Sunday, March 18, 2012
Friday, March 16, 2012
A bicycle light that’s safe, bright, and thief-proof
With many more urban cyclists hitting the streets, most cities are constantly playing catch-up to make their roads a safer place for both riders and drivers. However, even when a city has a good handle on how to make bikers and cars play nice, accidents are almost inevitable.
Painted bike lanes, neon jackets, lights and flashers all help to prevent run-ins on the road, but there’s much we can’t control: like theft. Bicycle and accessory theft has plagued the cycling world since its inception– it’s just an accepted reality of urban cycling. Now, a bike light has been designed with both the problems of safety and theft as its inspiration.
After a friend was hit while riding his bike in the dark because his light had been stolen, Brad Geswein and Slava Menn wanted to develop a light that fended off thieves. As it turns out, their friend wasn’t the only one with this problem: one in three urban cyclists have had their lights stolen, and eighty per cent of riders frequently forget their lights at home.
In their quest to make city biking safer, the pair developed The Defender. The light locks sturdily to your handlebars making it extremely difficult to remove. Plus, it looks like a gun.
The light was designed by Ori Levin of Tsor Design, and is made of lightweight aluminum, ultrabright LEDs, and uses AA batteries that give the rider around 100 hours of battery life. “We’ve put it through extensive durability and reliability testing and it’s nearly indestructible. No tool from a hardware store can remove it,” says the Defender’s Kickstarter page.
In fact, the security screwdriver included with the light is the only thing that can remove it, an the allen key provided is the only thing that can release the battery door.
The seventy dollar light is waterproof, uses around 40-60 lumens, and can be switched from steady to blinking mode.
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The cockroach beatbox
By dissecting a cockroach ... yes, live on stage ... TED Fellow and neuroscientist Greg Gage shows how brains receive and deliver electric impulses -- and how legs can respond. This talk comes from the TED-Ed project.
Why you should listen to him:
As half of Backyard Brains, neuroscientist and engineer Greg Gage builds "spiker boxes" -- small rigs that help kids understand the electrical impulses that control the nervous system. He's passionate about helping students understand (viscerally) how our brains and our neurons work, because, as he said onstage at TED2012, we still know very little about how the brain works -- and we need to start inspiring kids early to want to know more. He is a 2012 TED Fellow.
Before becoming a neuroscientist, Gage worked as an electrical engineer making touchscreens. As he told the Huffington Post: "Scientific equipment in general is pretty expensive, but it's silly because before [getting my PhD in neuroscience] I was an electrical engineer, and you could see that you could make it yourself. So we started as a way to have fun, to show off to our colleagues, but we were also going into classrooms around that time and we thought, wouldn't it be cool if you could bring these gadgets with us so the stuff we were doing in advanced Ph.D. programs in neuroscience, you could also do in fifth grade?"
Sunday, March 11, 2012
Kasama-Yaki (Made in Kasama)
ABOUT THIS PROJECT
SYNOPSIS
The triple disasters of March 11, 2011, shook Japan to its core. It claimed over 18,000 lives, with 3,000 still missing. Many thousands were displaced by the tsunami, and those who lived near the Fukushima nuclear reactors will probably never return home. It has been a year since the disasters but the people of Japan are still coping with the emotional trauma of that day. The disasters brought forth many truths about the power of nature, the limitations of the government, and the unpredictable nature of life. “Kasama-Yaki” is an intimate portrait of two potters, Katsuji and Shigeko Kokubo, filmed by their daughter, Yuki. Heartfelt conversational interviews are woven throughout the film, as they reflect on life, death, family, and art. The film is a journey into the minds of two individuals whose outlooks were inevitably touched by the disasters, and a glimpse into the heart of Japan.
概要
２０１１年３月１１日に起こった３つの災難で日本は大きな打撃を受けた。１万８千人以上の命が奪われ、今もなお３千人の行方不明者がいる。津波の被害により数千人が家を失い、福島原子力発電所付近の住民は再びふるさとで暮らせる可能性を失ってしまった。あれから１年、日本の人々はあの日の衝撃を今も抱えながら日々の生活を送っている。今回の震災で、多くの事実が明らかになった。自然の力、政府の欠点、そして人生は予測できないということ。本作品「笠間焼」は陶芸家の小久保勝司（こくぼ・かつじ）さんと恵子（しげこ）さんの親密な生活を追ったドキュメンタリー映画。監督は陶芸家の娘、小久保由紀（ゆき）。心のこもった対話型インタビューが織り込まれ、小久保夫妻の生と死、家族、アートについての観点を探る。震災で人生観が変わった２人の陶芸家の物語を巡り、日本人の心を垣間見ることのできる作品である。[日本語はページの下に続いています]
Saturday, March 10, 2012
SmartPlanet's Top 10 videos of 2011
2011 was a banner year for science and technology innovation, and SmartPlanet was on hand to give you a first look. Here are our 10 most popular videos, as clicked on and watched by our viewers.
The office of tomorrow: How design impacts culture
Music
>> Sumi Das: Open airy work spaces, daylight shining through from the ceiling above, workers meeting face to face in high-tech rooms and via video conferencing. Welcome to the office of tomorrow, at least according to Santa Cruz based Plantronics, makers of wireless headsets.
>> We created the cooperative work spaces with the glass, so you can see and have the natural light come through. We made the use of color -- the primary colors add vibrancy, add energy. And you could see that sprinkled throughout the work space.
>> Sumi Das: Pat Waters, Plantronics' head of human resources, is spearheading the massive redesign of the company's aging facilities. She says the new spaces, in addition to being more habitable, are starting to create change within the company's culture.
>> The cubes are meant to be open, they're meant to be more transparent, they're meant to encourage collaboration and ease of connection. I want people to talk more, I want them exchange ideas more fluidly.
>> Sumi Das: This is what the old space looked like -- monotone, grey, and high cubes.
>> Looking at the before picture Plantronics, you will see the enclosed space, you won't be able to see far behind you, it's just a long hallway.
>> Sumi Das: Now workers can choose how they want to work, where, and whether to sit or stand at their desk.
>> So if you see over here, we have some folks sitting down, some folks standing up, some might start sitting down and realize, you know, I'm getting antsy, I'm in the throes of creativity, let me stand up a bit and I'll move my desk up and have more visibility that way.
>> Sumi Das: But that's only half the story for this 50-year old company. Plantronics is also encouraging its employees to telecommute. On any given day, 40% of its workforce is plugging in remotely. Employees can Skype or conference in to connect with other colleagues.
>> What we're trying to do is to enable you to work where you need to work. It's not about the office. So I'm teaching leaders how to lead remote teams.
>> Sumi Das: Jen Davis phonetic is one of the employees embracing this change. The Product Manager works three days at the office, and two days remotely.
>> I kind of determine where I'm going to work based upon the work I have to do. So if I kind of need that quiet time, I wouldn't necessarily want to be in the office, I'd do that at home. It's no longer about how many hours are you sitting in a chair in the office. It's all measured now really on what you can produce in a given timeframe. Hit your deadlines, it's great.
>> Sumi Das: Ultimately, Waters believes all the new changes will help the high-tech company both attract new talent, and stay on the cutting edge.
>> They like the vibe of a college university, the student center, the ability to connect anywhere at any time, and do peer-to-peer, and work remotely. So their technology savviness, their awareness of how they collaborate at any time, I need to bend for them.
>> Sumi Das: For Smart Planet, I'm Sumi Das.
Music
Thursday, March 08, 2012
Ideas for classroom use:
Ideas for classroom use: Britt created a great ShowMe about different ways to use ShowMe. We’re huge fans of all the ideas in this one, so any teachers thinking about incorporating ShowMe into their classrooms should check this one out!
Daniel’s ShowMe is a great example of how ShowMe can be used to visually represent some concepts that are difficult to understand verbally. We love content like this. Way to go Daniel!
Robert put together an amazing ShowMe on why early civilizations formed along rivers. “Along rivers” is definitely one of the better ShowMe’s we’ve ever seen, so give it a watch if you have a minute!
Daniel goes through u-substitution in an extremely clear way. For any students or teachers of calculus having trouble with u-substitution, this ShowMe is definitely worth taking a look at!
Noam’s ShowMe on HTML basics is very informative. For novices looking to dip their toes in the shallow end of web-design, this ShowMe is a must-see. Thanks a lot, Noam!
Practice history
Compound Interest
Daniel’s ShowMe is a great example of how ShowMe can be used to visually represent some concepts that are difficult to understand verbally. We love content like this. Way to go Daniel!
Robert put together an amazing ShowMe on why early civilizations formed along rivers. “Along rivers” is definitely one of the better ShowMe’s we’ve ever seen, so give it a watch if you have a minute!
Daniel goes through u-substitution in an extremely clear way. For any students or teachers of calculus having trouble with u-substitution, this ShowMe is definitely worth taking a look at!
Noam’s ShowMe on HTML basics is very informative. For novices looking to dip their toes in the shallow end of web-design, this ShowMe is a must-see. Thanks a lot, Noam!
Practice history
Compound Interest
Innovative education, it’s everywhere!
Reader’s workshop and assessment: Brette let me know that she sent home this type of ShowMe home to parents to let them know where their child was at with their reading level. For the student, this is such a valuable way to remember what they’ve been taught and also a great way to reflect. Awesome to see “chunking” on the ipad!
Writer’s workshop conferences: This is a great way to help students get feedback from their peers and build their portfolio of writing. I love the idea of students interacting with the iPad as a class and marking up the text.
Writer’s workshop conferences: This is a great way to help students get feedback from their peers and build their portfolio of writing. I love the idea of students interacting with the iPad as a class and marking up the text.
How-to: Understand you Profile Page on the ShowMe app.
About this blog
We believe learning should be less standardized and more personalized. We believe knowledge and curiosity go hand-in-hand. Most of all, we believe great teachers can move mountains, and any student can be inspired.
If you're passionate about learning and the possibilities for innovation in education, please participate by commenting, or contact us directly at info [at] showme [dot] com!
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