Professional Development Service for Teachers
Welcome to our website! The Professional Development Service for Teachers  (PDST) was established in September 2010. The PDST has subsumed much of the work of the Second Level Support Service (SLSS). 
We offer you an open invitation to participate in any/all of our developments and programmes to support Biology teachers. We aim to provide you with an open-door and communication support service at all times – contact us (scroll down to get our contact details), we’d love to hear from you. The Science subjects and Maths are now in one 'pillar' coordinated by Caroline McHale, with part-time Associates and Local Facilitators working in the individual areas. Jacinta Burke is now the coordinator of Biology  - jacintaburke@pdst.ie    The Support Service is hosted by Limerick Education Centre.

IMPORTANT -  a recipe for Vitamin C Indicator:
Rose Lawlor from Ard Scoil Rís in LImerick has sent on a recipe to make your own Vitamin  C indicator and some notes to use it successfully (e.g. for the Junior Cert Investigation). Access it on the  RESOURCE EXCHANGE page (scroll down on right-hand side of this page and click on the icon). Thank you Rose.

Resources and Courses 2012/2013
Once again Declan FInlayson (a Local Facilitator) has worked hard over last summer and has now updated our DVD on-line files to include the 2012 L.C. exam questions. To access these scroll down and read his note and if you are unsure how to download the files just scroll down further for full instructions. We are hoping to be able to help you make your teaching more efficient and more effective - less work but more achieved! To this end PDST Biology also has a selection of courses for you in Spring 2013 term -- see below for course, dates and  venues. 

What's New (Spring 2013)
At the moment we have planned 3 school laboratory venues to complete the DNA Profiling Activity -- due to be on the revised syllabus - so get ahead of the posse by attending this hands-on activity, which would also be great for your TY students!! The first 2 (before February mid-term) are to cater for those of you in the WEST -- they have already been hosted in the East of the country - so check your email for details.

COURSES Spring term 2013:
To book your place on a DNA Profiling course at any of the 3 venues (1. Galway, 2. Tubbercurry as below) or 3. Ferbane, Co. Offaly on Thursday 21st February just click on Booking Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?formkey=dElRRFk5aDhjNGVaR3VUX2h2VkZuT0E6MA#gid=0

Evaluation Form for Participants at Biology courses CLICK HERE

NOTE:
As our Forum is temporarily suspended (and we hope to restore it soon) please email any new material/resources/ideas etc to  leemd@eircom.net and they will be posted to the RESOURCE EXCHANGEpage (scroll down on right-hand side of this page and click on the icon) - why not have a look now to see if there is anything new there for you!! (-- some good apps?)

Excellence in Leaving Certificate Biology 2012 - CONGRATULATIONS!
The Institute of Biology has awarded medals to the 4 top scoring students (in LC Biology 2012).  Congratulations and Well Done!  to the 4 students and their teachers. ( Students named below in alphabetical order) 

>>>> All files containing Examination material have now been updated, e.g. Know-IT-All 2012, Mandatory Activities 2012 and most files in 06 Assessment\SEC Material Folder.
>>>> All updated files/folders have 2012 in their title. 
>>>> Some of you (using Internet Explorer) have difficulty in accessing the website. Solution - install Google Chrome, and use this browser when logging into the website.
 
Enjoy your latest resources! -- Thank you Declan!

What every teacher Biology should know!
Please remember (and remind remind your colleagues) to 'Keep in Touch' --- see below for the three actions we recommend you take while browsing this website!

KEEP IN TOUCH - 3 IMPORTANT ACTIONS YOU SHOULD TAKE!
How to KEEP IN TOUCH - 3 things that you can do!
1. Register  2. access the resources on-line and 3. sign-up for email alert to new Forum posts
Have you noticed the new additions to the text above (just below the banner)? Click on the (new) 'REGISTER' button to register your name and school with the Support Service (you will get emails about new courses etc). Do not confuse this registration with the 'LOG-IN' below to get access to the Resources On-Line (see 'CLICK HERE' below in the paragraph 'Biology Resources now on-line'). 
So to ensure you are always 'In Touch' every Biology teacher should do 3 things: 1. Register (above) with the Support Service and 2. Sign-up (see Biology Resources now on-line below) to get access to the on-line resources and 3. Go to the FORUM and sign-up for automatic email alerts when a new post is added to the FORUM

FORUM
A good way to know what is going on is to go to our FORUM (see the text at the top of this page or the icon on the top right) where you can choose to be informed by e-mail of all new posts  - as we will put a note on the FORUM when there are new/amended resources uploaded or dates of workshops/courses available.
FORUM - Email notification - to sign up for automatic email notification when a new information is posted -- simply go to our FORUM and you click the relevant line (just below 'Biology Discussion: Topics). If you are not sure just download this file

Biology Resources now on-line
The acclaimed  RESOURCE DVD and Lab Manual are now available here on the website. Any future additions/corrections etc to either will be uploaded to this dedicated portion of the site to which you must sign up or login (see below).
To get access to the DVD and to the Manual on line, you must first SIGN UP - it is a two step process...
1. To Sign Up (or register) CLICK HERE  and follow the instructions, then
2. Login using your Username and the Password that has been e-mailed to you, using the link supplied in your email. 
Subsequent visits to the site require you to open this page, CLICK on link above and enter your Username and Password only. Please be patient as we have a few little glitches to amend before it works smoothly. Access three separate information sheets here (as distributed at roadshow) which will help you to use this section: 1. On-line registration  2. How to open/download a file and 3. Notes on the new section of the website.

Have you already signed up and forgotten your 'user name' or 'password'?
Since the Road Shows started a lot of people have told us about  this problem --- THERE IS NO NEED TO SIGN UP AGAIN -- PLEASE follow the instructions below or access the directions here.
Instructions:
(a) If you know your 'user name' but have forgotten your password -- simply 'CLICK HERE' above (as if you were signing in and enter your user name and then you will see 'Forgot password' at the bottom left - click on this and your password will be emailed to you or
(b) If you have forgotten both your 'user name' and your 'password' send an email with your NAME, and the name of your school (if you are in a different school send the name of both schools) to biologydvd@gmail.com and an email containing your username and a new password will be sent to you asap (it is not automatic!!).

If you have something you would like to share with other Biology teachers or have a problem accessing this part of the site - email to biologydvd@gmail.com

Proposed new LC Biology syllabus. Access the syllabuses for Biology, Chemistry and Physics here.  All three syllabuses have been reviewed and are now available for consultation. .

Science Challenge
In the Resource Exchange Section (icon on the right) there are 3 Science Challenges (from Borris Vocational School) you could use with Junior Classes. We had to remove the answers as some smart students in Borris found where they were! Answers can now be got from Mary Lee. marylee@slss.ie  Enjoy!!

ONLINE SAFETY COURSES
Safety and Health in the Science Laboratory for Teachers  
This free course will help teachers of the Science subjects improve their knowledge and understanding of safety, health and welfare, particularly within the science laboratory.
Get Safe - Work Safe: Workplace Safety and Health for Senior Cycle Students
This short free course will develop your knowledge of workplace safety, health and welfare. We are all responsible for safety and health at some level and the more we understand it the better prepared we are to prevent accidents and ill-health at work.
It is aimed at senior cycle secondary school students who are engaged in work experience or holiday work, and as future members of the workforce. It is provided by the Health and Safety Authority in Ireland.
Classification, Labelling and Packaging (CLP) of Substances and Mixtures
under EU CLP Regulation. For further information, visit The Health and Safety Authority’s website www.hsa.ie or contact the CLP Helpdesk at e-mail clp@hsa.ie or telephone 1890 289 389
Laboratory Health and Safety 
Safety in the school laboratory is everyone’s concern and the aim is to ensure that no one gets hurt or becomes ill. The Health and Safety Authority control measures outline ways of preventing accidents. Download HSA file here 

Institute of Biology
At the moment the Institute is looking for new Biology teacher members - click here for information and here for a membership application form. The Institute is the professional body for biologists in Ireland. The Institute awards full members the title Membership of the Institute of Biology of Ireland (M.I.Biol.I)

Newsletters
All our past newsletters are available to download from this site -- under Teachers Sharing Ideas .. icon on the right.

Sharing
Remember our new section on the website -  'RESOURCE EXCHANGE' section (icon on the right) - where we post resources sent in by you for sharing among all our Biology teachers. Don't forget that even if you do not have a data projector you could print some of the PowerPoint slides onto acetates for use with an overhead projector. Thanks to those of you who have already sent material in - please keep them coming!
Why not join the Discussion Forum on this site? To join the discussions just click on ‘Teachers Sharing Ideas’ icon and chose ‘FORUM’. Already there are some interesting comments on various topics. This is YOUR forum for connection with fellow teachers and to express your opinion on contemporary biological and educational issues. Sign up (on the FORUM page) to be notified by email when a new comment is posted.

KEEP IN TOUCH!
 

Erratum Notes
Symbiosis
Click here for the correct definition
 

Contact Us
Mary Lee

Pleas click here to email us