Category: science
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A digital playground of dreams?
The July 18, 2007, Christian Science Monitor article “Why children need to learn to play” resonated deeply with me. The author includes several quotations from David Elkind, author of “Power of Play” and “The Hurried Child: Growing Up Too Fast Too Soon.” According to the article: “Over the past two decades, children have lost 12…
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The iPhone cometh and inspires inquiry
It has been interesting to track the delivery path of my iPhone the last few days, which is set for delivery on Tuesday of this coming week. When I told my 9 year old it was shipping from Shenzhen, China, his first question was, “Why is the iPhone made in China?” Rather than tell him…
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Reconsidering the Bering land bridge theory
We watched a superb NOVA special from February 2007 this evening (via Netflix) titled “America’s Stone Age Explorers.” The PBS website accompanying the special includes terrific resources for additional learning on the topics addressed in the program. Remember studying in school the Bering land bridge which scientists hypothesize became the transit highway for the first…
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Humility in the face of dynamical and chaotic forces
Today is the 17th straight day of rain here in Edmond, just north of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Our area has not seen rainfall this frequent since the late 1930s. According to today’s AP article, “More Rain Forecast for Texas, Oklahoma:” The National Weather Service on Thursday recorded rainfall in Oklahoma City for the 16th straight…
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Hallmark of 21st Century Learning: Use of web video
Do you need to use web video to teach and learn “well?” Certainly not. However, given the availability of high quality, free digital curriculum on the Internet, I think teachers and students alike would be silly to not take advantage of the learning opportunities these resources provide. Jeremy Behrens gave me a heads up this…
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Podcast160: Alan Kay’s EduComm 2007 Keynote
This podcast is a recording of Alan Kay’s wonderful keynote presentation on June 19, 2007, at the EduComm 2007 conference in Anaheim, California. Alan is an amazing thinker, inventor, teacher and innovator. His presentation, shared in Squeak, a programming language he invented, powerfully demonstrated how many adults around the world need to elevate their expectations…
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Notes from Alan Kay’s keynote at EduComm07
THESE ARE MY NOTES FROM ALAN KAY’S KEYNOTE ON 19 JUNE 2007 AT EDUCOMM. ALAN GAVE ME PERMISSION TO RECORD THIS AS AN AUDIO PODCAST, WHICH I WILL PUBLISH HERE LATER TONIGHT. MY THOUGHTS ARE IN ALL CAPS. Alan Kay has an amazing bio: Amazing lifetime achievements. An amazing thinker, creator, and inventor. “the best…
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The future is unwritten
I flew down to Houston today, and had an opportunity to listen in the airport, in the air, and a bit on the cab ride to my hotel to Steve Jobs and Bill Gates’ recent interview at the D5 conference. The interview and subsequent Q&A lasts 1.5 hours, and is available as a free download…
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Praise for the NASA Digital Learning Network
Well, this week and last were really successful for the cause of interactive videoconferencing in Oklahoma in two different schools I’ve been helping. For over a month I’ve been planning, coordinating, and helping facilitate a series of videoconference connections for third graders in Edmond Public Schools with three different NASA Learning Centers, part of the…
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A great era for rocket scientists
For those who thought the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s were the golden age for rocket scientists, think again. The June 2007 issue of Wired Magazine has several articles relating to the new “rocket boom,” and I read Carl Hoffman’s article “Elon Musk Is Betting His Fortune on a Mission Beyond Earth’s Orbit” this evening.…