ABLE News and Notes

Mark Walvoord
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC

walvoord@unc.edu

ABLE-bodied Employees

Don't forget to (or "Guess what? You can...") let your ABLE-peers know about biology and biology-related jobs you come across or that your institution is looking to hire for! Visit our job page to view them, or email Mariëlle Hoefnagels with details to post one.

BEN Scholars Applications Now Available

The National Science Digital Library (NSDL) Biological Sciences Pathway invites undergraduate faculty in the biological sciences to apply to become BiosciEdNet (BEN) Scholars. The BEN Scholars Program is one of the grassroots outreach activities of the BEN Collaborative. BEN Scholars will promote the use of digital libraries and inquiry-based learning in higher education biological sciences lecture and laboratory courses.

BEN Scholars will receive training in leadership and effective use of digital libraries; resources to use in their own classrooms and to share with colleagues through presentations, workshops, and one-on-one mentoring; integration into the BEN Scholars Network; recognition from the participating organizations; travel support; and a small stipend.

The first NSDL BEN National Leadership Training Institute is scheduled for Dec. 7-10, 2006, in Washington, D.C. Interested parties may download application materials and a preliminary agenda from the BEN site. The application deadline is October 22, 2006.

Questions about the BEN Scholars Program may be directed to Kirstin Fearnley, BEN outreach manager at AAAS, at 202-326-6777 or kfearnle@aaas.org.

Wanted: Contributions to Labstracts

Of course, I'm sure I speak for our new editor, Barbara Stegenga, when I say that any and all submissions are welcomed. What are your favorite ideas about teaching? What are your problems? What would you like to know about how your colleagues teach? Do you have ideas for articles, even if you don't have time to write one yourself?

If you want to submit an article or news item, please email bstegenga@bio.unc.edu or walvoord@unc.edu. If you are submitting an article, please include information about yourself and a digital photograph (if possible) to include with the article. Photos of students or equipment "in action" are, of course, also always welcome.

Upcoming Meetings

Here is a short list of upcoming meetings that might interest ABLE members.

ABLE (Association for Biology Laboratory Education): The 2007 annual meeting will be from June 5-9, 2007, at the University of Kentucky in Lexington, KY.

HAPS Regional Conference: The upcoming Human Anatomy and Physiology Society (HAPS) Regional Conference will be hosted at the West Kentucky Community and Technical College in Paducah, KY on Saturday, October 7, 2006. HAPS conferences provide lots of great general teaching tips that any biology teacher can use, not just Anatomy & Physiology teachers. In essence a HAPS conference is a Multidisciplinary Teaching Conference. For more information go to: www.hapsweb.org and click on Meetings > Regional Conferences > October, 2006: Kentucky.  

ACUBE (Association of College and University Biology Educators): The 50th Annual Meeting, "The Revolution and Evolution of Biology Education: Where 50 Years Can Take Us" will be held October 26 - 28, 2006 at Millikin University, Decatur, IL.

AIBS (American Institute of Biological Sciences): The 2007 AIBS annual meeting will be held 14 to 15 May 2007 in Washington DC, at the Capital Hilton Hotel, on the theme of "Evolutionary Biology and Human Health."

NABT (National Association of Biology Teachers): The 2006 annual meeting will be in Albuquerque, NM from October 11-14, 2006.

NSTA (National Science Teachers Association): NSTA has several regional conferences October-December 2006. The 2007 annual convention will be in St. Louis, MO from March 29-April 1, 2007.

Wakonse South: The Texas A&M Center for Teaching Excellence invites you to participate in the 9th Annual Wakonse South Conference on College Teaching. This event is to be held March 30-April 1, 2007 at Canyon of the Eagles Lodge & Nature Park in Burnet, TX.