Category Archives: Science

Thanks for the minute

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Question/Idea

Allow students to pick a topic of interest, research and summarize in a short audio-cast that follows a particular pattern.

Inspiration

I got behind on my podcast feed and ended up listening to 8-10 episodes of 60-Second Science back-to-back. During that 8-10 minutes it became very evident to me the pattern/structure that each episode follows. Basically: hook, reference to study, data, cross-content connection. Interesting strategy to teach critical reading, summarizing and concise writing.

Scientific American: 60-Second Science
http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/podcasts.cfm?type=60-second-science

Mystery Hunt

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Question/Idea

Interesting how sophisticated the MIT mystery hunt has become. Interesting example of collaboration to construct and solve. How does this translate to an interdisciplinary project? There is an idea hiding in here that can’t find it’s way out.

Inspiration

http://bigthink.com/strange-maps/596-sound-like-a-map-to-you

At first the overlay of sound files to produce a visual representation of sound caught my attention. But the longevity and complexity of the puzzles is more intriguing.

Murmurations

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Question/Idea

I have witnessed a murmuration, I just called it a bird cloud. I was struck by their natural beauty, but also could see analogies to other patterns of nature. This is how an electron cloud around an atom must look. This is what a summer breeze would look like. Even more abstract, this is what the “I have a Dream” speech looked like.
Thoughts…

Inspiration

 

Murmuration from Islands & Rivers on Vimeo.

Murmuration Photos and Video
http://www.sciencedump.com/content/murmuration

Murmuration research
http://www.collective-behavior.com/publ/KingSumpter2012.pdf

Related Video: Bubble Man on Beach (I see this as an abstract notion of a poets life.)

Weather Modification

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Question/Idea

What happens when scientific curiosity and nature intersect? Should we take action to modify weather? When? Under what circumstances? Are there times when it is more acceptable than others? Should we apply scientific findings, just because we can?

Inspiration

Stuff you should know podcast found here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/stuff-you-should-know/id278981407