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Summary via The Scout Report (May 2012): "The earth sciences encompass a range of fields, including geology, meteorology, and other areas of inquiry. This website features a range of lesson plans and activities that cover these fields, designed for both high school and college classrooms. In total, there are over two dozen activities here divided into sections such as Rocks & Minerals and Earthquakes & Volcanoes. The Rocks & Minerals area is a particularly rich vein of pedagogical material. It features a mineral identification lab session and a lesson plan that probes the world of igneous rocks. Moving along, the site also includes engaging materials on the formation of clouds, atmospheric pressure, and a humorous lesson plan on thunderstorms. [KMG]"

Summary via the Scout Report (May 2012): "This site was created by two German physicists (Ute Kraus and Corvin Zahn) and it offers a "visual and intuitive approach to the theory of relativity." The site does not offer the basics dealing with the theory of relativity, but rather a novel approach to understanding what an object might look like while moving near the speed of light or what it might be like to "travel to the vicinity of a black hole and take a look-around." As the site notes, "Part of the difficulties in understanding relativity are due to the fact that relativistic effects contradict everyday experience." On the homepage, visitors can learn more in the Content area. Here they can watch remarkable visualizations such as Rolling Wheels, Sights that Einstein Could Not Yet See, and Accelerated Motion. The site also offers brief explanations of each visualization, along with links to additional resources. Finally, the site also includes a gallery of images and an FAQ area. [KMG]"

Summary via The Scout Report (May 2012): "The journal Nature provides a range of peer-reviewed scientific works on a weekly basis, along with science updates and materials aimed at the general public. This particular feature on malaria is available at no charge to the curious public, and as the homepage asks, "What will it take to finally subdue this deadly disease?" Visitors will find a collection of recent articles in the Outlook area, such as "The Numbers Game" and "Vaccines: The Take Home Lesson." Moving on, the Collection area brings together peer-reviewed pieces on the story behind the efforts to eradicate the disease, along with some nice pieces about how the disease is transmitted. It's easy to see how this collection could be used in a public health course, or in another classroom setting. Finally, the site also includes links to popular articles from Nature, along with other open access materials. [KMG]"

Steve Hickey's blog

Welcome to the 20th Century History Series Website! The podcasts below are meant to be used as revision for the International Baccalaureate (IB), Advanced Placement Programs (AP), as well as AS and A2, AQA, OCR, Edexcel. They can also be used as support for College Foundation Year, or for general entertainment, if you just enjoy history!   The podcasts are free, and are intended as a supplement to regular learning and for general entertainment. They are heavy on historical evidence; numbers, names, dates, events and keywords, which is the basis for writing a solid paper or project. Created by Kim Sønderborg  Head of Humanities, IB examiner, Franconian International School, Germany.

"The seminal figure in the current movement is Sam Wineburg, a cognitive psychologist who possesses a deep appreciation of the philosophy and practice of history. His book, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts (Temple University Press, 2001), which includes research reaching back into the 1980s, is a founding text, along with Knowing, Learning, and Teaching History, cited above. Wineburg is now Professor of Education and History at Stanford University, and director of the Stanford History Education Group, of which Reisman was an active member."

free online courses for learners of all ages

"A survey of teachers who instruct American middle and high school students finds that digital technologies are impacting student writing in myriad ways and there are significant advantages from tech-based learning. Some 78% of the 2,462 advanced placement (AP) and National Writing Project (NWP) teachers surveyed by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project say digital tools such as the internet, social media, and cell phones "encourage student creativity and personal expression." In addition: 96% agree digital technologies "allow students to share their work with a wider and more varied audience" 79% agree that these tools "encourage greater collaboration among students" According to teachers, students' exposure to a broader audience for their work and more feedback from peers encourages greater student investment in what they write and in the writing process as a whole. At the same time, these teachers give their students modest marks when it comes to writing and highlight some areas needing attention. Asked to assess their students' performance on nine specific writing skills, teachers tended to rate their students "good" or "fair" as opposed to "excellent" or "very good." Students received the best ratings on their ability to "effectively organize and structure writing assignments" and their ability to "understand and consider multiple viewpoints on a particular topic or issue." Teachers gave students the lowest ratings when it comes to "navigating issues of fair use and copyright in composition" and "reading and digesting long or complicated texts.""

"His mood brightens, however, when talk turns to the occasionally brilliant work of the students whose heavily footnoted history papers appear in his quarterly, The Concord Review. Over 23 years, the review has printed 924 essays by teenagers from 44 states and 39 nations. "

EARCOS 2011 presentation -- a Google Doc

great example of using video as a prompt for scientific investigation and learning.... from two guys who do a regular science teaching podcast... Lab Out Loud....

"What is constant multi-tasking doing to teens' brains? That's the question NewsHour Science Correspondent Miles O'Brien set out to answer as he interviewed teens and neuroscience experts around the country. Scientists at the National Institutes of Health are currently studying whether teens' addictions to technology are wiring their brains differently than those of their parents and earlier generations. During adolescence, brain connections are "pruned" - those that are used a lot are strengthened, while those that are rarely used fall off. According to a scientist at UCLA who also studies the effects of technology on teens' brains, the brain's release of the chemical dopamine has a lot to do with why technology can become addictive for young people. When the brain experiences something pleasurable, like connecting with others via social networking, it is hard-wired to want more of it by releasing dopamine. Yet other researchers say multi-tasking and playing intense video games can actually help develop some skills like better vision and improved short-term memory. Because modern technology is still in its infancy, scientists are only uncovering the beginnings of how it will affect the human brain functions of tomorrow.

Excerpt re literacy:  "While English classes will still include healthy amounts of fiction, the standards say that students should be reading more nonfiction texts as they get older, to prepare them for the kinds of material they will read in college and careers. In the fourth grade, students should be reading about the same amount from "literary" and "informational" texts, according to the standards; in the eighth grade, 45 percent should be literary and 55 percent informational, and by 12th grade, the split should be 30/70."

the Journal for Emerging Investigators (JEI), a publication founded by a group of Harvard grad students in 2011 that provides a forum for the work of middle school and high school students. It has the same standards as academic journals, and each submission is reviewed by grad students and academics.