Sheep smarter than we think
Armidale sheep put to the test in a complex maze
Sheep are smarter than we think. They can learn and remember according to CSIRO researchers from Armidale in NSW. The team is working to identify and breed smarter sheep as part of their work to improve animal welfare and production. Article continues
Watch the maze test - Video of sheep going through the maze (10 Mb)
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Einstein versus Newton
Einstein versus Newton
Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are regarded as two of the greatest, if not the greatest, scientists who ever lived. The Royal Society is seeking to find out who scientists and the public think made the bigger contribution to both science and to humankind through a national poll of the general public and a poll of the Fellowship of the Royal Society, representing the UK and Commonwealth's leading scientists.
The results of the polls will be announced on 23 November 2005 at a Royal Society public debate: Einstein vs Newton. Read the background to this issue
Isaac Newton and Albert Einstein are regarded as two of the greatest, if not the greatest, scientists who ever lived. The Royal Society is seeking to find out who scientists and the public think made the bigger contribution to both science and to humankind through a national poll of the general public and a poll of the Fellowship of the Royal Society, representing the UK and Commonwealth's leading scientists.
The results of the polls will be announced on 23 November 2005 at a Royal Society public debate: Einstein vs Newton. Read the background to this issue
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Discovery Health Connection
Discovery Education Announces Discovery Health Connection Updates
Discovery Education has announced a complete update and redesign of Discovery Health Connection—its digital health and prevention education resource that incorporates K-12 classroom curriculum programs covering nine critical topics of youth health and prevention education. Discovery Health Connection now includes 16 curriculum programs, three Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) Model Programs, correlations to every state's educational standards, and more than 100 new literacy lessons, according to the announcement.
Discovery Education has announced a complete update and redesign of Discovery Health Connection—its digital health and prevention education resource that incorporates K-12 classroom curriculum programs covering nine critical topics of youth health and prevention education. Discovery Health Connection now includes 16 curriculum programs, three Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) Model Programs, correlations to every state's educational standards, and more than 100 new literacy lessons, according to the announcement.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Testing technology skills
Learning.com Partners with Districts to Help Test Technology Skills
Learning.com has announced partnerships with key school districts across the country as they pilot TechLiteracy Assessment, its online authentic assessment of the technology proficiency of elementary and middle school students. The pilot programs are designed to help districts demonstrate that both state and national education technology standards are being met. Along with the national mandate stating that every student should be technologically literate by the eighth grade, many states have also aggressively adopted and implemented their own technology standards.
Learning.com has announced partnerships with key school districts across the country as they pilot TechLiteracy Assessment, its online authentic assessment of the technology proficiency of elementary and middle school students. The pilot programs are designed to help districts demonstrate that both state and national education technology standards are being met. Along with the national mandate stating that every student should be technologically literate by the eighth grade, many states have also aggressively adopted and implemented their own technology standards.
Friday, November 25, 2005
Free videos
Free Resources: ScienCentral, Inc. Video Stories
“ScienCentral, Inc. recently contacted us about their videos on the latest research and developments in science and technology. They are currently providing their video stories free to educators who wish to use them as teaching tools or in presentations, and they are working further with educational publishers to provide their science content.
You can get a sense of ScienCentral's content by visiting the site <http://www.sciencentral.com/>, browsing or using various search features to find stories that interest you/your students, and viewing them online. (A sampling from today's home page: Remote Control Flies, Defeating Dyslexia, Spider Silk Strength, Alzheimer's Eye Test, and Living to 100.) There are nearly 1,000 stories archived on the site.
A ScienCentral spokeswoman wrote us: "If a teacher sees our site and wants to use our videos for educational/classroom purposes, they usually contact us by phone or e-mail and we provide the video clips free of charge. We can provide them in QuickTime, Real Media, Windows Media or on VHS/DVCam/Beta. The teacher just signs our license form allowing permission to use."”
“ScienCentral, Inc. recently contacted us about their videos on the latest research and developments in science and technology. They are currently providing their video stories free to educators who wish to use them as teaching tools or in presentations, and they are working further with educational publishers to provide their science content.
You can get a sense of ScienCentral's content by visiting the site <http://www.sciencentral.com/>, browsing or using various search features to find stories that interest you/your students, and viewing them online. (A sampling from today's home page: Remote Control Flies, Defeating Dyslexia, Spider Silk Strength, Alzheimer's Eye Test, and Living to 100.) There are nearly 1,000 stories archived on the site.
A ScienCentral spokeswoman wrote us: "If a teacher sees our site and wants to use our videos for educational/classroom purposes, they usually contact us by phone or e-mail and we provide the video clips free of charge. We can provide them in QuickTime, Real Media, Windows Media or on VHS/DVCam/Beta. The teacher just signs our license form allowing permission to use."”
Multimedia music curriculum
NEA jazzes things up with new multimedia music curriculum "Jazz in the Schools" is a new web-based, multimedia curriculum from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) that explores jazz as an indigenous American art form and as a means to understand American history. The five-unit, web-based curriculum and DVD toolkit are available free of charge to high school teachers of social studies, U.S. history, and music. Article continues
Thursday, November 24, 2005
Video game violence
Punishing video game violence: Does it reduce aggressive behavior?
Carmageddon 2 (source: Gamespot) is a gory racing game where players control drivers with names like “Max Damage” as they tear through city streets mowing down pedestrians and forcing competitors into bloody collisions. The game settings can be adjusted so that running down innocent bystanders actually increases a player’s point total. Surely, if there’s any video game that might raise a parent’s ire, Carmageddon 2 is one of them.
Studies have shown that violent video games are more likely than non-violent games to induce aggressive behavior, even after very short playing sessions. But more recent research (by Dmitri Williams and Marko Skoric) has suggested that violent game play does not always lead to aggression. Article continues
Carmageddon 2 (source: Gamespot) is a gory racing game where players control drivers with names like “Max Damage” as they tear through city streets mowing down pedestrians and forcing competitors into bloody collisions. The game settings can be adjusted so that running down innocent bystanders actually increases a player’s point total. Surely, if there’s any video game that might raise a parent’s ire, Carmageddon 2 is one of them.
Studies have shown that violent video games are more likely than non-violent games to induce aggressive behavior, even after very short playing sessions. But more recent research (by Dmitri Williams and Marko Skoric) has suggested that violent game play does not always lead to aggression. Article continues
Chatrooms
Chatrooms: help needed
Parents are showing an alarming level of ignorance and indifference towards their children's participation in Internet chat rooms, with boys in particular being left to their own devices. Article continues
Parents are showing an alarming level of ignorance and indifference towards their children's participation in Internet chat rooms, with boys in particular being left to their own devices. Article continues
Literacy world wide
Literacy: a right still denied to nearly one-fifth of the world’s adult population
09-11-2005 1:50 pm Governments and donor countries are curtailing progress towards Education for All (EFA) – and broader poverty reduction – by according only marginal attention to the 771 million adults living without basic literacy skills, says the fourth edition of the EFA Global Monitoring Report, “Literacy for life”.* “Literacy is a right and a foundation for further learning that must be tackled through quality schooling for all children, vastly expanded literacy programmes for youth and adults, and policies to enrich the literate environment,” says Nicholas Burnett, the Report’s director. Article continues
09-11-2005 1:50 pm Governments and donor countries are curtailing progress towards Education for All (EFA) – and broader poverty reduction – by according only marginal attention to the 771 million adults living without basic literacy skills, says the fourth edition of the EFA Global Monitoring Report, “Literacy for life”.* “Literacy is a right and a foundation for further learning that must be tackled through quality schooling for all children, vastly expanded literacy programmes for youth and adults, and policies to enrich the literate environment,” says Nicholas Burnett, the Report’s director. Article continues
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Virtual cafeteria for good eating habits
'Virtual cafeteria' teaches good eating habits To improve student health and enhance parent understanding, the Carrollton-Farmers Branch Independent School District (ISD) in Carrollton, Texas, has put $95,000 into developing a program to give parents, students, and other community stakeholders a new way to learn about the foods offered in its schools: a virtual cafeteria. Article continues
Free online calendar
Free online calendaring service aims to get parents involved To help bridge the home-school connection and get parents more involved in their children's classes, global children's publishing and media company Scholastic Inc. and Trumba, a provider of digital communication services, have joined together to give America's teachers a new online tool. The companies are providing free access to Trumba's new calendar tool, OneCalendar, for every classroom teacher in the country. Article continues
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Girls doing it tough as boys take up trades
It is harder than ever for teenage girls to find a full-time job once they leave school, but teenage boys are having more success, a report shows.
More boys are taking up trade apprenticeships, or have found full-time work in expanding male-dominated industries such as construction and warehousing.
But girls are going backwards, says the report, How Young People are Faring 2005.Article coninues
It is harder than ever for teenage girls to find a full-time job once they leave school, but teenage boys are having more success, a report shows.
More boys are taking up trade apprenticeships, or have found full-time work in expanding male-dominated industries such as construction and warehousing.
But girls are going backwards, says the report, How Young People are Faring 2005.Article coninues
Can one write love poetry in txt?
This is worth a look. A study at Cambridge has found that young people's writing skills have not, as some continue to say, fallen, in fact they seem to have improved. Read the whole post
This is worth a look. A study at Cambridge has found that young people's writing skills have not, as some continue to say, fallen, in fact they seem to have improved. Read the whole post
Monday, November 21, 2005
Digital Natives Digital immigrants
Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants
It is amazing to me how in all the hoopla and debate these days about the decline of education in the US we ignore the most fundamental of its causes. Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.
Today’s students have not just changed incrementally from those of the past, Read the whole article
It is amazing to me how in all the hoopla and debate these days about the decline of education in the US we ignore the most fundamental of its causes. Our students have changed radically. Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.
Today’s students have not just changed incrementally from those of the past, Read the whole article
Microsoft IT showcase
UMass first Microsoft IT Showcase School The University of Massachusetts at Amherst has been designated Microsoft Corp.'s first-ever "Information Technology (IT) Showcase School," under a new Microsoft program that aims to highlight IT excellence in higher education. Article continues
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Blummy and information literacy
Blummy and Information Literacy
(From the weblog-Ed blog)
If you want a nifty little tool for teaching basic information literacy in these days of the Read/Write Web, go to Blummy, create a bookmarklet with the links outlined below, and put it on every computer in your school. Why? Because not only can you replicate much of Alan's multi-post bookmarklet (which I'm still keeping, btw,) but you can also add links that will (using my homepage as an example):
automatically look up who owns any website you're on (pick the "Whois" bookmarklet.)
show who is linked to a particlular site (pick the "who's linking" bookmarklet with the Google logo.)
and shows (literally) the page that every link on the site, well, links to, creating a page of active mini-browser windows. (Pick the "linked sites" bookmarklet) This takes a while, but it's worth the wait, and you can even set the size of the screenshot that comes up. Amazing.
As Alan November likes to point out, those are three basic pieces of information that every teacher and student needs to begin to evaluate the authority and accuracy of a particular site. Knowing who owns the site tells you something. If every outgoing link is a link back to the originating site, that tells you something. If every incoming link is a link from some spam blog, that tells you something too.
There's more to talk about here, and I'm sure this isn't any huge programming marvel, but the big news is that I haven't seen an easier way yet to get this crucial information. Very cool.
(From the weblog-Ed blog)
If you want a nifty little tool for teaching basic information literacy in these days of the Read/Write Web, go to Blummy, create a bookmarklet with the links outlined below, and put it on every computer in your school. Why? Because not only can you replicate much of Alan's multi-post bookmarklet (which I'm still keeping, btw,) but you can also add links that will (using my homepage as an example):
automatically look up who owns any website you're on (pick the "Whois" bookmarklet.)
show who is linked to a particlular site (pick the "who's linking" bookmarklet with the Google logo.)
and shows (literally) the page that every link on the site, well, links to, creating a page of active mini-browser windows. (Pick the "linked sites" bookmarklet) This takes a while, but it's worth the wait, and you can even set the size of the screenshot that comes up. Amazing.
As Alan November likes to point out, those are three basic pieces of information that every teacher and student needs to begin to evaluate the authority and accuracy of a particular site. Knowing who owns the site tells you something. If every outgoing link is a link back to the originating site, that tells you something. If every incoming link is a link from some spam blog, that tells you something too.
There's more to talk about here, and I'm sure this isn't any huge programming marvel, but the big news is that I haven't seen an easier way yet to get this crucial information. Very cool.
Teen content creators
Teen Content Creators and Consumers:
More than half of online teens have created content for the internet; and most teen downloaders think that getting free music files is easy to do
American teenagers today are utilizing the interactive capabilities of the internet as they create and share their own media creations. Fully half of all teens and 57% of teens who use the internet could be considered Content Creators. They have created a blog or webpage, posted original artwork, photography, stories or videos online or remixed online content into their own new creations. Read the full Pew/Internet report
More than half of online teens have created content for the internet; and most teen downloaders think that getting free music files is easy to do
American teenagers today are utilizing the interactive capabilities of the internet as they create and share their own media creations. Fully half of all teens and 57% of teens who use the internet could be considered Content Creators. They have created a blog or webpage, posted original artwork, photography, stories or videos online or remixed online content into their own new creations. Read the full Pew/Internet report
Saturday, November 19, 2005
Dynamic PowerTrainer
Dynamic PowerTrainer
"Dynamic PowerTrainer® is a proven eLearning authoring software tool to create, run and manage eLearning content. It's a user-friendly, state-of-the art solution, offering an impressive price/performance ratio."
Download a free trial version
"Dynamic PowerTrainer® is a proven eLearning authoring software tool to create, run and manage eLearning content. It's a user-friendly, state-of-the art solution, offering an impressive price/performance ratio."
Download a free trial version
Friday, November 18, 2005
Statins for learning disorders?
UCLA Scientists Use Statins To Overcome Learning Disabilities In Mice
In a surprise twist that recalls the film classic "Flowers for Algernon," but adds a happy ending, UCLA scientists used statins, a popular class of cholesterol drugs, to reverse the attention deficits linked to the leading genetic cause of learning disabilities. The Nov. 8 issue of Current Biology reports the findings, which were studied in mice bred to develop the disease, called neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). Article continues
In a surprise twist that recalls the film classic "Flowers for Algernon," but adds a happy ending, UCLA scientists used statins, a popular class of cholesterol drugs, to reverse the attention deficits linked to the leading genetic cause of learning disabilities. The Nov. 8 issue of Current Biology reports the findings, which were studied in mice bred to develop the disease, called neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). Article continues
Thursday, November 17, 2005
Goodnight Moon
Goodnight Moon – smokeless version
In the great green room, there is a telephone, and a red balloon, but no ashtray. "Goodnight Moon," the children's classic by Margaret Wise Brown, has gone smoke free.
In a newly revised edition of the book, which has lulled children to sleep for nearly 60 years, the publisher, HarperCollins, has digitally altered the photograph of Clement Hurd, the illustrator, to remove a cigarette from his hand. Article continues
In the great green room, there is a telephone, and a red balloon, but no ashtray. "Goodnight Moon," the children's classic by Margaret Wise Brown, has gone smoke free.
In a newly revised edition of the book, which has lulled children to sleep for nearly 60 years, the publisher, HarperCollins, has digitally altered the photograph of Clement Hurd, the illustrator, to remove a cigarette from his hand. Article continues
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