Ekdale is a super nice teacher. His lectures are pretty long but he posts the slides to Blackboard so as long as you read the book and look at the slides you'll be fine. He words test questions kind of weird but other than that it's a great class!

Took BIOL 101, and I'm pleased to say that Ekdale is a no-BS teacher. He's quick to respond and help, and grading criteria is very straight forward. My experience: It wasn't a particularly easy class, but with careful note taking, review of lecture slides, and reading the book, you will pass no problem. There's a lot of memorization - be ready.

The class is long, hard, and will challenge your memorization skills. Biol101 relied heavily on memorization and the exams test the ability you are able to remember facts. If you are looking for an easy A, it is not. You need to buy access codes for online course. 4 Exams, homework every week online, quizzes bi-weekly online. Very dry humor.

He provides lecture outlines, and online homework / quizzes which are literally the same questions on his multiple choice tests. Make flashcards and read over the homework answers posted after the submission deadline and take the quizzes over as study aids and the class is and easy A. His lectures are long but he does make them interesting.

Fun and easy teacher, he is also really passionate about what he teaches (whales). Homework and quizzes are easy and the tests are not that difficult.

Ekdale taught the first half of bio204, and I didn't realize how great his lectures were compared to the guy that took over the second half. He is funny, and he does his best to make very boring material a little more interesting. There is online homework, which isn't too hard. If you go to class, the tests aren't that hard.

Ekdale was such a nice, sweet man and you could tell that he really wanted all of his students to learn and succeed. With that being said, he doesn't take attendance, but if you want a good grade in this class, you have to actually pay attention to lectures. The material is pretty boring, but he does his best to make them a little more interesting.

Loved him so much. I wish he'd taught the whole class instead of only half of it.

Prof. Ekdale co-taught with Prof. Hentschel. He was very interesting and made the topic of study exciting. He is full of joy every lecture and his jokes are pretty funny. He posts lecture outline and slides, which is helpful when studying for the exams. The quizzes are fairly easy; google and slides have the answers. Wish he taught the 2nd half too

Great professor. The tests consist of info just from lecture. This class require a lot of memorization (terms & taxa), so expect to STUDY for the tests! Only 3 tests and he has Connect quizzes every week and Connect HW is only 1 point. Very straightforward class, but you'll have to try to ace the tests. ONLY BUY THE ONLINE TEXTBOOK CODE

His lectures were always interesting & I actually enjoyed going to class, despite not liking biology very much. His test questions can be very long and wordy; just reading through the questions took up a lot of time. Unlike the professor who taught the 2nd half (Hentschel), Ekdale was a good teacher.

Ekdale is a very nice guy, and he will help you when you need it. However this course requires a lot of memorization so you have to study. There are 4 test, 8 online quizzes, and homework assignments. You do not have to go to the lectures, but it helps a lot of you go.

Dr. Ekdale was awesome, I highly recommend him! Lectures are long but he does his best to make them interesting. Ten homework assignments, six quizzes and four exams. Final is NOT cumulative!

Professor Ekdale is vey passionate about what he teaches but his lectures feel very long. He will normally lecture until the end. Tests are fairly easy if you study a lot, but you will not pass if you don't study. They all require A LOT of memorizing! Study the HW and test review and you should be fine. Going to class sometimes helps.

The class is very challenging, but Professor Ekdale is such a great teacher to listen to. He's very funny and teaches everything that is on the exams. It's a lot of memorization, but everything on the tests is in the powerpoints that he uploads online, make sure to study the main points. A difficult class, but great teacher.

best bio100 prof!! this class was really not difficult... you don't need to go to class, the lectures are all online! drops lowest quiz score, 4 tests (noncumulative) just study the study questions he provides and the key terms at the beginning of each lecture and you'll ace each test! don't listen to people who say it was hard, put in effort!

Lectures are not mandatory but they definitely help. Take good notes from his lectures and that should be enough material for what you need on the exams. HW and quizzes are fairly easy. There is a lot of material to study and memorize for the tests but once you know it you should do well on them.

This class you can basically do online. Quizes are do every week and 4 major exams. He takes a boring topic and makes it pretty interesting at times. He can even be kinda funny when he makes fun of his weight. Basically study and you will be fine.

The lectures are pretty boring I mean what do you expect it's bio but he does try to make them interesting which is nice. The exams are hard but just use the study guides he puts up and they'll help. The quizzes aren't so hard and that's all you're graded on. No homework yay!

Lectures get a bit monotonous at times but it is clear Dr. Ekdale cares for his students. Posts all of the slides and outlines on Blackboard along with study questions. Textbook purchase is mandatory due to his class using McGraw-Hill Connect for online quizzes, but I never opened the actual textbook. Overall an easy class, too easy to fall asleep.

Quizzes online and 3 exams in class with non-cumulative final. No homework so make sure you do well on tests/quizzes. Don't need to show up to class because lectures are online but he explains the material well in class.

This is not a super easy class, but he makes you awesome/ simple lecture outlines with learning objectives at the top (really focus on these for tests!) as well as study questions. If you study all of those and memorize as well as understand the straight forward terms and concepts you'll get that A. Also class is not mandatory

Hard class, but if you look over the learning objectives for each lecture, and really understand the key terms, you'll do great. I recommend reading over the chapters in the book, it's a really book to follow along, I enjoyed it. Also he curves the class so a 92% is a solid A. Just study and don't slack off, I believe in you

He is a good professor. The lectures are interesting and he makes some good jokes. There's a lot of things to memorize, but if you study the study questions, learning objectives, lecture outlines, and actually attend and listen to lecture, you will at least get a B. You don't need to read the textbook at all, but it helps. Would take again.

Professor Ekdale is an ideal teacher for a GE class: all his Powerpoints are online so you do not have to go to class, homework and quizzes are about every other week with all the answers online, and tests are straightfoward. All you have to do is prepare for the test by reading the textbook and you'll get an easy A. One quiz is dropped w/ 4 exams.

Professor Ekdale is an ideal teacher for a GE class: all his Powerpoints are online so you do not have to go to class, homework and quizzes are about every other week with all the answers online. All you have to do is prepare for the test by reading the textbook and you'll get an easy A. One quiz is dropped with 4 exams.

This guy is a good teacher! He is entertaining, doesn't complicate lectures, and doesn't rant. However, this class was NOT an easy A like I expected. 4 Tests make up the majority of your grade and the first 2 tests were tricky in my opinion. Ended with a B but definitely had to put in effort/study. I recommend going to class, his lectures are good

So little opportunity to do good in this class. Its pretty much all tests. To help you out his tests can actually be found on quizlet exactly the same!!! Here so when he gives a quiz and it asks a question that states something you did just copy and paste it online and a quizlet will pop up just repeat till you memorize

A lot of his lectures are used with presentation slides, I recommend reading each chapter before doing each homework since it'll make it easier to understand. He's really funny and his lectures are easy to understand. Labs are harder than lectures so be advised.

Awesome class. There are two homeworks every week, and a test every 2-3 weeks. I recommend taking notes online because the teachers go pretty fast during lectures.

Ekdale is a great guy! The class is hybrid so there are only 4 (non-cumulative) exams that cover a few chapters each. The online tests are an easy A because you can use your textbook/notes and he lets you use 1 page of hand-written notes for the 2 in class exams. There is online homework that is textbook-based. Easy A if you literally just show up.

Took this guy as a hybrid course. The online hw is pretty easy and straightforward. Attendance is rewarded with credit. He has three other professors teach with him varying upon the subject which was pretty interesting. Notes are allowed for certain exams.

An easy class if you need the life-science GE. I just payed attention in class, learned a lot of interesting things, and the rest pretty much took care of itself. An 8x11 cheat sheet (front and back) is allowed on the exams, so I would say anyone can get at least a B in this class. Easy online hw and extra credit offered at the end of semester.

I really enjoyed this class. The class is pretty easy. Don't forget to do your pre/post lecture assignments and take the 2/4 online exams. Learning Catalytics questions are given in class for credit so show up. Group lecture activities are given in class that is busy work. The online exams are easier than the exams given out in class so study well

I really enjoyed this class. The class is easy. Don't forget to do your pre/post lecture assignments and take the 2/4 online exams. Learning Catalytics questions are given in class for credit so show up. Group lecture activities are given in class that is busy work. The online exams are easier than the exams given out in class so study well

Dr. Ekdale really loves bio and tries to make it easy and enjoyable. There are clicker Qs and homework due before every class in mastering bio but it is really easy. The tests are a little harder than Dr. Renteria but definitely still pretty easy. The final only has 40 Qs with 10 of them being cumulative but it wasnt hard. Great and easy class

Good lecturer, makes things interesting and has relevant examples on slides. His exams are pretty much just on what he covered in class, so take good notes and know them well. His powerpoints by themselves aren't super helpful so actually going to class is necessary for an A.

great professor! I really enjoyed some of the lectures and learned things that I could apply in real life. I took AP bio in high school, so maybe that helped me get an A without trying that hard, but even if you didn't, the work was manageable and everything was fine.

I think most of the other reviews must be freshmen because I didn't find it that hard for what it is. Very caring professor who tries to make bio interesting, we went over the most interesting topics (climate change, nutrition, cancer), 2 at home exams, lets you use cheat sheet for other 2 exams, heavy weekly homework but helps a lottt, worth it.

BIO 100 - Hybrid woth Ekdale is one of the easiest courses Ive ever taken. 2 online and 2 in-class exams each worth 100 points out of 800, so its not a big deal. Just do yourbest on the online exmas and then get (120 out of 200) as a total for the in-class ones and you will get an A. The final was super easy. Also the 10 point extra credit helped

Ekdale really wants his students to get As. Weekly pre/post lecture assignments that are easy points. 2 online midterms and 2 in-class. He lets you use a handwritten cheatsheet for the in-class exams. If you read the book and go to class for participation points and lectures you'll get an A.

this is not an easy A, but it is not hard either. Lectures can get really boring as they are just straight out of the slides (even if you enjoy the subject). There is homework but most of the grade is on the tests and quizzes, but he does help you a lot by posting the slides and lecture outlines which are great for studying for tests.

Easy class. Don't need to pay attention much. He posts the lecture slides online and he creates an outline which is basically all the notes you'll need for the lecture. The only reason to go to class is for clicker questions, but they're just for participation points. The class is just memorization of terms and clades.

Dr. Ekdale does a great job at presenting the material in a very basic manner. All his tests are very straightforward, and follow the learning objectives on the outlines, which are all you need to study. Just like the first half of the semester, there is still daily HW & clickers. Do the work, study the outlines, and you will be fine!

Dr. Ekdale is passionate about the "World of Animals" making the class good and sometimes funny. I took notes all semester but never used them to study because all of the quizzes and tests are on Quizlet. He uses clicker questions for attendance and participation but as long as you study the Quizlets online you'll pass this class.

Dr. Eckdale was a great lecturer, you can tell he really knows his stuff. He always takes time to answer student questions throughout the class and gives thoughtful answers. All you need to come to class for is clicker questions. Just study the outlines and slides he posts and you're good to go. I studied the day before each exam, no problem.

Dr. Ekdale's bio 101 class inspired me to consider a stem major. His class changed the way I look at the world and the animals in it. If you do the homework and study quizlets for the tests you can 100% get an A. Go to class, enjoy having a professor who cares about the subject matter, and you will have a great semester with Dr. Ekdale

I don't think professor Ekdale gets enough credit. He is so obviously passionate about the topic and really gives thorough information if you gives his lectures a chance. He's accessible, helpful and wants his students to succeed. Lectures are now interactive so they're a lot easier to engage with. Easy A if you put effort forth!

weekly homework online. Tests aren't too bad. lectures are somewhat entertaining. in class activities every week online.

I had Ekdale for Bio 204 and 352 and he's so sweet and smart. He only taught the first half of this class focusing more on genetics. No attendance points, 3 exams, cumulative final. small section super easy, good grade booster. Good lectures, textbook not needed but I read it anyways and it def helped. LOVE Ekdale tho he rly cares about the subject

Dr Ekdale puts the extra effort into his lectures and it really shows; If you pay attention, they are incredibly interesting and in depth. You will learn a lot, although tests are very specific and therefore difficult.

He was a great professor! Unfortunately our semester got cut short due to corona virus but he adjusted super well.

Lectures are really interesting. He makes it clear what stuff you have to understand to pass and repeats it a lot.

His class is very straightforward. Watch the lectures (take notes on them if u want a good grade!) , take a quiz, prepare for the exam. Its honestly rlly fair. If you dont do the lectures and just dont study at all you will get a bad grade. I suck a biology but his class is FAIR. Do the work and you will get an A.

Very good in lecture hws are graded by Person's hw system. He tells you what to study for the test. Very nice person/go at your own pace class. Only thing is You have to use your resources to Get An A on the hw.

Absolutely loved the structure to this class. Everything is straightforward. Watch the recorded lectures, take good notes & youll get an A. Quizzes and exams are pretty basic and easy

Class is lecture heavy, lectures are not at set time but must go to lecture within certain timeframe, can watch lectures at 2x speed, in-lecture participation questions, exams follow the lecture slides, book is useless but you need the mcgraw-hill connect for hw and quizzes, fairly stress free class.

Ekdale is a solid prof. He made a somewhat boring subject pretty interesting and I actually enjoyed watching the lectures. The tests are cumulative which sort of sucks, but all the information is in his lectures.

Weekly assigments including homework questions, 3 short interactive videos, and an exploration assignment. Although there are many assignments, they are fairly simple. Tests throughout the course cover the same material as the videos and textbook.

The tests were a bit hard, homework was easy. His lectures were recorded, but he was funny and kept it as interesting as he could. Really seemed to care and he made the class easy to follow. I would recommend him.

he is understanding try go to his office hours if you need extra help other than that the course is all up to you to earn the points with clicker point (that u have to get them right in order to get the credit) and hw

He gives tons of participation points, which end up being a pretty good percentage of the final grade. The tests/quizzes are difficult as there is a lot of information, but if you take good notes and study you will be fine (tons of quizlets exist for his class). Hes pretty laid back and he tries to make the lectures interesting.

This online class was very straight forward. Syllabus was detailed, and you were aware of exactly what you had to do each week. Tests weren't too hard, and you get a 1-page cheat sheet that you turn in for extra credit. Homework assignments weren't too lengthy, took up about 3 hours per week w/ lectures. Easy way to get science GE credit.

Ekdale is an absolute genius and such a great professor. His lectures are so entertaining and fun. Exams and quizzes aren't hard at all if you watch the lectures.

Ekdale is so sweet. He genuinely enjoys biology and wants everyone to enjoy too. All I had to do was watch a couple lectures a week (that are funny, interesting, and relevant to everyday event) and then do some questions on Pearson. Super easy and same deadline every week so you never forget. Tests were also very easy.

I loved this class! Ekdale is the best, I highly recommend taking world of animals

Great professor, he explains his lectures great and he has a weird, but hilarious sense of humor

Loved this class and Professor Ekdale. He's got a good personality so it's easy to keep focus. Overall 6 quizes, 10 homework, 4 exams (not cumulative). Watch (or go to) the lectures and TAKE NOTES they will be so helpful to study. He loves lecture or general animal questions! Participation points for lectures so pay attention.

Super kind passionate guy! Lectures are interesting and this class is Zoology with the name biology so its all about animals. Watch lectures fully for points, do quizzes for points and all answers for these and exams are on quizlet. I never needed help but he was always open for emails. Super fun interesting class for animal lovers. DETAILED NOTES

If you have to take bio take his class!! Had 10 homework assignments and some quizzes. It was all online (including tests and quizzes). And you wouldn't have to go to class on test days. However he did keep attendance by using iclicker.

Ekdale is a wonderful teacher, he is very good at explaining difficult topics and gives you all the information you need, but it's on you to study for the 4 exams, 15 quizzes, and 3 weekly hw assignments plus clicker lectures. It's a heavy workload but the hw is very helpful and great study material. Plus if u take 204 lab u go to the zoo for free.

He is an OK professor, nice but a little timid when people ask questions I think. There is homework due before every lecture and a quiz on Thursdays. I would def recommend taking the lab with this course, it really reinforces the material.

Dr. Ekdale loves animals. He's got a great passion for what he teaches about, and that really shows in his little tangents that I adore. His awkward charm and love for biology is wonderful, but I didn't really enjoy class itself. I took World of Animals. We went over every single animal clade.That's a lot. BIOL-101 was more animals than Ekdale.

He's cool. Tests were hard.

tests are quite hard, a lottttt of vocab and grades is only based on exams. hes cool tho

Your grade really depends on the exams but there is also homework and clicker points to help your grade. Dr. Ekdale is really helpful and answers emails fast. Taking the lab at the same time helps with understanding the material better. As long as you study and go to lecture, this class should not be stressful.

Great professor who really cares about allowing his students to understand the material. In lectures, if you as a question he isn't sure of, he will research it himself and post an answer on canvas. If you need help with anything, he makes an effort to help you after class. I suggest keeping up with the homework and do the readings.

Ekdale's class is definitely a "you get what you put in" kind of class-- I never once felt like his exams were unfair, and everything you need to know comes from his lectures (which are all really interesting and fun). Great class and really great professor, don't be afraid to ask questions. I 100% recommend, especially if you like animals.

Exams are a lot of the grade. Lectures are well connected to the textbook so if you do the readings and pay attention you'll be fine. Participation is taken in class so you need to show up. Very passionate about biology and easily accessible even though this is typically a very large lecture.

Ekdale is very passionate about animals & his courses, but the only thing that is difficult is the way exams weigh on your grade since it makes it a bit difficult to recover from struggling on 1 or 2 exams. Class is doable and interesting though, lecture objectives + quizlets will help you prepare for exams.

Ekdale is nice and definitely passionate about animals. However, if you are not a stem major and/or don't like the content do not take this class. It was way harder than expected and tests, while the notes do prepare you for them, are all about complicated term recall. Good if you like animals but definitely not the easiest science

Loved. This is a real biology course - we didn't just discuss Jurassic Park - but it was so much fun. Took it online - def have to watch all the lectures and take good notes. Eric is funny and engaging. Truly loved this class. Bought the textbook just to have it. Watched lectures with the light from my dino egg (amazon plug) it makes dino noises.

Exams are online and everything can be found in the textbook, I'd recommend reading the text book and then you'll be fine.

Really enjoyed this class! Honestly a little more work than an in person class (6 lectures ~15-30 min each per week + exploration activity+ quiz) but honestly a really enjoyable class and fun to learn about. Ekdale is CLEARLY very into it which makes it more fun too, and he's easily accessible. Fun to learn about random stuff too.

I think the people in the other reviews don't study for tests and expect to pass them with an A. I put in about an hour before each test and I have a 90% test average. There are lecture notes that you can find on Canvas that highlight all of the vocab words you'd need to know for the tests. They are not cumulative. They are multiple choice.

Easy if you want to put the work in. It's a decent amount of work each week (Reading, 2+ hour lectures, exploration, quiz), but it's not hard. You can skip the reading, he only quizzes on his lecture info. He's very passionate and it shows, and records new lectures every semester, so they're not old. Easy pass if you just turn everything in.

The class was very straightforward and clear. All the material on the exams were straight from lectures, lecture outlines, and the learning objectives that he posts. Lectures are also pretty interesting if you have even a little interest in animals. Attendance isn't mandatory,but most of the time there are participation questions during the lecture

Professor Ekdale is a good professor. His lectures can be quite boring and it requires a lot of studying outside for a GE. Overall though, very easy to get an A if you attend the lectures and put in a bit of effort to study for the exams. P.S. - His iClicker isn't geo locked even though he says it is.

Dr. Ekdale is very passionate which made this class enjoyable. I missed a decent amount of lectures but was able to learn the material with online notes that were posted. There are 4 exams total that are not cumulative, and each one is easier than the last. Your grade will depend on these exams, so if youre not good at memorizing, I don't recommend

This professor is very passionate about Biology and has a lot of knowledge to share. He's always ready to help. ATTEND CLASS, all tests and quizzes are extremely lecture heavy and have participation points. Get ready to study hard for As, this class is memorization based. Use all resources available to study.

eckdale's teaching kept me awake in class, and was generally interesting. he also brought in animal skulls/cool stuff sometimes. that being said, do not neglect studying for this class-- the exams are weighed heavily, and memorization is key. this felt like a filler class to me because of my major but if you love animals then this is for you.

Dr. Ekdale is extremely passionate and excited about animals, but is a very slow lecturer. The quizzes matter a lot for your grade so be careful when taking them, and the lectures require a lot of reading and studying. As long as you take good notes or take a look at his lecture outlines, you'll be fine on exams. Find study partners

He covers a lot of material in the lectures, so you need to take good notes and will have to do more studying than usual if you want a great score on exams. He records lectures but I would still recommend going in person. Homework is a completion grade and is only about 10 short questions. He is passionate but a little boring. lots of anatomy.

He is very passionate and knowledgable on the subject. However, this class was a lot different than I thought it was going to be. There is a lot (a LOT) of anatomy about animals. Find a good way to study and USE THE LEARNING OBJECTIVES that he provides if you want to do well! There is also clickers for participation and bi-weekly homework.

I love Dr. Ekdale. He is a quirky and fun professor, his passion really makes me excited too. If you can memorize things, you're gonna ace this class. All I did was go to class and then study my notes and I got a 99%. No textbooks. Take advantage of the study objectives!

Your grade is determined by the amount of studying you wanna do. Other than that he's an amazing professor and his lectures are very interesting.

I never read the book. Only payed attention to the lectures and slides. Highly suggest writing notes instead of typing. If you struggle memorizing a bunch of definitions and traits, I wouldn't recommend. His class is helpful depending upon the person. You do need time to study outside. Lectures are engaging. Structured from first animal to humans.

I loved this class, I'm actually sad to be completing it! Made me consider switching majors for more. Thought the lectures were funny and interesting. If you have trouble with exams/memorizing, this might be hard. Answer the 'lecture goals' for each class and review quiz questions to study, they give everything you need and make the exams feel easy

Such a nice guy and super interested in what he's teaching. He goes on tangents that stray pretty far away from test content but it's just because he genuinely loves biology so much. Tests are in class, multiple choice. Best to just do your attendance at home and study on your own, lectures dont apply to midterms enough to actually attend.

Professor cares a lot about this class and obviously loves animals. The tests are multiple choice and can be pretty difficult. He goes off on a lot of tangents during lectures and most of the lecture doesn't really help when it comes to the exams. Attendance is done online.