After working though a myriad of logistical and communication challenges, I have come to have some appreciation for just how my professional and personal horions have been broadened through the lab visits over the summer.

On a personal note, it is amazing how far the routine lab bench work has come from the “stones and bones” era in which I earned by doctorate.  So many processes have been standardized, put into kits, or automated compared to “back in the day.”  It makes sense, since the flip side of this is that so many of the basic processes remain the same – people still extract DNA from varied samples, purify and quantify it, and then manipulate it in some way.  THe more things change, the more they stay the same….A REALLY cool moment came when I met the Nanodrop – an instrument that can give an accurate reading of the DNA content in ONE DROP of sample, why, back in my time you had to sacrifice a fair portion of your sample just to quantitate it.  Amazing!

An ongoing “Aha” has been my growing awareness of the concept of the microbiome.  THis is really a relevant, personal, and totally cool area of science that I KNOW I haven’t given a fair amount of attention.  As a speaker said yesterday in our group – when people think biodiversity they always

envision some sort of tropical rain forest but there’s a rainforest worth of bacteria in your bellybutton.  Gross but SOOO COOL!

I know that my teaching will change as a result of this summer experience.  I anticipate being an ambassador for the science content but also for the real world of exploration that perhaps some of my students can be inspired to enter.

Not bad for a summer, hmm?

We took advantage of an acquaintance today to make a field trip to the NIEHS Core Sequencing Facility in Research Triangle Park.  We were royally hosted by the head of the group, and sat down with him and some of his lab people to hear them describe how they go about their sequencing tasks and the new technology that seems to blossom each day.  It was absolutely amazing to discover that many of the terms and concepts that he described were things that we have become at least passingly familiar during our externship.  (We also scored some awesome surplus lab stuff to take back to our classrooms!)  The whole field of rapid genome sequencing and the amazing technical advances really boggle the mind!  How cool it is to have experience with current practices to inform our basic instruction in the classroom.  As our host very astutely put it, “you guys (as teachers) are training my replacement!”

I have it lucky!  Many of the experiences and approaches that we are seeing in the lab are directly applicable to my instruction in the classroom.  I can present the whole project in a “how do we do science?” conversation, by modeling the question and the data collection that is being done in the labs as a way to test the experimental hypothesis.  Then, there is the methods piece – because biotechnology and immunity and taxonomy are all part of the Biology Standard Course of Study I can make immediate links to the “hands-on” skills that we are seeing.  That’s all the more operational side of things.  In the more esotetic sense, this is a great experience to cite when discussing biodiversity on a micro scale.  The ecosystem instruction that we do in class is almost always at the macr level – bitds, worms, trees, dandelions, and flies in a forest ecosystem.  What a cool way to represent that diversity – really rich diversity – exists at the microscopic level.  I can even imagine a pretty good “yuck” factor when introducing the location and sampling of the intestinal microbiome. I can’t wait!

A couple of yrears ago my principal defined three types of teachers when it comes to technology – the technology novices (Probably a nice way of saying “virgins”) – those who really shy away from anything having to do with wireless or screens or keyboards or software.  You know, the ones who always get NCWISE screwed up.  A second level is the technology recruits – maybe folks who aren’t incredibly savvy but who are willing to take on new ideas and devices with some courage.  Finally, there are the technology natives – folks who are not only undeterred by new applications and experiences but who mine those and see possibilities everywhere (think Jonathan!).

I figure our Kenan colleagues are a mixture of recruits and experts – pretty rich resources for our respective schools.  However, there are always going to be some challenges, and here’s what I see.

Personally, what holds me back is simply time to dig in and become proficient.  I don’t have time or the classes that will permit me to learn an application “on the fly” – I need to have some deep experience with a particular application before I try to use it in class.  Sure, there’s always that kid who knows WAY more than I do and can usually figure out a way (that’s a techn-native).  But when I am crafting the learning experiences for my class I really don’t want to be fumbling around.  I write lots of little grants to fund my personal technology needs – I LOVE DonorsChoose!  Lacking systemic financial support that’s what has to be done.  In school there is just always that cadre of teachers who think “I don’t need this” and so don’t join the herd to integrate technology in their instruction.  Seriously, how much technology do you need in Advanced Weightlifting?  (Ah, but we know of some, don’t we??)

Time, money, buy-in.  The recipe for success.

Clearly the rafting trip was the bomb!  We managed to keep most of the COLD water out of the boat and have a great time forming a new team.  The trip was varied and fascinating – the mist on the river, the geology that we could see from river’s level, and the biodiversity stop were all cool.

Now, the other important takeaway from NCCAT was the beginning of a sense of community – I met a group of truly fascinating teachers from across the state and I really look forward to seeing many of them again soon and during our fellowship.  We all suffered through some technology trials but overall I found that almost every encounter resulted in a new insight, shared frustration, or fresh idea.  All in all, it was a great initial experience.