20 most impressive science fair projects of all time — from onlineuniversities.com
On 07/25/2011,
in biology, chemistry, computer science, creativity, data related items, digital learning, e-publishing related items (EPUB and more), education technology, emerging technologies, engineering, faculty/staff, geography / geology, graphics, higher education, innovation, interactivity, mathematics, physics, research, science, tools, user experience (UX), vendors, visualizing information,
by Daniel Christian
On 06/28/2011,
in animation, biology, digital learning, education technology, India, K-12 related, mobile learning, simulations, using teams,
by Daniel Christian
Per Nicola Santiago at Punflay:
- We develop educational iPhone/iPad apps for kids. Our Frog Dissection app which is being used in many schools was awarded the Mark Twain’s Ethical Science award by PETA and was also selected as the Best Science app by IEAR. We also have a Rat Dissection app in the store.
Side reflection from DSC:
This type of work shows the power of using teams of specialists. One person can’t do it all anymore — we need to face up to this fact and stop thinking that simply providing more professional development is the answer. I realize that using textbooks brings in teams of specialists — but it seems to me that we still think that simply by providing more professional development, our teachers and professors will be able to meet the constantly (and quickly) rising bar. That type of approach has outlived its usefulness and it just won’t cut it anymore; we do our students a major disservice by clinging to that outdated, status-quo-based model.
How can we move to using more teams of specialists to create and deliver our educational materials?
Nice work to the teams at Punflay in India!
WHO declares cellphones “possibly carcinogenic” — ars technica by John Timmer
Excerpt:
Those who are worried about the possible health risks of cellphones just received some backing from a significant source: the World Health Organization. A group within the organization, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, has announced it is listing the electromagnetic radiation produced by cell phones as “possibly carcinogenic.” The IARC’s use of the term “possibly” is key to the decision, as its expert panel determined that the information available is too limited to say anything with a greater degree of certainty, but is sufficient to warrant careful monitoring.
The designation is the result of a meeting held last week that brought 31 health researchers together to evaluate the conclusions that can be drawn from current research, including unpublished information from the Interphone study. The conclusions will eventually appear in The Lancet Oncology, but the IARC has issued a press release ahead of publication.
As we recently discussed, the wavelengths used for cellular communications are only known to influence human tissue via heating, and the researchers involved with the designation do not propose anything new here. The panel also recognizes that most of the epidemiological research involving human exposure to radio frequencies is ambiguous; for all but two types of cancer, the current state of information is officially deemed “inadequate.”
From DSC:
Though the evidence doesn’t seem to be very threatening, I’d rather be safe than sorry here. For me, a practical application that I take from this is to not use the cell phone if I can use a land line close by.
On 05/24/2011,
in Apple, biology, digital learning, emerging technologies, Google, tools, vendors,
by Daniel Christian
Mobile app helps doctors diagnose strokes — from cnn.com by Mark Milian
On 05/19/2011,
in A/V -- audio/visual, biology, emerging technologies, Microsoft, nursing,
by Daniel Christian
AnatOnMe projects patients’ insides onto their outsides — from gizmag.com by Paul Ridden
Excerpt:
A team at Microsoft’s research wing has developed a working prototype of a system that may help to encourage physical injury sufferers to do their exercises by giving them a clearer understanding of what’s going on. A therapist would use the device to project a series of graphics of underlying bone, muscle tissue, tendons or nerves directly onto the body of a patient to help explain the nature of the injury and prescribe effective treatment. The device can also take photos during a consultation, which can be subsequently reviewed or printed out as a memory aid for the patient.
On 04/13/2011,
in biology, learning theories,
by Daniel Christian
A $55 million atlas of the human brain — from cnet.com by Elizabeth Armstrong Moore
This thin section of brain has been treated with a pink neuropathological stain
to show fine anatomic detail. Credit: Allen Institute for Brain Science.
…so it comes as little surprise that the Seattle-based Allen Institute for Brain Science announced this week a world first: a highly detailed guide to both the anatomy and the genes of the human brain that includes 1,000 anatomical landmarks backed by 100 million data points measuring the strength of gene activity at each landmark. The cost of its creation? $55 million.
On 04/04/2011,
in biology, chemistry, geography / geology, physics, science, simulations, Virtual Reality (VR) / worlds / learning,
by Daniel Christian
Science Simulations: A Virtual Learning Environment — from Journey in Technology by Dolores Gende
Where do I find simulations?
One of the best websites for science simulations is PhET from the University of Colorado at Boulder. Originally founded by Physics Nobel Prize laureate Carl Weiman, PhET provides fun, interactive, research-based simulations of physical phenomena for free. These simulations can be downloaded or played directly on your browser.
Teachers can access the Teacher Ideas & Activities page for teacher-submitted contributions, designed to be used in conjunction with the simulations.
These are the links to the core science courses simulations. The PhET website also contains excellent Math simulations.
Simulation Resources
- Biology Online Labs
Comprehensive list to virtual labs and simulations - Anatomy Online Labs
- Comprehensive list to virtual labs and simulations
- Chemistry Online Labs
Comprehensive list to virtual labs and simulations
- Geology Online Labs
Comprehensive list to virtual labs and simulations
- Physics Simulations
My website contains links to hundreds of simulations.
On 03/10/2011,
in adjunct faculty, biology, faculty/staff, higher education, instructional design, learning theories, pedagogy, teaching & learning,
by Daniel Christian
The facts on higher order thinking — from Faculty Focus by Maryellen Weimer, PhD
.
.
I just read a study that pretty much blew my socks off. An article highlighting the details will appear in the March issue of The Teaching Professor. I’ll give you the nutshell version here. The researchers were interested in finding out if there was empirical evidence to support the frequent criticism that introductory courses are fact filled with little content that challenges higher order thinking. Beyond anecdotal evidence, this research team didn’t find much empirical documentation so, being biologists, they decided to look at introductory-level biology courses.
On 02/28/2011,
in biology, chemistry, mathematics, online learning, online media, open courseware and systems, physics, science,
by Daniel Christian
On 02/15/2011,
in biology,
by Daniel Christian
On 01/29/2011,
in biology, cloud-based computing / apps / other cloud-related, faculty/staff,
by Daniel Christian
Biology professors use cloud computing to reach students — from The Chronicle by Tushar Rae
On 01/18/2011,
in 21st century, biology, computer science, economics, learning agents, personalized/customized learning,
by Daniel Christian
ALA 2011: Adaptive and Learning Agents Workshop held at AAMAS 2011 — from Intelligent Systems
Adaptive and Learning Agents, particularly those in a multi-agent setting are becoming more and more prominent as the sheer size and complexity of many real world systems grows. How to adaptively control, coordinate and optimize such systems is an emerging multi-disciplinary research area at the intersection of Computer Science, Control theory, Economics, and Biology.