A long, long time ago many people thought the earth was flat. Today, we know it’s not. In fact, according to HERODOT, the European Network for Geography in Higher Education, these days, it’s cubed.
Geocube is an engaging, FREE, online resource devoted to the exploration of geography. With an interface based on the appearance of a Rubik Cube, its six faces and 54 topics invite users to learn more about our planet.
environment, reference, science, visualization
geo, geography, image, images, video
On this day, November 10th, in 1975, the freighter SS Edmund Fitzgerald (a taconite carrier) sank during a storm on Lake Superior. All of the crew, 29 nine men, perished. The event was memorialized in the lyrics of singer Gordon Lightfoot’s popular ballad, the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
Though sad, this historical event presents an engrossing opportunity for students and teachers to collaborate and engage in interdisciplinary research. It’s a perfect storm of learning. Delving into what lead up to the tragedy allows pupils to explore elements of:
Diving into this and other historical events, using them as case-study investigations into why and how things happen, makes learning more rewarding and allows students to integrate technology resources in a more meaningful manner.
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creativity, environment, learning, literature, math, music, nature, science
history, maps, math, music, science, song, songs
The folks responsible for the University of Utah’s outstanding Learn Genetics site are on to something big–and it’s small! The smart minds behind Learn Genetics understand the importance of being able to compare and contrast. Good scientists (heck, good thinkers for that matter) must be adept at identifying, analyzing, explaining, and using information about similarities and differences. In order to help students understand the relative size of the key players in genetic events, the Learn Genetics site has an engaging Cell Size and Scale interactive resource.
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science
compare, contrast, genetics, macro, micro, size
I discovered the CUAHSI Hydrologic Information System after listening to today’s episode of EarthSky on Georgia Public Radio. This looks like a useful resource for collecting real-world data for use in biology and environmental science classrooms. For example, if students are collecting information for a science fair project about the level of nitrogen in watersheds, they can turn to the Hydroseek search engine.
environment, science
data, environment, science, sustainability
It’s Blog Action Day! As you read this, more than 7000 BAD bloggers around the world are uniting to deliver and echo a similar message: climate change impacts us all and we must act responsibly to address it. The message is not one of doom and gloom. It’s a recognition that humans are contributing to the planet’s atmospheric change and an acknowledgment that we can all take steps to mitigate the results of our collective behavior.
What’s that? What? You don’t agree? You don’t think climate change is a big deal? That’s okay. Skepticism is a useful trait. A good dose of it makes for a healthy mind. Skeptical people can use the scientific method. Individuals and groups who debate, downplay, deride, or deny the impact of climate change can join in BAD. Why? It provides a chance to engage in a healthy, skeptical examination of the claims being made today. Everyone has an opportunity to examine data and think critically about the past, present, and future effects of climate.
Why not help students apply the scientific method using a number of technology-related resources. Here are a few worth investigating:
- TckTckTck is a worldwide alliance of civil society organizations, trade unions, faith groups, and everyday people that are all calling for climate change agreement. Host to the Climate Orb, the site shares powerful stories of the impact of climate change through an animated interactive tool that contains first-hand accounts searchable by country, keyword and timeframe.
- The Data Distribution Centre (DDC) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides climate, socio-economic and environmental data, both from the past and also in scenarios projected into the future. Check out the data visualization services of the site.
- The Nature Conservancy’s informative Planet Change site gives visitors a chance to learn about climate change.
- Kids vs Global Warming is a non profit organization founded and led by 14 year old Alec Loorz. Alec is passionate about helping other kids learn about the science of global warming.
science
environment, sustainability
October is Energy Awareness Month. Many teachers don’t realize that the U.S. Department of Energy’s very own Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) provides helpful materials and ideas for promoting energy-saving practices. The Department of Energy also has a site designed for educators that’s worth exploring. Make a point to explore the site’s You Have the Power campaign resources.
Another way to make the concept of energy conservation more relevant to students is to help them simulate what it’s like to operate an electrical grid. Deciding who gets power and how it’s delivered involves a great deal of both creative and critical thinking (not to mention an appreciation for and the skilled application of math and science). Thankfully, the Mathematics, Science and Technology Education (MSTE) program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign collaborated with the Information Trust Institute (ITI) NSF Trustworthy Cyber Infrastructure for the Power grid (TCIP) project and created some powerful instructional resources for pupils in middle and high school that explore and illustrate key concepts about how and why the power grid works the way it does. Once students play with the Power Grid simulation applet, they’ll continue coming back to tinker with it time and again. 
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environment, government, science, virtualization
electricity, energy, power, powergrid
Although students are often shown simple, iconic images depicting electrons traveling in circles around the nucleus of atoms, these infinitesimal busybodies don’t really behave that way. What’s more, as Jim Clark over at ChemGuide points out, it’s impossible to plot a path for electrons. Instead, electrons have a probability of existing on the surface of an area enclosing or near the nucleus of the atom. It’s an area referred to as a shell or orbital. Science teachers trying to explain this concept should take a gander at Orbital Viewer. It’s a Windows-based program designed by David Manthey for drawing orbitals.
science, visualization
As Michael Ritter explains at his site, The Physical Environment: an Introduction to Physical Geography, as the Earth revolves around the Sun, seasons come and seasons go. Today, for example, here in the northern nemisphere, we’re welcoming the arrival of the autumnal equinox. Those of us in the southern U.S. are delighted. Along with gorgeous Fall colors, Georgians and other denizens below the Mason-Dixon line are more than ready for cooler temperatures.
Since it is the autumnal equinox and there’s talk of revolving round the Sun, why not introduce students to some great free resources such as Stellarium and Celestia? Both of these open source programs will help students understand the difference between important astronomical concepts such as rotation and revolution while simultaneously displaying the wonders of the heavens.
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Uncategorized, open source, science
astronomy, seasonal
One of the most effective ways to teach pupils about science is to have them actually do the work of a scientist. How can a science teacher do this? It’s simple. Help learners find and join a network of volunteers, who, like the students, have very little or no specific scientific training. Despite deficits in factual information, volunteers may still perform and manage extremely important research-related tasks such as observation, measurement or computation. For example, the Cornell Lab of Ornithology follows an excellent collection of projects that need volunteers. CLO’s site, dubbed Citizen Science, tracks projects that encourage and allow young researchers to do the work of scientists. Such projects create powerful relationships between the general public and professional scientists, resulting in some of the world’s largest research teams. The projects highlighted at CLO make it possible for students and concerned citizens to contribute valuable information to ongoing, worldwide studies. Give it a try. It’s an excellent, easy way to integrate technology in a meaningful way and give students a chance to be a scientist.
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environment, science
citizen-science, data, volunteer
In a time of standardized tests and misguided attempts to cover lessons rather than help students understand and apply concepts in real life situations, we’re losing–if not outright outright ignoring–opportunities to inspire pupils to fall in love with science. Intersection’s sciencebloggers Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum both suggest that we desperately need to get busy finding nascent scientists. Their book Unscientific America: How Scientific Illiteracy Threatens Our Future is a sobering wake-up call.
We can do better. We must do better. We need new scientists and it’s up to us to find them.
How would you describe a potential scientist? Could you spot one in your classroom? Are you doing all you can to nurture these rare individuals? Why are they so rare to begin? Can anyone be a scientist? If educators are going attempt to answer these questions and help budding researchers bloom, they’d be wise to follow the work of Sloan-Kettering Institute Chairman Emeritus, Richard Rifkind.
Once a scientist, Rifkind is now a filmmaker who wants viewers to “stand in the shoes of a scientist at work in a lab, glimpse the world of research as it really is, and understand what it takes to fill an ample pipeline of future scientists.” He’s passionate about finding and cultivating a new generation of scientists. Toward that end, Rifkind has produced a moving documentary called Naturally Obsessed: The Making of a Scientist. In addtion to producing the film he has also sharing rich resources for exploring ideas presented in the film via the Naturally Obsessed Blog.
Are you curious enough to investigate?
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creativity, learning, science
curiosity, discovery, learning, research, science, scientists
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