Regarding Rob Alba's question on students using this newsgroup, and the net
in general, as a source of information and ideas, I can't add very much to
the thoughtful words of Bill Purves, Cynthia Galloway and Scott Meissner.
As one of Plant-ed's "discussion leaders" I think that this is perhaps a
good time to post a copy of the group's charter. Plant-ed began about 2
years ago as a forum for educators to discuss various aspects of their
plant courses. We now have about 340 subscribers from over 20 countries.
All messages are stored in a searchable archive at the URL:
http://www.bio.net:80/hypermail/PLANT-EDUCATION/
One need not subscribe to use Plant-ed through this web site.
Being unmoderated we are subject to spams which, thankfully, have not been
very common. I urge you to just delete them quickly.
The group's charter was voted on and passed by the BIOSCI community in
1995. Information about all of the BIOSCI newsgroups can be reached at:
http://www.bio.net/ The charter (copied below) can be found at:
http://net.bio.net/bioarchives/PLANT-EDUCATION/CHARTER
Thanks to all for making Plant-ed a successful newsgroup!
Jon Monroe
Information for PLANT-EDUCATION/bionet.plants.education
USENET newsgroup name: bionet.plants.education (unmoderated)
Mailing list name: PLANT-EDUCATION
E-mail posting addresses: plant-ed at net.bio.netplant-ed at daresbury.ac.uk
Discussion leaders:
Jonathan D. Monroe, e-mail: monroejd at jmu.edu
Assistant Professor, Department of Biology, James Madison University,
Harrisonburg, VA 22807
Susan R. Singer, e-mail: ssinger at carleton.edu
Associate Professor, Biology Department, Carleton College,
Northfield, MN 55057
Charter:
The purpose of the PLANT-EDUCATION newsgroup is to function as a means for
communication among all educators, including faculty, instructors, lab
preparators, and graduate assistants, involved in courses on any aspect of
plant biology.
This newsgroup provides:
A forum for the exchange of innovative laboratory and classroom
activities.
A forum for discussing the role of plant education in introductory
biology courses and ways for improving student perceptions of plants.
A forum for the exchange of information about educational
opportunities for students and faculty (REU programs, teaching
workshops, etc.)
A forum for the exchange of information about textbooks, internet
resources, visual materials, and interactive computer programs.
A source of quick help for last-minute troubleshooting, conditions
for plant growth, sources of materials, and practical advice.
An archive of searchable information for future use by instructors of
plant courses.
Subscribers are welcome. Contributions within the functions outlined
above are encouraged.
The newsgroup is unmoderated.
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Jonathan Monroe voice: 540-568-6649 (office)
Department of Biology 540-568-6045 (lab)
James Madison University fax: 540-568-3333
Harrisonburg, VA 22807-0001 e-mail: monroejd at jmu.eduhttp://www.jmu.edu/biology/biofac/jmonroe/jmonroe.html
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