Photos from the Osmosis Lab, spring 2010

I'm not going to label these. To use them to study, refer to your lab assignments and lab books. If you are prepared for the test, you should be able to explain all of these photos without having to look at anything.

Photos from the cell lab Spring 2010

Human epithelial cells stained with methylene blue

Onion cells with mitochondria stained by janus green to show mitochondria

Human epithelial cells stained in methylene blue

Elodea cells

Artemia (brine shrimp) with egg

Paramecia (that is the plural form of the word paramecium)

Amoeba ( fixed and stained on a prepared slide...not living)

Lactobacillus in activia yogurt

Potato cells stained with iodine to show amyloplasts

Human epithelial cells stained with methylene blue

Amoeba (fixed and stained and on a prepared slide...not living)

Onion cells stained with janus green to show mitochondria

Lactobacillus in Activia yogurt

Potato cells stained with iodine to show amyloplasts

Potato cells stained with iodine to show amyloplasts

Onion cells stained with janus green to show mitochondria

Paramecia dead from lack of oxygen

Lactobacillus in Activia yogurt

Oscillatoria, a cyanobacteria

Human epithelial cells stained with methylene blue

Elodea cells

Fixed and stained paramecia on a prepared slide (not living)

a dead Artemia and some Artemia eggs

Lactobacillus in Activia yogurt

Elodea cells

Elodea cells

Potato cells stained with iodine to show amyloplasts

Onion cells stained with janus green to show mitochondria

LSU Drops Writing Requirements

LSU just dropped ACT writing requirements in order to boost enrollment. Their cited reason for this move was expressed in dollars....as in number of dollars they could have made from students who either did not take or did not pass the writing portion. The purpose of entrance exams is to ensure that the students who attend (and pay) are actually prepared for college and are therefore in a position to get their money's worth; I am assuming writing is a skill required for completion of a four year degree at LSU.

The bad thing is that graduates in the professional world will rapidly find out that the ability to write well is one of the skills your employer finds most valuable. Often it is why they hired a college grad instead of a high school grad. The fact that a student managed to get through college with eighth grade level writing abilities (and some do) won't help them when they hit the graduate level work force.

Lack of writing skills is more prevalent than most people who can write well think it is. This is only a guess, but I think the main reason is that it is far far easier on a teacher to just let it slide than to do the work required to teach a student who is interested in everything but learning. It's too easy to give a C for effort, and they get too much grief for giving Fs, whether they are deserved or not. There is no way to grade writing with a scantron and teachers already spend all their spare time grading at home...especially english teachers. Hours are spent trying to explain each of the hundreds and hundreds of grammar errors, and then the student either gets upset or doesn't even look past the number you write at the top. Just get them through the standardized tests so you can point to a number and say they weren't left behind...after that, they are someone else's problem.

Remember, BRCC students, if you feel like you need extra help with your writing assignments, you can go to the ALC. It's free. It's getting your money's worth. It's making sure you will stand out for promotion after you get this piece of paper. The piece of paper just gets you in the door.