Mr. Atkinson was a great teacher who cared about his students and made leaning as enjoyable as possible. The way the course is structured made it clear how to get an A as long as you followed along.

Professor Atkinson has proven to be a professor that genuinely cares about his students and their grades! Having a fully online semester, especially in the middle of a pandemic, has not been easy, however, he made his class easier and much more enjoyable! He uploads both PDF & video lectures, does reviews for tests, and has fun extra credit!

the class was only a little hard for me because i didnt really study but its easy if you do. simple class structure, 3 lectures and 1 quiz weekly & 4 tests throughout the class. quizzes are open note and the tests are just like the quizzes. prof atkinson is super cool, talks about his research on frogs and stuff and he really cares about students(:

The best teacher I had all semester. Class is cake if you just keep up with lectures and put a little effort into studying. He cares and will answer any questions you have. Quizzes are easy, and so are the exams. Also if you need extra credit, he definitely has easy opportunities to earn them.

TAKE THIS CLASS! No homework, just weekly lectures, and an end of the week quiz. He provides easy extra credit and truly cares about students. He's young and personable & adds jokes and memes throughout lectures. Exams are based on quiz questions, memorize quizzes & you'll pass with an A. Literally the best professor I've had so far :)

This course because of corona was fully video lectures that he pre-recorded. If I'm honest I didn't watch all of them and I'm 100% sure I would have gotten a better grade than a 78% if I had watched them. It was all exams and quizzes and he ended up offering extra credit for the exams. Seemed like a nice guy, just not my subject.

This class is amazing! Simply consists of weekly lectures & end of week quizzes. Drops lowest 2. Provides nature watching EC & truly cares about students. He's super kind & adds jokes/memes into his lectures. 10/10 recommend!Exams based on quiz questions but not verbatim, but memorize quizzes & you'll pass with an A. Extra help? I used TB reviews.

Pre recorded lectures, very easy and great guy. Gave extra credit

Had for Biology. Great Professor. Very caring and even though it was an online class he made it feel immersive. I felt like I really learned, and the content was manageable. Gave extra Credit often. Tests are usually from quizzes and notes.

Took for bio, super easy. Did not require the book and even gave us scantrons during Exams. Study his weekly quizzes, show up to lectures, and do your assignments and you should be fine. He does move pretty fast during his lectures, so prewrite what's on the slides and then note the stuff he says. Super nice guy as well.

Atkinson is a pretty great choice for biology. Though its better to show up, you can still pass by just reading through the slides he posts. Textbook is not required, and exams can be passed by studying powerpoint slides. Grade is composed of extra credit, weekly quizzes, community assignments, and non-cumulative exams.

Easily could call him the best professor I've had so far for any class. Fun lectures, his PowerPoints are always uploaded on Canvas like a week before class, weekly quizzes are only on that week's material. Tests aren't cumulative. Easy 10/10 for me

Professor Atkinson is passionate about biology and makes class interesting, and provides you with all the resources necessary to do well, but good study habits are a necessity.

Prof Atkinson is very passionate about what he teaches, which made me pay more attention. I didnt like bio in hs, but I did well this term thanks to him. Grade is 4 exams, a quiz each week, 3 mini projects, and extra credit. Lectures can be boring sometimes, but its more the content's fault than his. He is fair and realistic with his expectations.

Super laid back Professor. He really cares about his students. Only three homework assignment for the semester, all quizzes were open notes and the exam questions were taken from the quiz. Great teacher if you can get him take his class

A genuinely respectable professor. He was available 24/7, super understanding about missed assignments or grades, and gave extra credit for three of his four exams (10% for the fourth exam!). He had a quiz every week, but they were open notes and open book, so: very easy. Just attend the lectures (they're important) and put in a little effort.

Took Biological Principles first semester He is really easy, funny and answers questions whenever you have them. Weekly online quizzes, as long as you show up to lectures or view them online and pay attention its an easy A. 4 exams, in person or online, only need 1-2 hours of studying. 3 projects, these can take a few hours but arent hard at all.

Prof. Atkinson genuinely wants his students to pass his classes. He doesn't believe in cumulative finals either. He makes biology interesting and engages students in getting involved in nature around campus. He even brought in live frogs. Highly recommend!

Good guy, who does his best to make sure everyone passes.

He finds a way to give solutions to problems and he's very helpful. The work and material are not difficult so it's important to pay attention to the lectures. And I love that if for some reason, you can't attend class in person, he records the class lecture and you can go back and watch it. So don't skip them because the videos will add up to you.

This professor and class were ok. The lectures were not very helpful and the exams were pretty hard. You definitley have to study hard to get an A in this class. There are confusing animal projects that took time and were annoying to do even though they were grade boosters. There was extra credit for exams too. Overall, study hardd to get the A.

He's a funny guy, has interesting lectures, and his class isn't difficult whatsoever. Really cares about his students.

I loved Professor Atkinson! If Im being honest, I didnt attend that many of his lectures, but as long as you read the PowerPoints and do the quizzes, the tests are a breeze (the exam questions are primarily made up of questions from the quizzes). I did basically the bare minimum and passed with an A.

Class is EXTREMELY fast paced, you will have to go on the slides and finish your notes. Open note weekly quizzes and test questions are largely on Quizlet. Professor is super chill. Final is not cumulative, just another test.

Atkinson was (and still is) one of my favorite professors I've ever had. Lectures were very fast paced but were also very manageable. Offers extra credit, the activities are actually fun and easy to do. Quizzes were weekly and very straight forward; exams were offered online with honor lock. I will miss seeing his flip flops in class every week.

Lectures are really interesting and you can tell he cares a lot! We did a couple assignments as well where we had to go out and find pictures of wildlife which was really interesting. Tests and quizzes aren't hard as long as you pay attention!

Professor Atkinson drops the lowest grade (sometimes two) on his various categories of assignments. He gives lots of funny acronyms to remember material. He said on the first day of class to to come talk to him about anything (class related or not). He brings baked goods (made by his wife) to his office hours and clearly cares about his students.

Atkinson is one of my favorite professors I've ever had. He is so understanding and truly cares about the students. There are several opportunities a week to get help if you are struggling. The lectures were very fast paced but are very manageable. Quizzes and widgets were weekly and very straight forward.

BSC 2010C. Atkinson is a straightforward, organized professor which is appreciated. Assignments are clearly posted online. Post quizzes and materia widgets are easy. Lectures from powerpoint, but attendance is important since he gives important side explanations you don't get from powerpoint. Tests are straightforward. Study a few days before test.

(This review is for BSC2010C) First off, this guy is Barry Allen when it comes to responding to emails. I have never had a more responsive professor. The course is heavily based on the lecture PowerPoints, which are left partially blank so you have to go to class. Five tests, lowest is dropped, final exam is not cumulative. Lab is 20% of grade.

He has fast paced ppt lectures, but can access the ppt outside of class if u attend lecture thru his password system. He has a great personality and tries to make it interesting. There're readings but its not thru a purchased textbook, just on web-courses, there's hw but not at all too heavy. Overall great professor and a decent class.

Passionate, kind, and funny teacher. Goes through lectures fast but if you go to class you can get access to the presentations. Tests are online with no camera and lockdown browser.

Mr. Atkinson was an amazing professor. He made lectures fun by telling jokes and he came to class with a care-free attitude. I'd say the only issue was he went through slides very fast; however, he made them accessible after class and explained them well in class. You have tons of extra credit opportunities and easy widgets for homework.

(Grade: 96.5) If you go to class, pay attention, and do assignments on time you will get an A. I didn't go to class for half the semester and if I just went I would've had an A+. 5 exams total all online (at home) on canvas through lockdown browser. Go to active learning days they help a lot. Atkinson is funny and caring. Take him!

The class is taught through powerpoint slides. He provides PowerPoints with most of the information filled in, the rest you get by going to class and listening to lecture. I spent a lot of time watching videos to understand what was being taught. Besides that he is great and really cares about his students success. Extra credit on all exams.

His lectures were important if you wanted to learn and succeed. He adjusted to the needs of our class which was nice. Minimal homework and all exams were all online using a lockdown browser. The lab was online using UniVirtual which did cost money. Notes are posted but there are blank spots for you to fill in during the lecture.

10/10 professor. He truly cares about his students and making sure they are engaged. You just have to apply yourself in class and take notes. I bought the textbook but never opened, I wouldn't say it was needed since his exams were based off of lecture and PowerPoints. Exams were not easy but tolerable. If you can, definitely choose this professor!

Dr. Atkinson stands out for his humor, accessibility through frequent office hours, and prompt email responses, showing genuine care for his students. He releases exam results a week later to correct any mistakes and will give points back. He has a deep understanding and passion for biology, especially frogs. I'm taking him for ecology in the fall!

Great professor, he is good at explaining the material. He also gives a LOT of extra credit, take advantage of it! Would not say attendance is "mandatory" however, he would give out a password to access the class notes. I never used it bc I attended lecture every day.

Such a kind professor. Gives plenty of opportunity for extra credit, assignments are easy (just stay on top of them), lab was online and relatively easy, and exams are multiple choice and not too difficult as long as you study. Besides for the exams, I would say it's very difficult to get below an A in his course.

He is a great professor that cares about his students and loves Biology. I would take him again! Lots of extra credit and very clear exams. He does password lock his powerpoint and he only gives the password during the first 10 minutes of class. If you want to pass, you need to come to lectures.

Dr. A's the most kind and helpful professor I've had. Tough-as-nails course with a deluge of info, lots of EC to help and lab/lecture exams often curved. Study a lot on your own time; I didn't, and it was stressful. Reach out to Dr. A if you need help in the course, want to start research, anything. He's quick to respond and very welcoming.

This professor was great and this class was a light workload. The exams were online, the lectures were interesting and helpful, and the professor was very easy going and understandable. I actually enjoyed this class and was never drowning in work from this professor. The homework each week was super simple and did not take much time at all.

Dr. Atkinson was awesome, I took bio over the summer for the GEP and I'm thrilled I chose this prof. Easy online quizzes and the tests weren't super hard, hardly have to study if you show up to lectures and do the kahoot he posts. The online issue is there's so much material he has to move fast so be ready to type quickly. He's cool, take him.

Great professor. I took this class in Summer A, so it was super fast paced. I went to lectures, and I didn't really need to read the powerpoints outside of class. I also didn't use the textbook at all. It's not very hard if you go to class and study the Kahoot reviews.

Pretty good professor and a cool guy. Lectures were easy to follow. Sometimes he went to fast but he would ask us periodically if he should slow down. Exams were straight forward I think. In-class quizzes/assignments were a little confusing but you can ask for help. Easy extra credit assignment.

Shows a lot of passion for his subject and teaches it pretty clearly as a result. Conveys the knowledge in a way that makes you understand it well. The assignments are not hard if you simply follow the instructions and the tests and quizzes are not hard if you study. Very nice guy too. Highly recommend Professor Atkinson!

His lectures are packed with information so it's not the easiest for someone who can't grasp science easily. He's a good professor though and caring. He gives lots of resources and is very clear about grading and tests. Even though Bio isn't my strong suit I still got a B.

Can't recommend anyone else for biology, Doctor Atkinson not only has hilarious lectures that made getting up at 8am worth it, but his love for animals, bugs, and biology as a whole shined through the entire course. You get a ton of little "widget" homework but its super easy 100s with multiple attempts. Tests are simple and online. 100/100

Great professor! It's his first-semester teaching ecology, but I wouldn't have had any idea if he hadn't told us. Very passionate about the material and gives great explanations, fair exams, and tells us what to review. Attendance isn't mandatory, but I suggest going since his lectures are great and some examples he gives aren't on the ppts.

Amazing Professor. He is super fun, yet his lectures are very easy to understand. he provides note-taking materials for the students to help them understand. I have 0 regrets for taking this class with him. He'll always answer any questions you have even during office hours. Great professor, and I 100% Recommend him.

Professor Atkinson is an incredible professor, he is very knowledgeable about biology. He answers all the questions asked in class and office hours. Overall, he is a super chill and fun professor.

Teaches in a way that's very easy to understand

Just do the assignments, study if you need to

great person. in-person lectures (attendance not mandatory but if you want full access to the slideshows u need to go and get the access code) and online assignments and tests. would take again.

I took him as a freshman and though attendance isn't mandatory he covers material in class that is on the exam. The exams are proctored on lockdown browser offered by extra credit. He is really funny and cares for his students. Assignments can be spread out during the week but are very easy.

Such a great professor. While Biology can be a difficult topic his lectures and content made it enjoyable. There are lots of opportunities to boost your grade if you stay on top of it. Quizzes and Tests online. While lectures are not mandatory, there is a daily password to access the PowerPoints he uses, so its better to go.

He is a great professor. You don't have to go to his class because the answers to everything are online. If you do go to class, he teaches off of slides and he gives you a version where there are blanks, so you can fill out the slides as he goes on in the lecture. I never looked at my notes again, so I stopped going to class and still had an A.

Many easy materia widgets. Post quizzes every chapter. 6 active learning quizzes (attend class for those, he gives answers). 6 exams. The lowest scores for those are dropped. Attendance isn't mandatory. No textbook. The online lab is tedious. Really good & informational lectures.

amazing and fun professor

Professor Atkinson is an amazing, funny, and great professor for Bio 1. His lectures were easy and all of the exams were on Canvas. Technically, attendance is not mandatory but all of his power points require a password you can only get by attending the lecture. Dr. Atkinson is really just an amazing professor overall. TAKE HIM!

I honestly really enjoyed this class. Professor Atkinson was really good at presenting his lectures. All of the exams are online on a lockdown browser. I would say attendance is necessary because in order to access the notes, you need a password and he posts the password at the beginning of class, unless you don't plan on taking notes.

Professor Atkinson's Ecology class is honestly a must take, along with the Ecology Lab that he oversees as well if you're interested in field work. The class is super straight forward and tests often reflect a lot of weekly chapter quizzes throughout the module. Attendance isn't mandatory but it's easy to get an A in the class if you attend.

Amazing professor, extra credit for attending class, PAE assignments super easy, exams are really easy if you review the chapter quizzes and powerpoints, wants students to do good and pass, knows his material and tries to engage class, really easy to fall behind, 2 lowest quizzes dropped, extra credit for every exam

Love Atkinson! Super passionate, not a huge fan of the password protected power points just cause It got confusing to go back and study. BUT! Super hard to fail this class. Lots of easy filler homework assignments and extra credit. My only issue was with the online lab portion of the class (he doesn't teach it but it was really buggy). D

i highly recommend taking Dr. Atkinson's class for bio 1! lectures were a tad boring if youre not enitrely interested about biology, but you can tell professor is super interested and passionate about what he is teaching. attendance isnt mandatory and he has several grades and extra credit. you would be trying to not get an A in this class!

Class was very easy and professor is very nice. Attending lecture will help you as he explains everything very well. He gives extra credit, homework is super easy, tests and quizzes are fair and very similiar to material learned. Overall you can get an easy A as long as you do all your work well!

Taking Dr. Atkinson was a delight. He was easy to engage with during lectures and he is absolutely hilarious. If you study, do the few homework assignments assigned after every chapter and do well on the chapter post quizzes, this class will not be a challenge at all. I high recommend everyone to take Dr. Atkinson's class.

If you can take him for ecology, go for it. Only four exams total and the final was not cumulative. You have to do three PAE assignments that are not hard to do but do count for a decent amount of points. His exams are also based off of the online quizzes and PowerPoints. Towards the end of the semester, he gave out extra credit for attendance

Overall, I enjoyed Bio 1 with Atkinson. He's an entertaining lecturer and very passionate about he's teaching. He assigns lots of small assignments which I liked because your grade doesn't completely rely on tests, but I can see how others would find this annoying. My only complaint is that he tends to speed through more detailed lectures.

Super funny professor. All assignments, including tests, are online. You need a password to access the PowerPoints, which he gives out during lectures, so I would still go to them. Definitely go to the "active learning" days (you have to find a group and share answers) because he practically gives you the answers for the quiz at the end of class.

Overall pretty easy class and good professor. Materia widget assignments due like every week but they are easy. Also has weekly post chapter quizzes based on lecture. Attendance isn't necessarily mandatory but his powerpoints do require a password which he gives out during lecture. Exams are online with lockdown browser (no camera).

Professor Atkinson is passionate about ecology and cares about his students. He is very approachable during office hours. A lot of the class revolved around the tests, but they weren't too difficult if you showed up to class. A decent amount of the questions were taken straight from the quizzes. He also offers plenty of extra credit opportunities.

You do not need to be at the lectures if you have someone sending you passwords to the presentations; definitely attend lectures on active learning days. Although there is a significant amount of homework, it is manageable, and if you consistently complete it, this class becomes effortless. He is a wonderful professor and is very funny.

This professor was straight forward all throughout the semester. He made the quizzes and PAE assignments very clear and what/what not to do with them. He also gives out extra credit assignments to add on to each exam which helps a lot and should be taken advantage of. His lectures are also nice and he always ends class a bit early. Great professor!

He is an amazing teacher that provides interactive power points for class. Attendance is not mandatory and quizzes and tests are online. He is very caring and truly values every one of his students.

Very funny and sweet, it's difficult to not do well in his class. Exams are everything he covers during lecture (easy) and he gives ample time to study. The review lecture before an exam was very helpful, take advantage of it if you're worried about not doing well. Also he brought in reptiles once which was super cool. Very chill guy.

BEST PROFESSOR EVER! So kind, able to answer questions in depth, and CARES about this class. He explains topics well, while making things interesting. Three of my friends and I all had this class together, went to every class, & sat front row because of how helpful he is. Seriously best prof ever.

Professor is a big Disney guy and makes references during class which makes his lectures lighter and easier to pay attention to. He's funny in an online kinda-way, encourages students to respond to his lectures during class but not required. Good grader and generally nice guy all around.

Amazing professor. Every lecture was very entertaining and he made it enjoyable to go to class. Test and quizzes are easy and all online. He goes kinda fast through his power points, but at the end of class he will give you a password so you can access them.

Atkinson is a great professor and one of the few who seems to actually like his job. lectures go by quick and attendance isn't mandatory, but u have to go if u want access to the slides. homework is due multiple times a week and takes like 2 minutes. very easy class. lab is kinda annoying but nothing to do with him

Dr. Atkinson is so amazing at what he does. He is funny and really cares about his students and their grades. He gives an extra credit question after every test, his lectures aren't boring, and overall, just really good. Tests were online and timed. We have little assignments within modules to help boost your grade too. Would definitely recommend.

Dr. Atkinson is a great teacher! He is so caring about his students, he gives you free food at office hours, and there are a lot of small projects for extra credit. His tests are in person and not too hard. Just study the lecture notes given. He would bring in animals for us to see and was funny and entertaining.

Dr. Atkinson is one of the best professors I have ever taken. The homework load is light, and he is very engaging. Would 100% recommend taking him.

Matt is one of the best professors I've had at UCF. Herpetology is an extremely challenging and intense course, but Matt makes it fun and engaging, and is honest about the workload. Very helpful during office hours, and group projects are a lot of work but fun. Study with your classmates and prepare for lab exams. 15/10 prof.

Should be fine if you took high school bio. Beware of labs though, sometimes they can be lengthy. I also recommend going to the EPC to use the lockdown browser instead of downloading it on your personal computer. The lockdown browser messed with my computer big time!

Class is very useful if you're reallyyyyy interested in Herp, but expect a LOT of time commitment. Do not take this class with a lot of other hard classes on your schedule, it is probably one of the toughest classes offered at UCF!! Atkinson is a very caring and available professor and I had a good, but time consuming, experience.

VERY DIFFICULT CLASS!!! Would not recommend taking with another hard class. Research-intensive, and you will write a full-blown manuscript by the end of the semester. Be prepared to dedicate at least 10 hours a week to this class, and I don't mean studying, I mean conducting actual field work for your project!

This class was great! It set me up perfectly for BSC2011 and was easy to understand. The lectures were detailed and in person (but not too much), but exams, quizzes, and homework were all online. My final was online, too. Overall was a great and informative course.

Amazing professor! His lectures were very easy to follow and fun! . He is so passionate about the subject and explains it so well to the students. If you can't make it to a lecture, he uploads them online so you won't miss anything. I highly recommend taking him!

I can't name a better professor in my 3 years at 2 different colleges. Dr. Atkinson is an amazing lecturer, he's very clear with what to expect in the class at the beginning and gives extra credit opportunities for each exam. He makes the content easy to understand and genuinely wants his students to succeed both in and outside of his class.

Amazing professor. He provides extra credit for every exam, and the quizzes are collaborative and open notes. I had him for Biology 2, and he made the class extremely simple and easy to understand. Would 100% retake him if I could.

Easiest class ever!! So so so much extra credit, tests are very easy basically just rewording of the mini quizzes, and just a genuinely nice guy. Impossible to not get an A in this class.

Very intelligent professor and clearly knows what he's talking about. I enjoyed every single lecture and did pretty well on the exams. I think this is his first semester teaching bio 2 and I could not tell because to me everything just seem so well structured and done with ease! Super awesome 10/10

Mr. Atkinson was a great bio 2 professor. You can tell he is very passionate about biology. He does a verbal review before each test and his active learnings and post quizzes are very helpful for the test. You will have to study on your own, but the lecture slides give you a good idea of all the content. He has been my favorite professor at UCF.

Liked him alot - super easy to contact and his canvas was really well put together. I learned alot and the TAs help out. Tests are tough tho - I would definitely recommend studying alot and he has atleast one throwback on each test to the previous unit.

By far my favorite professor. There are (easy) extra credit opportunities available for every exam and your lowest grades in certain categories are dropped. All the notes gone over in class are posted to canvas and if you pay attention you'll earn at least a B. If I ever have the opportunity to have him as a professor again I will 100% take it.

This class is definitely a bit of memorization across a few differing topics, but overall not too bad. Definitely dedicate time for studying, but looking over the quizzes and class activities will prepare you for the exam. He offers clear study guides and extra credit for each exam, and is just an overall great professor.

Best professor I've had for science so far in college. Lectures are posted online and are very clear and specific. Study guides are super helpful and reflect what will be on the test. Extra credit for every test. I found the material for this class easier to understand than bio 1. Overall, does a great job teaching and offering resources to succeed

Amazing professor, wish I had him for all my courses! Very intelligent and passionate about what he does. Also has a great sense of humor and is relatable.

One of the best professors at UCF. I have taken him for multiple classes and have never been disappointed. Tests are worth 70% but are comprised of regurgitated quiz questions so they are very easy. He offers extra credit assignments for every exam that are worth varying amounts. You genuinely have to try to fail. I was able to finish with a 101.5%

He's a super nice and chill guy. The lab quizzes were honestly the only bad part of the class bc theres honestly just not enough time to complete them. If you study you'll get an A. His extra credit is a lot of work for little credit though