Teaching

STRUCTURE on OSX

STRUCTURE on OSX

Rodney Dyer

The program STRUCTURE is an ubiquitous feature of many population genetic studies these days—if it is appropriate is another question. Today, while covering model based clustering in population genetics, we ran into a problem where STRUCTURE was unable to run and the OS said it was Corrupted and should be thrown away.  Jump below for our fix, it really is an easy one.

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Turning In Assignments via Google Sharing

Rodney Dyer

If you use Google Docs for your writing, there are several cool tricks you can use to increase your efficiency.  Here is one thing that has made it much easier when it comes to turning in assignments.  Previously, one would create a document in some word processor, work on it, put it on a thumb drive, take it home and work on it, take it back to school, perhaps a lab computer, maybe it is also worked on in the library, etc.  Eventually, you finish the document and then to turn it in you can either print it off (got to go find a printer or where I put that extra paper) or email it  in.  This last option is terrible if you have a large class!

If you are using Google Docs, you can just share it with the instructor.  In the sharing options, you can designate that you share with someone but only allow them to make “suggestions”.  This keeps the integrity of your document in place while allowing another person to mark it up.  Once you share it, they can open it and write in it but any and all changes to the document are indicated via a highlight color.  Since both of you are working on the document, there is no need to email it back and forth, there is only one document.

Here is a short video how that is done if you need more visual input.

Setting Up Your Site for Syndication

Rodney Dyer

This quick tutorial is for how you set up your site to make it able to syndicate to a class site.  I am using the BIOL310 Genetics Online course as an example.  You are going to need the following:

  1. A category given to you by the professor to use on your site to indicate which posts should be sent over to the class site.
  2. A blog.  Here I am running WordPress as it is the supported one from VCU.  Others are available if you already have a blog going, if not got to rampages.us and sign up as a VCU student and make one.  Consider it a digital portfolio for all your work.
  3. Send your professor the address of your blog.

Below is a video of the process.  It is pretty easy to do.

That should be it. Once your professor has the link and sets up syndication, your posts (when the category is applied to them) will show up on the site.