecture examinations will be entirely multiple-choice. However, see exceptions below.

  • To be eligible for online lecture examinations, you must adhere to all of the following:
    1. You must use a computer that is equipped with a webcam and is compatible with required lockdown browser software.
    2. You must download, install, and run the lockdown browser software.
    3. An iPad will work, but other mobile devices probably will not.
    4. A Chromebook MIGHT work. The Chromebook version of the lockdown browser software is in beta. Therefore, there is no guarantee that it will work. If all you have is a Chromebook, then please email me as soon as you know that.
    5. Prior to the start of each lecture examination, you will be required to make a video recording of your surroundings to demonstrate that you have no papers, book, devices, etc. that are prohibited during the examination. This recording must be convincing, and it must clearly and completely show the desk space in front of you. This will require you to lift up your computer (if the webcam is incorporated into the computer), turn it around (point it away from you), stand back a few steps, and point it downward to clearly demonstrate that the surface is free of materials. If it is not possible to move the camera in this way, then you must use a mirror to show the desk space.
    6. If the video is not sufficient, then your examination will not count, and you will be required to take an alternative version that will NOT feature any multiple-choice questions.
    7. Each examination will be timed, and you will be required to finish it in one sitting. If you leave your chair during the examination, or if you wear headphones during the examination, then your examination will not count, and you will be required to take an alternative version that will NOT feature any multiple-choice questions.
  • I would really like this to go smoothly for everyone, which is why I have made a practice test called Lockdown Practice. You will find it on the Canvas site for this course. It is not worth any points, but it is required, and it will give you the peace of mind of knowing that you have the hardware requirements in place for the real examinations. Please complete the Lockdown Practice at your earliest convenience. Pretend that it is a real test, so take the time to make a careful recording of your surroundings. That way, I can review your practice recording and tell you whether a similar recording on each test day will be sufficient.


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