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Showing posts with label Science. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Science. Show all posts

10 Fun & Innovative Ways To Learn From Animals




While learning is often associated with textbooks, tests, and teachers, there is an another source from which children can learn some fantastic life lessons.  One of the best learning resources are the creatures that live among us. Animals! There are so many great ways to learn with and from animals.  Here are ten fun and innovative ways that young people, and the adults in their lives, can get in touch with their warm and wild side and learn a lot in the process.
My adorable cousin and her bunny.
  • Get a pet - Pet’s are a great way to help children develop responsible behavior,provide a connection to nature and  teach respect for other living things.
  • Watch a pet - There are a number of reasons that a family may not be able to get a pet. When this is the case, another option might be to offer to watch a pet for busy neighbors. This provides several of the benefits of getting a pet and can also turn into a part time job for the pet-loving child.  
  • Walk a pet - What better way to engage in physical fitness than with a pet. Go for a run in the park or around the block. This too can turn into a part-time job for the child who has a way with animals and wants to become the neighborhood dog walker.
  • Learn about endangered species with UStream - UStream is doing some amazing work with capturing endangered species live on film.  Children can watch animals catch prey, mate, reproduce, and much more. Another great feature is viewers can chat with experts and others who are interested while watching the animal in the wild.  Additionally, there is a lot of educational information on many of these pages. Start on the general Pets / Animals page at http://www.ustream.tv/pets-animals. The following are some wonderful pages that are educationally sound and terrific starting places.
  • Visit or volunteer at a local zoo, farm, ranch or stable - Zoos and farms are a great way to get to know animals. While a visit to a farm or zoo can be a terrific learning experience, for young ones who are big animal lovers, there may also be volunteer opportunities. What a wonderful way to learn about, and with animals from the professionals who care for them.
  • Read or start a blog - For children who love or want to learn about a particular animal, a blog is a great resource.  Go to Technorati.com and type in the animal you want to learn more about. There you’ll find blogs ranked by authority. For example for those who love pugs you’ll find blogs like The Curious Pug and Pug Possessed. Reading and commenting on the blog helps develop literacy and communication skills. Children that enjoy writing, can start their own blog to document the adventures of their favorite creature.
  • View YouTube videos - There is so much to learn from watching animal videos.  From tolerance and love to survival and protection of the young.  I recommend starting with this one about tolerance and love and this one about survival and protection of young.
  • Search Twitter - Let children do a search on Twitter for the animal they love. There they’ll find Tweets from others interested in this animal. You can put those who share similar interests into a list and / or begin following their Tweets. If there's something you want to know or might be of interest to one of your Tweeps (Twitter peeps)? Tag them and see what they have to say. This teaches young people not only about what they are trying to learn, but they also develop the ability to learn from Twitter as well as develop a personal learning network.
  • Bird Watch - Bird watching is fun and with the advent of cell phone cameras/video, capturing these winged creatures is easier than ever.  Have your child set up a Flickr account to collect the photos and videos and email them to your Flickr email for an automatic slideshow collection. The subject becomes the caption and message the description. This can also be updated. Visit this link for directions.  The slideshow might look something like the one below.
  • Start or join a group on Facebook - Teens can connect with other people who love the animal they love on Facebook. This supports the development of reading and writing skills and will allow your child to learn more about their favorite animal.
We all know that a dog can be a man’s best friend, but it doesn’t have to stop there. When it comes to animals they can also be one of your child’s best teachers.
If you have another fun and innovative way you learn from animals, please share by commenting below.
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Learning by Doing - Students Can Solve The Issue of Sanitary Drinking Water with Global Experiment

Guest post by Alan Parker

In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama noted that “We need to teach our kids that it's not just the winner of the Super Bowl who deserves to be celebrated, but the winner of the science fair.”  The International Year of Chemsitry (IYC), a yearlong, international celebration of chemistry organized by some of the leading international chemistry institutions in the world gives students an opportunity to be a part of just the sort of activity the President was referring to.  Andrew Liveris, president of the International Council of Chemical Associations, notes, “95 percent of the things that touch our lives — such as food, water, shelter, transportation, and medicine — are made possible through chemistry,” and the purpose of the IYC is to help show people just how integral chemistry is in everyday life.  
Students can participate in the celebration by joining the Global Experiment called “Water: A Chemical Solution,” which could potentially be the largest chemistry experiment of all time.  Students from across the world will join in the water themed experiments by testing how chemistry can be used to purify water so it can be consumed. More specifically there are four activities that students will complete while taking part in the experiment: 1) acidity 2) salinity 3) filtration 4) solar still.
While The Global Experiment requires the involvement of parent or teacher to ensure safety and provide guidance and support, an education in chemistry is not required. The experiment comes with precise directions with regard to the methods and tools necessary for the successful completion of the modules.  According to the IYC, the experiments will cost very little, if anything at all, to get as many people participating as possible.  The experiments are open to students of all ages and there are options for students in elementary, middle, and high school.
The International Year of Chemistry begins February 6th, and the Global Experiment runs all year. If you believe that your child or your class would have fun participating in the experiment visit the website!  It is a simple yet terrific method to get students engaged with science, and it also gets students involved in helping to solve the issue several countries have finding sanitary drinking water.  When Liveris was in grade school he says he became “hooked on the knowledge that chemistry would open the door to innovations that would make the world a better place.”  The Global Experiment, will give more students the opportunity to feel this way.

Alan Parker is a blogger based out of New York, NY who writes about alternative energy, green business, sustainability, and climate change.
Follow on Twitter @AGreenParker
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Innovative Idea for Equipment-Poor Science Teachers to Provide Hands-On Experiences for Learners

With school budget cuts it's often difficult to give students the hands-on experience in science that makes learning fun. A new campaign from ASPEX a producer of Scanning Electron Microscopes (SEM) may help alleviate the issue. Their "Send Us Your Sample" campaign let's students send any sample to a remote lab. Perfect for equipment-strapped schools. Students simply submit their Submission Form (PDF) along with their sample and they'll get a free report posted.

Students can send in anything they'd like, from a broken iPhone, to a dead insect, to chewed gum. The SEM has a scan range of 100nm to 5mm and an imaging resolution of 25nm, capable of bringing the smallest samples into focus. ASPEX will scan submitted samples and then post before/after photos along with an analytical report online. This allows viewers to see what the sample looks like to the naked eye as well as under the SEM.

You can send students to the site right now to visit the SEM Image Gallery where they can see samples of already scanned objects, including mold, cat hair, fly eyes, an old toothbrush and more. What's more students can have the experience of writing authentically because comments are allowed on each before and after photo series. Educators can teach students how to join the conversation with real audiences leaving thoughtful and appropriate comments that add to learning of all. When students images are posted, encourage them to write comments on images of their classmates.

Students can also engage in a fun contest on the site right now is called "Name that Sample!" Each week magnified images are shown and the person who guesses it right or closest, wins a prize. Right now the prize is a brand new Netbook providing a fun and innovative way to encourage learning, communication and team building.

So what are you waiting for. Go to http://www.aspexcorp.com/resources/send_sample.html, check it out, then have your students send in their samples!
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The Evolution of Teaching Science

by Jacob Gutnicki

When you were in middle school what was your least favorite subject? Was it Math, ELA, Science, Social Studies, Art, or was it something else? I have often posed this question to college students enrolled in a teacher preparation program. Invariably, the top 2 answers are always Math and Science. Even more telling, Science always wins the “unpopularity contest” by a landslide.

I proceed to continue my line of questioning and ask them why they feel this way. The answers vary but the consensus is that they do not see the point of science. Simply put, it is not relevant to their lives. I then follow up by asking, “What is the purpose of science?” This question usually gets all kinds of responses like to learn about life, machines, chemicals, weather, and other big scientific words. I then respond, “The purpose of science is to learn how things work.”

This in short is the problem with the current approach used to teach science. Much time is spent doling out vocabulary words that do not help the student understand science content. In fact, the use of acronyms and scientific words succeeds in only confusing students more. Many educational experts have stressed the importance of using hands on materials and have advocated for the purchase of Science labs. Unfortunately, the high cost of science materials has been a major obstacle in assuring the meaningful teaching of science. Additionally, many science teachers do not have the pedagogic background to teach science in a way that is meaningful. It is no wonder that many college students avoid majoring in Science programs as science is viewed as bad medicine. Subsequently, only 29% of United States middle school students are considered proficient or above proficiency in the area of Science on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) exam. Even more disturbing, Middle School students have shown no progress since the last NAEP exam.

In an effort to address this educational crisis, our government and private foundations have devoted money to various grant programs including the Math Science Partnership Grants, National Science Foundation Grants, Toshiba America Foundation Grants, America Honda Foundation Grants, Motorola Innovation Grants, and various Science Scholarships. Thanks to the Math Science Partnership program, school districts across the USA have offered its teachers professional development in the area of Math, Science, as well as Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM). Similarly, other funding sources have given students the opportunity to use state of the art science equipment in a hands-on manner.

However, many of these grant programs have not fostered the paradigm shift needed to transform Science Education in a manner that will address the needs of the 21st Century Student. This is because many of these grant programs are limited in their mandate as they simply require that pedagogues take college level courses in the area of science. However, the grant programs do not require direct instruction with students. In fact, student after school programs are discouraged. Additionally, the audit of these grant programs amount to simple bean counting. Another words, the external evaluators will count how many teachers took 30 hours of course work. However, they will not assess the effectiveness of the given course work. Subsequently, it is no surprise that the elementary cohort of schools showed only modest progress on the most recent NAEP Science Exam.

With this in mind, I propose the following;

1. Require the infusion of technology in all science courses. This is essential as technology gives students access to; virtual labs, science experts via video conferencing, USB Science probes, authentic science data with a computer, real-time computer based models, and other innovative science practices.

2. Require that every science lesson have a hands on component during which the student will perform the science concept, demonstrate the science concept, or create a presentation on the scientific idea in their own words.

3. Provide veteran and new science teachers with the requisite training and resources needed to teach science in a hands-on manner. This initiative would require professional development that is carefully designed to address the knowledge gap that many science teachers have. Similarly, pre-service programs must address the knowledge gap as well.

4. Future Science Grants should directly target the middle and secondary schools. This in turn will ensure that limited funds are directed towards the student population that desperately needs sound science education.

5. Hold vendors and Higher Education Institutes accountable for the services they provide. All too often we direct accountability measures towards the pedagogues but turn a blind eye to the content providers mentioned above. This in turn has resulted in sub-standard professional development services from content providers. With this in mind, professional development offerings given by vendors and colleges should be observed and evaluated. The results of the evaluation should then be made public via the What Works Clearing House web site.

Final Thought- Naturally, it goes without saying that these ideas only scratch the surface of this very complicated issue. However, it is clear that our current practices must change. In short, we must reverse the trend in which a shrinking number of students enroll in science-based programs during their post secondary years. In a quest to address this perplexing issue we must be prepared to invest properly and welcome educational change.

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23andMe Provides Authentic and Personalized Learning Opportunities in Genetics, DNA, Biology, Health, Geography.

I just responded to the Classroom 2.0 post Teaching DNA from a science teacher who shared, “I'm looking for a website available to students that can answer some of their questions about DNA. That will conceptualize DNA, and allow them to look through the material at their own pace. It can’t be too technical, and I would like it to help spur their interest in the subject.”


As a recent subscriber to 23andMe (whose tagline is, “Genetics Just Got Personal”), I had to chime in. I know that personally, I never retained much of anything I learned in science class because little of it was hands on, and wasn’t taught in a way that allowed me to see how it pertained to my life in a way I needed to care about.


As an adult, when I heard about 23andMe I became extremely excited at the potential to unlock the secrets of my own DNA. As an innovative educator I also reflected on what a powerful learning tool this could be for students interested in this field. Of course there are cost and legal factors that are obvious barriers, but innovative educators don’t let things let things like that stop them.


For those not in the know, 23andMe was selected as Time magazine's "Invention of the Year” and was recently featured on Oprah. It allows you to access and unlock the information contained within your DNA. This means that you will be able to learn about your medical proclivities as well as your true genetic ancestry.


So, how can this be used in the classroom? Even without sending in your DNA for sampling 23andMe puts a lot of the study of genetics and ancestry into context in a way that is more interesting and compelling then what I ever learned in school. The website provides a collection of educational materials to guide educators and learners on a personal journey of genetic discovery. Here are some of the great learning resources 23andMe offers to enable visitors to discover the world of genetics.


A great place to start with students would be with the Variations section which highlights stories of famous people and how their genes affected them. This can be tied to an activity where students reflect on how they think their genes may have shaped who they are or will become. Here is a peak into what that part of the site contains.


Variations

Our genes help shape us from the moment of conception, but they are far from the only determinant of who we are. 23andMe's Variations series explores the human experience through personal stories of the ways genetics touches our lives.

Are Warren and Jimmy Buffett related?

Speed Gene: Fact or fiction?

Drive: The story of Muggsy Bogues, 5'3" NBA star

The Royal Disease


Once you’ve peaked students interest, it’s time to get down to some details about genetics. The site has an area called Genetics 101 which features a variety of easy to understand animated videos. Here is what you will find there.


Genetics 101

Part 1: What Are Genes?

Find out about the basics of cells, chromosomes, and the genes contained in your DNA.

Part 2: What are SNPs?

Learn about the variations in human DNA called SNPs, and how they can be used to understand relationships between people.

Part 3: Where do your genes come from?

Find out how chromosomes and genes are passed down from parent to child.

Part 4: What is phenotype?

Discover how your observable traits, or phenotypes, are the result of interactions between your genes and environment.


The site also has a connection to history and geography. This is a great resource for teachers focusing on history, social studies, ancestry, or geography. Here is what you will find.


Human Prehistory 101

These videos follow the path of our human history from the birth of our species in Africa to the present day.


Human Prehistory: Prologue

Find out how our human story begins, nearly 200,000 years ago in Africa.


Part 1: Out of (eastern) Africa (coming soon)

Learn how humans traveled out of Africa for the first time.

There are also Genetics Guides on the site. These guides are a useful resource about some basic concepts that come up around ancestry and genetics. They serve as a valuable reference for people who are new to the study of genetics and ancestry. The guides include: Key Words About Genetics and Key Words About Ancestry.


I should be getting my 23andMe results soon and I am very excited about what I might learn. I think I’m most interested in the nature vs. nurture personality traits, but also, possible medical issues. I’ll be sure to post on what I find along the way.

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