Monday, November 15, 2010
4th grader presents at national geologists' meeting
4th grader presents at national geologists' meeting
When thousands of scientists from around the world met in San Francisco over the past couple of weeks, none stood out more than an impressive 9-year-old girl.
ABC7 health and science reporter Carolyn Johnson first met her in June. She might not look like your typical scientist, but 4th grader Claire Dworsky knows her stuff.
"As a soccer player and environmentalist, I looked down and I see the runoff water off the turf is murky," she said explaining why she chose the science she chose.
Related Content
LINK: Claire Dworsky's 2009 AGU Poster
STORY: Bay Area girl combines love of soccer, science
She also has no problem explaining her findings. She recently presented her research to San Francisco's Parks and Recreation Department as they debated synthetic turf fields in the city.
"The people that were making the turf, they took one sample from one field after it was filtered and they said it was clean," she said. "But, I took 110 water samples. So, that proves them wrong."
In early 2009, Dworsky won a National Science Foundation contest and spent eight months working with research professor Adina Paytan of UC Santa Cruz. She collected water samples from grass and artificial turf fields across San Francisco, then she and Dr. Paytan analyzed the findings in the lab.
Dworsky has now became the lead author of a poster presentation on the topic at December's meeting of the American Geophysical Union, which drew 16,000 scientists from around the world.
"I'm amazed. When I saw her standing there presenting, wow," said UCSC grad student Kerri Johnson. "And, she did a much better job than some of the scientists here in explaining her work."
When asked what it meant for science in general to have a young person like Dworsky so passionate about it, UCSC research professor Adina Paytan, Ph.D., replied, "What it means to me is if all kids are like her, I'm out of business."
Together Dworsky and Dr. Paytan discovered that there is no black and white answer.
"There's no easy, squeaky, green solution. It's not like 'Oh, the grass is good and the turf is bad,'" said Dworsky. "You've got to balance it out. You've got to do your research."
Sunday, November 14, 2010
Math Class Needs a Makeover.
I wish I could be a high school student again just to take Dan Meyer's high school math classes. He gave a fantastic TED talk on what's wrong with math education in this country, echoing many of my own thoughts and experiences -- namely, that we focus on the computational aspect (numbers crunching), which most of us forget when we leave high school, but is easy enough to relearn as an adult -- provided you also have a solid grounding in reasoning ability. And that's what high school students aren't getting. Meyers is a funny man, admitting that as a high school math teacher, "I sell a product to a market that doesn't want it, but is forced by law to buy it." But as I learned while writing The Calculus Diaries, math is still relevant outside of high school -- and it's far, far cooler than I ever imagined it could be. Folks like Meyers could change our minds about math for the better.
about all things calculus
It's all in there: Archimedes and the method of exhaustion (pioneered by a Greek dude named Eudoxus, who studied under Plato), why killing Archimedes was "the Romans' greatest contribution to mathematics".
Watch Jennifer chat about the book on San Diego Living (airdate: September 16, 2010):
Watch Jennifer chat about the book on San Diego Living (airdate: September 16, 2010):
Calculus diary
Jennifer Ouellette was an English major who long “avoided all math,” as she put it. Today, the science writer and author of The Calculus Diaries: How Math Can Help You Lose Weight, Win in Vegas, and Survive a Zombie Apocalypse recalled asking her math teacher what every student wants to know: why does math matter in every day life? “He gave the usual stock answers,” she said. “But when you start to see where calculus is in the real world, that’s when you start to see where it’s useful.” Ouellette dropped by Zocalo’s offices to chat with Swati Pandey about how calculus can help you win in Vegas, anticipate the next dip or turn of a roller coaster, and why we should all aim for mathematical literacy to give us a richer view of the world around us.
Jennifer Ouellette: Matchmaker for Hollywood and science
Scientists: Don't ask what Hollywood can do for you, ask what you can do for Hollywood!
Jennifer Ouellette is the Director of The Science & Entertainment Exchange, and a popular science writer. She also writes for her blog - Cocktail Party Physics.
She spoke with The Plainspoken Scientist about how scientists can best help Hollywood.
Dr. James Kakalios!
University of Minnesota physicist and Watchmen consultant, Dr. James Kakalios, recently won an Emmy award for his video Science of Watchmen. Read more about the story behind Jim's experience working with the Exchange and the producers of Watchmen over at The X-Changes Files blog.
issues Explained by Cartoon Characters
QE2 Explained by Cartoon Characters
The FED is laundering money
Friday, November 12, 2010
EPIC KOREAN AUTO WORKERS STRIKE
EPIC KOREAN AUTO WORKERS STRIKE
TRNN Replay: Young Ho Lee tells the story of the 77-day occupation and fight against lay-offs
Thursday, November 11, 2010
swinglet CAM by senseFly
The swinglet CAM ( http://sensefly.com/products/swinglet... ) is an easy-to-use flying camera weighing a mere 500 grams. It is completely autonomous so that no piloting skills are required to operate it. After a few seconds of self-check and GPS signal acquisition, it can been thrown in the air and will automatically take aerial pictures according to a programmable flight plan. Once its mission is completed, it will get back home and land automatically. For more information, have a look at http://sensefly.com
Academic Excellence in 140 Characters
This is a video created by one of my students to summarize the research we conducted on the effects of Twitter on student engagement and grades. The journal article summarizing the study and our findings will be available online at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journa...
Abstract
Despite the widespread use of social media by students and its increased use by instructors, very little empirical evidence is available concerning the impact of social media use on student learning and engagement. This paper describes our semester-long experimental study to deter-mine if using Twitter -- the microblogging and social networking platform most amenable to ongoing, public dialogue -- for educationally relevant purposes can impact college student engagement and grades. A total of 125 students taking a first year seminar course for pre-health professional majors participated in this study (70 in the experimental group and 55 in the control group). With the experimental group, Twitter was used for various types of academic and co-curricular discussions. Engagement was quantified by using a 19-item scale based on the National Survey of Student Engagement. To assess differences in engagement and grades, we used mixed effects analysis of variance (ANOVA) models, with class sections nested within treatment groups. We also conducted content analyses of samples of Twitter exchanges. The ANOVA results showed that the experimental group had a significantly greater increase in engagement than the control group, as well as higher semester grade point averages. Analyses of Twitter communications showed that students and faculty were both highly engaged in the learning process in ways that transcended traditional classroom activities. This study provides experimental evidence that Twitter can be used as an educational tool to help engage students and to mobilize faculty into a more active and participatory role.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Coro Health
Coro Health’s technology adapts to the resident and can deliver content anywhere throughout a facility. The system provides customizable audio hardware for all levels of patient needs including speakers, pillow speakers, headphones and adjustable volume control, and can play content according to a pre-determined schedule or on-demand as needed for therapeutic purposes.
Automated updates keep the media current and appealing, while caregivers can easily adjust content, times and delivery location (individual or group areas), or provide feedback directly to a resident’s therapist to make modifications as needs and situations change. Prescriptions are developed by a team of board-certified music therapists and music and media designers with content tailored to an individual’s schedule, needs and preferences, in conjunction with their existing plan of care.
Believe It Or Not: Plug In America’s Electric Vehicle Hype Campaign
Believe It Or Not: Plug In America’s Electric Vehicle Hype Campaign
Here comes another spoof on the Mac vs. PC ad campaign, this one promoting electric vehicles over combustion engines. Plug In America, an advocacy organization that wants to reduce the United States’ dependence on petroleum, created the electric vehicle hype spots and calls them public service announcements.
Here comes another spoof on the Mac vs. PC ad campaign, this one promoting electric vehicles over combustion engines. Plug In America, an advocacy organization that wants to reduce the United States’ dependence on petroleum, created the electric vehicle hype spots and calls them public service announcements.
The Women's Conference 2010TWC-Tue-Conversation: When Women Lead
Watch live streaming video from twc2010 at livestream.com
The Women's Conference 2010
The Women's Conference 2010
The Nation's Premier Forum for Women October 24-26, 2010
The Nation's Premier Forum for Women October 24-26, 2010
Watch live streaming video from twc2010 at livestream.com
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