Monday April 27th

Hello Everyone, I hope you managed to get a bit of a break and enjoy the amazing weather we have been having. I am now back at work and if you have sent me an email sorry for being so long replying but I should be up to date now. Email me again if I haven't replied to yours.

You should be finishing off the Unit 2 on the cell this week as the quiz is due in today (although it will not close until next Monday). The next Unit, due to start today, is on the Integument otherwise known as the skin. As intending massage therapists this is obviously an important system!

I have put up Test 1 from last year on Blackboard with its answers so make sure you have a look at that as it will give you a good idea of the sort of questions I will be asking in this year's version. Sarah and Chris pointed out that the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi Body in the cell diagram of that test looked similar so I would have marked either answer as correct.

Just note that test 2 is on June 19th not April 19th as indicated in Blackboard.

Looking forward to seeing you all on Friday May 8th at 9am in H602 for the first test and then a practical in H412 on the skin and skeleton. I will have a real joint for you to look at and dissect which is always interesting.

Have a good week,

cheers Ruth

April 20th 2009

Hi everyone, I hope you all had a good Easter. The weather was amazing wasn't it? I went to stay with a friend in Oamaru and explored Whitestone country-- Kakanui, Elephant rocks and even walked a labryrinth.

However, it is sort of back to work this week and I need to remind you that you should be thinking about finishing off the unit on cells as the next unit on the integument is due to start next Monday April 27th. The Cells quiz is due then, although if you want to leave it till the bitter end it does not actually close until the 4th May.

Remember the first test is on Friday May 8th. It will cover the introductory material plus chemicals (Unit 1) and cells (Unit 2). I will put up a copy of last year's first test on Blackboard under Assignments/2008 tests so you can see the kind of questions I will be asking and the level at which they are pitched.

Have a good week, Cheers Ruth

April 6th 2009

Hi everyone, we had a good practical cum tutorial this morning and it was great to meet you all again and get to know you better. For those that missed it I have posted a copy of the practical handout and the worksheet at the bottom of Course Documents on Blackboard. I have also put up the Powerpoint presentation of the microscope, cells and tissues I showed as well as two more powerpoints I thought you might find useful. One is on the Cell showing the cell organelles and their function and the other is called Cell Transport and is on Diffusion and Osmosis as well as active transport. This one also contains some web addresses to simple animations that are really helpful for understanding these processes. All these slide presentations are under Course Documents, Unit 2. The Cell.

This week you should be finishing off the chemicals quiz as it will close at the beginning of next week. You should now be getting started on Unit 3 on the cell. For those that have done almost no biology you will find there are lots of new words for the organelles (small organs) in the cell to get your head around---things like mitochondrion, Golgi body and endoplasmic reticulum. Sorry!

The timetable gives you 3 weeks to study this Unit, so hopefully this will allow you a bit of time off to enjoy Easter.

Dont eat too much chocolate!

Best wishes, Ruth