This site is an introduction to our ONLINE BIOL1 course at Butte College with Melody Schmid
Hello and Welcome!
I'm so glad you are here.
This 1 minute video welcomes you to BIOL1.
Please email me at schmidme@butte.edu whenever you have questions about our introductory biology course. You can learn more about me at my Faculty Profile page.
I look forward to meeting you soon.
Melody Schmid, PhD (she/her)
In Introduction to Biology we will build a foundation of biology that we can use to understand personal experiences and issues at the intersection of biology and society. You will be able to apply your understanding of biological principles throughout your life to make decisions that affect your health, and the health of your family, our community, and planet. Our lab activities include online interactives, hands-on activities, and outdoor observations.
You can explore the Synthesis Projects completed by former BIOL1 students at Butte College to see what topics in Biology they chose to focus on in our course.
Before January 26th please use your Butte College email to email me at schmidme@butte.edu with any questions you have about our course.
Starting January 26th, you can also use the Canvas Inbox to communicate with me.
I will respond to emails and Canvas Inbox messages within 24 hours during the week and on Monday for messages received over the weekend (this is just the official policy, I usually respond much faster and on weekends).
This course begins on Monday, January 26th, 2026 and ends on Friday, May 29th, 2026.
This is a 4 unit class, so the college expects you to spend 12 hours a week to successfully complete our course.
This is a fully online course. Both lecture and lab activities are online and can be completed at home.
We have no required scheduled meeting times. All of your work can be completed asynchronously (on your own schedule) each week. We will have optional, facilitated synchronous sessions where we can work collaboratively over Zoom.
This course is organized into 16 weekly content modules, each with pre-lab preparation, lab activities, post-lab reflection, and a Synthesis Project step.
This is not a self-paced course. You are in a learning community with your classmates and me. Together, we will move through one module each week.
You will complete a semester-long Synthesis Project, in which you apply what you are learning in our course to explain an issue at the intersection of biology and society, or a personal experience. Guidance and examples will be provided, and the project is scaffolded into 16 weekly steps, including peer review and revision, with the final project due during Finals Week (the last week of the semester).
Our course is designed to center learning. You will have choice and multiple opportunities in what resources and activities you use to learn, and how you demonstrate your learning. We are all here to learn together!
You can explore the Table of Contents of our free online textbook for an introduction to the biological principles we will be learning about this semester. You do not need to purchase the textbook if you prefer to view it online for free, or download the PDF for free, at the link above. But if you know you do better with a printed copy of a textbook, order your book soon. The printed textbook is $27 (new, black and white) or $35 (new, color) online, or $30 (used, color) or $40 (new, color) at our campus bookstore.
Free and engaging video resources that include the same information as the textbook will also be available to view in our Canvas site. It is up to you whether you want to use the textbook, video resources, or a combination of both to complete our pre-lab preparation activities. If you know you like videos better than reading a textbook, don't buy the textbook! You can still consult the free online version of the textbook if needed.
Our Lab Activities will be available in Canvas, and submitted in Canvas. You will need to obtain a few materials (Jello, 4 clear 16oz plastic bottles, plastic bags, shovel, 2 eggs, newspaper, 1 potato, 2 cups flour, a couple fresh flowers) to complete some of our hands-on lab activities. Other lab activities will include online interactives and outdoor observations. You will also need a camera (a smartphone or tablet works great) to record some of your lab results and outdoor observations.
Before the semester starts, if the name that you would like to have shown on instructor rosters and in Canvas is different from your legal name, there is information on the Butte College Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion website that explains how to change the name that shows up on college documents to your chosen name.
If this is your first course hosted in Canvas, you can complete this free Passport to Canvas course to learn how to use Canvas. And/or you can check out these Getting Started with Canvas Resources.
I recommend downloading the Canvas App if you would like to access our course on a mobile device.
It's highly recommended that you update to the newest version of whatever browser you are using. Check out the Canvas Browser Support page for the most recent information. Canvas works best in Chrome and Firefox. If you don't have one of these browsers, you can download Firefox or download (or update) Chrome for free.
You have free access to the full suite of Office applications to use on personally owned technology through your association with Butte College.
Technical Quick Start for Students includes Butte College student email and Student Technical Support.
Our course will be available on Canvas starting Monday, January 26th. At that time, you will be able to log in to Canvas and click on our course in your Canvas dashboard. You won't be able to see our course in Canvas until January 26th.
To demonstrate your active participation and secure your spot in our course:
Read our Syllabus and participate in our Pre-Lab 1: Introductory Discussion in our Week 1 Introduction to Biology Module in Canvas before midnight on Wednesday January 28th
Complete Lab Activities 1A, 1B, and 1C in our Week 1 Introduction to Biology Module in Canvas before midnight on Friday January 30th
Finish our Week 1 Introduction to Biology Module in Canvas by participating in Post-Lab 1 and completing the first step of our Synthesis Project before midnight on Sunday February 1st
If you need more time to complete any of the activities listed above, email me to let me know when you plan to complete it so I know to save your spot in our course. If I don't hear from you, and you don't submit any of our Week 1 Activities by their due dates, I will not have evidence of your active participation in our course and your spot will be given to a student on the wait list.
Much education today is monumentally ineffective.
All too often we are giving young people cut flowers when we should be teaching them to grow their own plants.
~John W. Gardner
I’m here to support your learning. This course is designed to make biology relevant and meaningful for students that are here to learn biology. I'm not interested in designing a course to "catch" students taking shortcuts. Shortcuts won’t help you learn—they’ll just make the course activities feel like busywork and leave you frustrated. Let's make the most of our time together!
I will provide you with a clear, organized course that is designed to ensure you meet our course goals in a meaningful manner.
I will provide a variety of resources and activities to ensure your learning needs are met.
I will be actively present in your learning. I will respond to your emails as soon as possible and provide timely feedback on submissions.
I will reach out to you when I sense that you need support.
I will treat you with dignity and respect and be flexible to support your individual needs.
I won't be perfect. I am human and will make mistakes at times. I will view mistakes as an opportunity to learn and grow and embrace all feedback you graciously share with me.
You are an active participant in this course and strive to meet due dates.
You maintain an open line of communication with me so I understand how to support you. You will reach out with questions as soon as, if not before, you sense the onset of frustration.
You contact me if you have a concern with an activity, trouble meeting a due date, or if you are thinking about dropping the course. We'll figure it out together.
You strive to regularly contribute to collaborative activities to ensure other members of the community have ample opportunity to read/listen, reflect, and respond to your ideas.
You will treat your peers with dignity and respect.
You will do your best to have patience with technology. There will be hiccups, expect them. Let me know and we will get through them together.
You will give yourself grace. Expect to make revisions. You are human and learning is a process.
Is there anything else you would like to add to these lists?
This learning pact is adapted from the work of Zaretta Hammond, (2015). Culturally Responsive Teaching & The Brain: Promoting Authentic Engagement and Rigor Among Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students. Corwin Publishers.
California faces big challenges like climate change, environmental justice, food accessibility, and public health—issues at the intersection of biology and society. Approaching these challenges from different perspectives will allow collaborative and creative solutions.
I teach general education biology because I believe we benefit from the multitude experiences and ways of knowing of our diverse community members. My goal is to support and respect students from diverse backgrounds and perspectives, addressing diverse learning needs and valuing the unique experiences and strengths each of us brings to our course.
If anything I say or do doesn’t meet this goal, please let me know. Your feedback is vital, and I’ll use it to improve the course for everyone. Your feedback and suggestions are encouraged and appreciated. I will embrace them as a gift.
This course is designed to center learning. You will have choice and multiple opportunities in what resources you use to learn, and how you demonstrate your learning. If you ever have a specific challenge with a course resource or activity and would like to discuss an alternate way to demonstrate your learning let’s check in.
We are all members of this learning community and I will learn as much from you as you will learn from me and your co-learners in this course. We are all here to grow together!