Journal #2: Affinity Groups and Digg RSS Streams

Cripe, T. (2013, 10 10). The cold sore virus may help kids fight cancer (op-ed). Live Science, Retrieved from       
          http://m.livescience.com/40353-the-cold-sore-virus-may-help-kids-fight-cancer.html      
 
Sohn, E. (2013, 10 12). Is eating mercury-laden fish so bad?. Discovery News, Retrieved from           
          http://news.discovery.com/human/health/is-eating-mercury-laden-fish-so-bad-131012.htm

My Affinity Groups
As of this week I am officially a member of two affinity groups: The Synapse and the AP Biology Teacher Community. The Synapse is a ning for biology teachers to connect and share ideas.  It caught my attention because of its nerdy science slogan: “A synapse is a minute gap between nerve cells which transmits crucial information through the nervous system. This network is our synapse.”  A slogan that could only capture the heart of a true science nerd, of which I am, because I couldn’t wait to join and get my geek on!  I signed up, made a profile page, and joined the regular biology group and the AP Biology group.  I also posted a discussion thread asking for awesome biology labs to incorporate into my curriculum now that California is no longer taking the Biology CST exam.  I am slightly skeptical of this ning however, because after signing up and receiving approval, the home page no longer worked.  I found that I am able to access it from the forum link but I have also noticed that some of the last posts were from 2011 and 2012 so I’m not sure the site is even operational.  I hope to find out when and if someone responds to my discussion post. 

I have been a member of the AP Biology Teacher Community hosted by the College Board for about six months now but I have only used it a few times to see what others were saying about problematic areas in the new AP Biology labs.  I found it helpful to see how others solved the issues.  I plan to use this PLN more so that I can find new and creative activities to help my students perform better on the new Exam and labs.

My Digg Stream
I learned a lot this week from my Digg Stream.  I learned that I really only enjoy reading my science feeds, of which I subscribe to four: Live Science, Discovery News, Science News, and WTF? Evolution.  I read so many interesting science articles that one, blew my mind, and two, I could use in the classroom.  I read that new studies show mercury-laden fish is safe for pregnant women to consume, however I think I would still be wary if I were pregnant (Sohn, 2013).  I also learned that oncologists are experimenting with viral therapy in children where they infect cancerous tumors with a modified cold sore virus so the immune system attacks the tumor.  Viral therapy is supposed to replace chemotherapy and will hopefully prove successful in children (Cripe, 2013). 
 
WTF? Evolution is one of my favorite feeds just because it is humorous and who doesn’t love a good science joke?  My coworker and I will sit and laugh for quite a while as we read through some of them after our common meeting sessions.
 
What I like most about the Digg reader is that all of the articles I would read on separate websites, all come to the same place.  This is so helpful because I am always looking for current, relevant science articles to use in the classroom to show my students that what they are learning is actually important to someone in the world and that there is actually a use for it beyond high school.

Questions
Q1:     How could students use the Digg reader in the classroom?
 
A1:     Students could have a Digg reader account and subscribe to sites that the teacher chooses or of their choice.  It could be utilized in a couple ways:  1) the students could all read the same article without the teacher having to print it, and 2) the students can  read articles and complete article summaries. With Common Core knocking at the door, this would be a good practice to start sooner rather than later.
 
Q2:     How could students benefit from an affinity group or discussion board in the classroom?
 
A2:     I ask this question because I utilize classjump.com as my homework website and I have the option to turn on a discussion board for each of my classes.  This would be a great place for them to answer a specific question or post a summary about an article they read, etc.  The benefit for me as the teacher is that I wouldn’t have to print or collect anything and I could read/grade them on-the-go with my phone.