Same Content, Different Presentation

Here's a fun video of a Southwest Airlines flight attendant giving the pre-flight instructions to passengers. This is not the standard, boring reading of instructions, it's entertaining and the flight attendant still delivers the same message as you would get from someone reading off a card. The video made me wonder, how many of our students would be more engaged in school if they could choose the method in which they demonstrate understanding of content.



Thanks to Center Networks for sharing the video.

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View Glacier Melt in Google Earth

Yesterday, on their Lat Long blog, Google posted link to the Extreme Ice Survey. The Extreme Ice Survey has recently released a Google Earth file that displays the results of the Extreme Ice Survey. In this Google Earth file users can view glaciers, historical data about glaciers, and some video clips about shrinking glaciers.

The Extreme Ice Survey website has high quality photos and time lapse videos from the surveyors. Embedded below is one of the videos from the Extreme Ice Survey.

GL-07 Store Glacier from Extreme Ice Survey on Vimeo.

Applications for Education
The Extreme Ice Survey Google Earth file, videos, and pictures could be good resources for teaching about the effects of global warming.

Here are some related resources that might be of interest to you:
Endangered Places Multimedia Map
Google Earth - Global Warming Prediction Files

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EduFire Flashcards - SAT Prep and More

EduFire is a tutoring service offering live video lessons. I didn't give EduFire much of a look in the past because it does charge students for the video lessons. I just took another look at EduFire and noticed that they do have a good selection of flashcards that students can access for free. There are many decks of flashcards designed for SAT and other standardized test preparation. Students can also access flashcards designed for developing and practicing foreign language comprehension.

Applications for Education
The EduFire flashcards, like most online flashcards, provide students with instant feedback by which they can gauge their knowledge of a subject. The SAT prep flashcards are worth sharing with students who are taking the SAT this spring.

Here are some related resources that might be of interest to you:
Flashcard Flash - Search Engine for Flashcards
Flashcard DB
Study Stack
Quizlet

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Dealing With Slow Internet Connections

A slow Internet connection can be one of the most frustrating experiences you can have online. This is particularly true when you're trying to access websites that use large, slow-loading scripts. In today's episode of Tekzilla, you can learn how to optimize Firefox for an improved online experience when using a slow Internet connection. The video is embedded below.



Applications for Education
If your lesson plan calls for students to use a website that uses large, slow-loading scripts, this little tip from Tekzilla may help to reduce the chances of you and your students having a frustrating experience.

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The Day the Water Died

Today is the 20th anniversary of Exxon Valdez oil spill. A few years ago the Sierra Club produced a film about the short and long term effects of the oil spill. The film is called The Day the Water Died. I have embedded the YouTube version of the video below.


Applications for Education
While there is an obvious bias to the film, it still does a very good job of exploring the environmental and economic effects of the oil spill.

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Science Links You Might Have Missed

This is the third installment of my "Links You Might Have Missed" series. The previous two installments of this series highlighted Math and Geography resources. Today, I'm highlighting some of the more popular science resources on Free Technology for Teachers. There are more than 100 science related resources in the archives, list includes only ten of those resources.

Forces of Nature (blog review) (direct link)

Pest World for Kids (blog review) (direct link)

Lesson Plans from the Department of Energy (blog review) (direct link)

Science Buddies (blog review) (direct link)

Understanding the Water Cycle (blog review) (direct link)

Who Wants to be a Science Millionaire? (blog review) (direct link)

Periodic Table of Videos (blog review) (direct link)

Wild Sanctuary - Hear the Sounds of Nature (blog review) (direct link)

Phun Physics Simulator (blog review) (direct link)

Atlas of Our Changing Environment (blog review) (direct link)

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