Amy Balling

Amy teaches Biology and Earth Science at Lancaster High School in Lancaster, NY. She has previously taught at schools in the city of Buffalo and Falconer, NY; bringing her total years in the classroom to 20 years. Amy has a B.S. and an M.S. from the SUNY College at Buffalo. She enjoys finding innovative and creative ways to use resources to increase student motivation and achievement. Amy has designed and instituted a blended biology class, integrating traditional in-class laboratory investigations with online Moodle lessons and games. Amy creates her own short, engaging instructional videos which her students employ as they interactively process the curriculum in the online classroom. Some of these videos and student created clay animation videos pertaining to biology concepts can be found in the podcasts sections of iTunes by searching "Bio to Go". In the online environment, Mrs. Balling differentiates instruction for each student's specific learning style while engaged students are able to focus and work at their own pace to master each topic. When students access her online classroom and her blog at www.ballinwithballing.blogspot.com, Amy's teaching and her students' learning extends well beyond the walls of a traditional classroom. Amy is a life-long learner and actively seeks out professional development opportunities to enhance her teaching practice. Throughout her career Amy has been actively involved in conducting workshops in local, state, and national settings. In addition to sharing her expertise with colleagues, she also works for the New York State Education Department in developing the state Biology Regents exam. During her spare time, together with her husband, Matt, she enjoys Caribbean vacations, backpacking, and canoeing with their two sons, Jacob and Andrew.