City to City: Comparing, Researching and Writing about Cities: New Orleans, Spring 2011
City to City, as a class, will jump into the complexity of planning in New Orleans, a post-disaster city. City-to-City will ask how a post-disaster city grapple with its ideas of identity, what it is, who it represents, and how it projects its sense of self to residences, businesses, tourists, and to the outside world. In considering its people, how do city planners think about who lives where and why? At the same time, how can city planners celebrate a city's history and its culture and how can
Técnicas Contemporaneas de Literatura (En Español)
En este video, la profesora Camila Mundaca habla sobre las técnicas contemporaneas como el monólogo interior y el soliloquio. Utiliza al poeta Edgar Allen Poe para explicar unos puntos. (4:15)
The Greatest Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe - The Fate of the Universe
Dr Paul Francis sheds some light on some of life's big questions in this new web series - The Greatest Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe. In this second episode, he addresses the question 'What's the Ultimate Fate of the Universe?'
Each episode will explore a mystery in-depth, in an accessible and light-hearted way. Dr Francis will also be delving into some of the comments left on his previous video to answer some viewers' mysteries. If you have a universal mystery you'd like Paul to have a lo
What Goes Around Comes Around: Water Cycle
This resource guide from the Middle School Portal 2 project, written specifically for teachers, provides links to exemplary resources including background information, lessons, career information, and related national science education standards. The resources here will provide you with content information as well as lessons and activities to guide your students to deeper understandings of the nature of water, the need for and intricacies of its management, and why water management issues can be
Scope on the Skies: Urban Legends
Urban legends become widespread from people simply not asking “Are you sure?” or looking into the topic and learning more before making a decision. But urban legends are also a great way to teach students to become good questioners—skeptics if you will—whenever they hear or read about these kinds of claims. A recent urban legend is generating interest due in large part to statements made by doomsday predictors, news media, and—coming to a theater near you—a movie celebrating our demi
Canadian Minerals Yearbook
Part of Natural Resources Canada Minerals and Metals Sector, the Canadian Minerals Yearbook Web site provides mineral industry information from 1994 to 2001. Downloadable files from each year include a Year in Review, Reserves of Selected Major Metals, Recent Production Decisions, and a Mineral and Metal Commodity Review. An example of the information provided comes from the 2001 Review: "In 2000, Canadian reserves of copper, nickel, lead, zinc, molybdenum, silver and gold decreased because ther
Breakingviews: Is Google cruising for a bruising?
Breakingviews columnists discuss how close the search giant is to stepping over a major legal line.
Accelerators and Nobel Laureates
This online article written by Sven Kullander at the Nobel e-Museum discusses the importance of particle accelerators to physics in a historical context. After studying their basic operatation, users can then learn about the many accelerator inventions and their assistance in various discoveries such as x-rays and electrons. The website provides links to descriptions of the many Nobel Prize winners who have utilized accelerators in their important work. Users can view images of the large acceler
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel is a 20 mile long series of bridges and tunnels that connect Virginia Beach/Norfolk to Virginia's Eastern Shore. The project is an engineering marvel; besides supporting vehicular traffic, the tunnels allow sea-going vessels passage into and out of the bay. A great deal of information is given on the project's home page, including a map of the surrounding area, historical perspectives, interesting facts, tourist attractions, and frequently asked questions. There
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign -- From Alchemy to Chemistry: Five Hundred Years of R
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign created this online exhibit to illustrate several of the major shifts in chemistry from alchemy to modern chemistry and how chemists changed the way in which they discussed their field. Curious students and educators can find descriptions of thirty-six chemistry books covering the years from 1500 to 1964. Historians will adore the images of pages from the old books and find source links for some of the books discussed.
SGR: Scientists for Global Responsibility
Scientists for Global Responsibility (SGR) have created a site depicting the belief that "science and technology should be used responsibly in a way that contributes to justice and peace in human society and to the long-term well-being of the wider environment". Scientists can download reports that the group, consisting of 600 scientists, has written such as Cleaner Technologies: A Positive Choice. Students can learn about how to make wise career choices that will be both rewarding and environme
Peabody College of Education: Department of Teaching & Learning
This website for the Peabody College of Education: Department of Teaching and Learningat Vanderbilt University describes current projects in mathematics education research. Findings and innovations developed from several projects are available from this website. Current and completed projects include: Investigating Multimedia Case Studies as a Tool for Pre-service Teacher Development, Multiplicative Reasoning as a Foundation for Stochastic Reasoning, The National Research and Development Center
The Grapes of Staph: Biology Tutorials
These online Biology Tutorials were created by Dr. Gary E. Kaiser, a Professor of Biological Science at The Community College of Baltimore County. The Tutorials are part of Kaiser's larger Microbiology Website, entitled The Grapes of Staph (reported on in the November 10, 1999, Scout Report for Science & Engineering). The Tutorials are organized into three sections under the headings of Eukaryotic Cell Structure, Metabolism, and Genetics. Tutorial titles include: Energy Conversions; Polypeptides
The Space For Nature Wildlife Gardening Forum
This informative Space For Nature Wildlife Gardening Forum website was developed for naturalists, horticulturalists and others interested in creating garden habitats for wildlife. The site editor is Richard Burkmar, who received his PhD from University College of Cardiff in avian ecology, and believes "that gardens are an increasingly valuable habitat in real terms for wildlife, and that they are uniquely positioned, as accessible natural spaces, to influence our behaviour and attitudes towards
Digital Promise Project: Proposal for the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust (DO IT)
The Digital Promise Project, led by leaders in fields of communications and humanities (whose extensive backgrounds are described in the Principals section), has spearheaded a proposal to the U.S. Congress to create the Digital Opportunity Investment Trust (DO IT). Addressing the technology needs of learning in the 21st century, the charge of this nonprofit, nongovernmental agency would be "to unlock the potential of the Internet and other new information technologies for education in the broade
Get A Grip On Robotics
Get A Grip On Robotics is a wonderful site for both children and adults to learn about robots. The site focuses mainly on industrial applications of robots -- their most common and practical use. The exhibit covers robot basics, the five main parts of a robot, how they move (i.e., "degrees of freedom"), and current and future outlooks for the technology. There are several animations that show a jointed-arm robot in action and how it compares to a human arm. One section of the site addresses the
Fish-Friendly Engineering
Students further their understanding of the salmon life cycle and the human structures and actions that aid in the migration of fish around hydroelectric dams by playing an animated PowerPoint game involving a fish that must climb a fish ladder to get over a dam. They first brainstorm their own ideas, and then learn about existing ways engineers have made dams “friendlier” to migrating fish, before being quizzed as part of the game.
Building Tetrahedral Kites
Working in teams of four, students build tetrahedral kites following specific instructions and using specific materials. They use the basic processes of manufacturing systems – cutting, shaping, forming, conditioning, assembling, joining, finishing, and quality control – to manufacture complete tetrahedral kites within a given time frame. Project evaluation takes into account team efficiency and the quality of the finished product.
The Mummified Troll: Devising a Protection Plan
Students are introduced to the parameters of an engineering challenge in which their principal has asked them to devise an invisible security system to cost-effectively protect a treasured mummified troll, while still allowing for visitor viewing during the day. Students generate ideas for solving the grand challenge, first independently, then in small groups, and finally, compiled as a class.
Will It Fly?
In this lesson, students will learn about kites and gliders and how these models can help in understanding the concept of flight. Students will design and build their own balsa wood models and experiment with different control surfaces. The goal of this lesson is for students to apply their existing knowledge about the four forces affecting flight and apply engineering design to develop a sound glider. They will also communicate the reasoning and results of any design modifications made.
