Group items tagged

"This, I would think, should be self-evident: Generally speaking, big creatures eat smaller creatures that, in turn, eat even smaller creatures, like this ..."

"This companion app for the popular new exhibition Creatures of Light: Nature's Bioluminescence offers a close look at some of the extraordinary organisms that produce light."

"Creatures of Light is a beautiful free iPad app from the American Museum of Natural History. The app contains five chapter about bioluminescent animals like jellyfish, fireflies, and glow worms. In each chapter students learn about what causes bioluminescence and how it helps animals survive in their environments. Each chapter includes an interactive map of the world that students on which students can tap to learn about the bioluminescent animals of a particular region."

"Towards the end of last school year, one of my students came up with one of my favorite design challenges:  Make a creature that does something.  That's it.  This prompt wins for simplicity and the designs that people come up with for it are always amazing. "

"The messaging app Snapchat allows motorists to post photos that record the speed of the vehicle. The navigation app Waze rewards drivers with points when they report traffic jams and accidents. Even the game Pokémon Go has drivers searching for virtual creatures on the nation's highways. When distracted driving entered the national consciousness a decade ago, the problem was mainly people who made calls or sent texts from their cellphones. The solution then was to introduce new technologies to keep drivers' hands on the wheel. Innovations since then - car Wi-Fi and a host of new apps - have led to a boom in internet use in vehicles that safety experts say is contributing to a surge in highway deaths."

"Minecraft is a "sandbox' video game that can be used in a variety of ways to support and enrich the curriculum. Through game-based learning, using Minecraft, you can support students who achieve differently, as well as foster social development and digital citizenship. Watch student intrinsic motivation explode (like those creatures called Creepers) and discover how game play and discussion helps to develop learning skills and make connections to different areas of the curriculum.   In this session you will learn the basics of Minecraft, discuss games based learning, and dispel the myths around "doing Minecraft"."

Create an animal using different body parts. A pic of the resulting creature can be emailed to others.

"f you're already an avid follower of our Polar Bear, Beluga Sky (Northern Lights) or Underwater Beluga Whale Cams, then you've heard the name Churchill over and over again. But where exactly is it and what makes it such a hot spot for these amazing and threatened creatures? On the western side of Hudson Bay and just southwest of the Northwest Passage is a little coastal town in Canada. The Northwest Passage, of course, was long sought after as a short-cut trade route for countries near the Arctic Circle. It could potentially allow places like Russia to have a direct route to Canada, Greenland or New York City without going south. Famously impassable, the Northwest Passage has now become more accessible as climate change melts the Arctic ice. This could be good news for shippers but is bad news for bears. More on that later."

"Teenagers really get a bad time,' says Sarah-Jayne Blakemore. 'It is amazing how it seems to be totally acceptable - even institutionalised - to parody and demonise them. We laugh at things that mock teenagers, but if you applied those sorts of jokes to any other sector of society, it just wouldn't be acceptable.' Blakemore is a professor of cognitive neuroscience and deputy director of the University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience. She is sitting in her office behind Russell Square, the heartland of London academia, mounting a strong defence for every teenager in Britain who has slammed a bedroom door, smoked a cigarette, driven a car too fast and even - though she certainly doesn't condone this - given in to the peer pressure that surrounds drugs such as Ecstasy. Society's response to the teenage conviction that 'nobody understands' is often lack of patience. Teenagers, we think, are moody, self-absorbed, reckless, defiant creatures who reject our wisdom in favour of a path of personal sabotage. But the rallying cry from Blakemore - an increasingly powerful voice in the world of international neuroscience, who has given policy advice to the British government - is that teenagers are right. Beyond the world of neuroscientific research, for the most part society does not understand them."

"This little digital creature called Hashtag has been revolutionizing the way people network, communicate and share on social media websites. It first started on Twitter around the year 2009 then Google Plus adopted it in 2012 before Facebook officially integrated it in June 2013. However, what is mysteriously unknown about this #poundsign is that its origin dates back to the 12th century when the #symbol first appeared in the musical realm. Since then, hashtags have been used in different contexts and for different purposes till they finally landed in the social media landscape some few years ago. The visual below provides a very good visual illustration of the chronological development of the sign #hashtag."

"Fiber optics! Fiber optics! Admittedly, I'm a little obsessed with fiber optics, and for good reason. They are a durable, versatile, and relatively simple way to add beautiful lighting effects to anything you're making. Just look at some of the gorgeous projects you can create with them! There was a time when I mostly used el wire in my illuminated designs, but ever since the amazing Natalina and Technorainbows introduced me to the wonders of fiber optics in their various forms, I've been on a bit of a fiber optic bender. So come fall down this rabbit hole with me, and turn yourself into a mesmerizing bioluminescent sea creature... you know you want to."