Biotech Teacher Network

Georgia Bio (Georgia BioEd Institute) has been leading teacher professional development in biotechnology in Georgia for over a decade. We want to continue supporting our program alumni Georgia teachers in ways that will best help your school and students. One way is by connecting you with teachers from across the state, so we are creating a directory of teachers that we will share back with the alumni group to let you know who is available to help as you implement new science activities and concepts with your students.

Please fill out the form below to be included in the directory.

In the next newsletter, we will announce two new Georgia Bio initiatives to help schools with increasing biotech awareness and access to science equipment. Stay tuned for more details!

Professional Development Opportunities

Biotech Infusion: Stay tuned!

Be on the lookout for an announcement about this year's Biotech Infusion workshops. The Level 1 virtual workshops will take place from 4:15 to 6:15 on 10/1, 10/8, 10/15 and 10/29. More information and registration will be coming very soon!

DonorsChoose Virtual Workshop

One way to stretch your school budget is through DonorsChoose, a nonprofit organization where anyone can give directly to support public school classroom projects. Ward’s Science and Georgia Bio are partnering to host a DonorsChoose virtual workshop to tell you more about this amazing opportunity.

Melissa Rowe, a chemistry teacher from Chattooga High School, participated in the spring workshop. She was able to post her project immediately, share on social media, and was funded quickly thanks to the Georgia Teachers Initiative and a foundation's fund matching. Melissa received two Vernier spectrophotometers which she is using to help students to construct an explanation of light emission with the corresponding movement of electrons to identify an element.

Participants will walk through the process of posting a project on DonorsChoose and will leave the workshop with at least one project submitted to DonorsChoose. Applying costs nothing other than a brief amount of time to complete your application. 

When: Monday, August 26th from 4 to 5 pm 

Where: Virtual (Teams) 

Who: Any Georgia Teacher



Pre-workshop activities: 

1.    Determine a wish list of projects/items for your class 

2.    Look up the items on Wards Science that you would like to request. 

• Optional: Bring a photo of your students working on a relevant project. 

Already created a project on DonorsChoose and waiting on funding? Email Megan the link to your project- we will choose one each week to spotlight on the Georgia Bio BioBeat newsletter, which goes to Georgia life science industry.

Biotech Industry Insights Program

We are excited that we were able to reschedule the postponed Industry Insights workshop!

This is a professional development program for Georgia high school science and CTAE teachers that provides insight into the departments and roles within biotech companies, understanding of good manufacturing and documentation practices (GMP & GDP), and includes a field trip to local industry to see GMP and GDP in practice and learn about biotech careers. Participants have the option to sit for the BACE exam during the workshop.

When: September 12th and 13th from 8 am to 4 pm

Where: Athens Technical College (800 US Hwy 29 North, Athens, GA)



Who: High school science and CTAE teachers. This is a level 2 training for RTTI participants, meaning basic biotech skills are needed, but any high school science/CTAE teacher may attend.

Tellus/Gel Electrophoresis Workshop

We are excited to partner with Tellus Museum for a teacher workshop on Saturday, September 28th from 10 am to 3 pm. Participants will perform a phylogenetic tree gel electrophoresis lab with dyes that simulate DNA samples, then learn about the programming at Tellus through a museum tour.

When: September 28th from 10 am to 3 pm

Where: Tellus Museum (100 Tellus Dr.,Cartersville, GA 30120)

Who: The lab is geared toward middle school life science and high school biology, but any science teachers are welcome to attend.

BioBuilder Kickoff: Save the Date

Save the Date: October 12, 2024 for the Georgia BioBuilder Kickoff at Georgia Tech

BioBuilder Clubs are a great way to introduce students to collaborative research in Synthetic Biology. See https://biobuilder.org/program/biobuilderclub/ for more information. 

We will host a FREE kickoff event at Georgia Tech, hosted by the Frugal Science Academy in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering. Tentative plans include Guest Speakers from Academia and Industry, presentations from high school synthetic biology teams, lab tours, nuts and bolts for advisors and team leaders, and community building. 

Please email jstandeven9@gatech.edu to be placed on the mailing list for more information. Specific details will be announced soon.

Curriculum Spotlight: Project WET and Virtual Field Trips

Project WET (Water Education Today) is an international program whose mission is to bring water education to the world. Project WET hosts teacher workshops throughout the year and over the summer to help teachers bring water curriculum into their schools. Learn more at https://projectwet.georgia.gov/.

Find relevant video clips and activities on their Kid's education page.

GPB Virtual Field Trips includes Project WET's Virtual Learning Journey about Georgia's Water and many more virtual trips to help students learn about Georgia's natural resources, history and culture.

Networking Opportunities