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The North Carolina Biotechnology Center will offer a unique opportunity for NC high school science teachers to gain an introduction to biotechnology at a four-day workshop at Carteret Community College July 20-24. The registration fee is $50 but participants receive free room and board plus a $50 stipend per workshop day (e.g., a total of $200 for a four-day workshop).

Participants receive technology or regular renewal credits (CEUs), lesson plans, instruction in presenting biotechnology in ways that captivate students, and access to Biotechnology Center programs that provide lab equipment and educational video loans and free lab supplies.

NC Biotechnology Center workshops address multiple objectives of the Standard Course of Study for high school biology and are taught by outstanding university instructors and master high school teachers who are expert at integrating biotechnology into the classroom.

If you are interested, please visit the North Carolina Biotechnology Center website for registration information.

The UNC School of Education has tapped Melissa Thibault as Executive Director of LEARN NC.

Melissa Thibault served as Acting Executive Director since January 1, 2007, during which time she oversaw the creation of an online Mandarin Chinese/Critical Languages program and a Virtual Mentoring Program to support beginning teachers. Thibault joined LEARN NC in 2000 as Director of Media Services. In 2005, she was named Associate Director. Thibault has worked in public education for ten years, and her experience as a school media specialist gives her insight into the needs of a broad spectrum of educators.

“Melissa has done an outstanding job in her Acting Executive Director role,” said Jill Fitzgerald, Interim Dean of the UNC School of Education. “She has demonstrated very strong interpersonal and communication abilities. LEARN NC is a vital outreach arm of the School of Education, and I know that the organization will thrive under Melissa’s leadership.”

LEARN NC serves more than 25,000 teachers and students each day through its website, delivering lesson plans, best practices, and classroom content directly to schools in all 115 North Carolina school systems, 50 states, and 145 countries.

As Executive Director, Thibault will oversee several new initiatives to connect North Carolina teachers with the expertise and resources of universities, libraries, museums, and their fellow educators. Projects now underway, such as a digital textbook for eighth-grade North Carolina history and a Carolina Online Teacher Program that helps educators adapt to online teaching, will continue to make LEARN NC an indispensible resource for North Carolina’s schools.

LEARN NC is looking for 12 North Carolina high school civics and economics teachers to share ideas in an online professional learning community. You’ll learn teaching tips and materials specific to the civics curriculum, and engage in spirited discussions on your successes, failures, questions and answers with peers across the state.

An experienced instructor coach will provide guidance through the curriculum, as well as tricky areas like classroom management. You’ll also have access to a fully-developed, yearlong online civics & economics course aligned to the North Carolina Standard Course of Study. You can use it as your curriculum for the rest of the year, or just to grab a lesson for class tomorrow.

In order for this professional collaboration to be truly successful, participation is a must. Teachers must be willing to log in several times per week, engage in group discussions, and be willing to share strategies with fellow teachers.

If you want to join this exciting community of educators, please contact Nick Yingling at nyingling@learnnc.org.