Because books are perhaps the best educational technology around, I thought I’d share some good reads related to Mars. Comments below:
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August 3, 2008
Mars Books
August 2, 2008
Way to go iClicker!
In an earlier posting I discussed some less than optimal packaging with a recent order of iClickers. We’re very happy with the clickers themselves, btw (which is also in the earlier posting). A glitch with my blog comment notifications caused a great response from the Director of iClicker to sit in moderation for quite a while. My apologies for that. It’s since been fixed.
I wanted to highlight Renee’s response here. Since the posting, I was also contacted by one of the iClicker creators about an idea I’d posted on a list serve about making analyzing data gathered via iClickers easier. We had a great conversation, and they are exploring adding some additional features to make analysis more seamless.
Thanks for being so responsive and committed to sustainability! I’m impressed.
Mars Phoenix converts a Twitter skeptic
I’ve been very skeptical about educational uses of Twitter, but I have to admit that a little lander on Mars has changed my mind. This fall I’m teaching a course for non-science majors that centers around exploring the physics, chemistry, and geology surrounding a manned space mission to Mars. When I found out the Mars Phoenix Lander was providing mission updates via Twitter, I decided to take the plunge.
The lander (through a ghost writer) sends out tweets, sometimes several times a day, with mission updates which I follow through Twitterific (screen shot below).
One of the objectives for the course is for students to get a real sense of the scale, terrain, and environment of Mars. That’s not something that gets accomplished through a single lesson. Having the students subscribe via Twitterific or text message updates (I haven’t sprung for the extra $ to get into that) seems like a great, subversive way, to weave Mars into the daily lives of students. Phoenix “tweets” have often led me on a curious quest for more info, and I’m hoping it will do the same for students.
I was psyched to learn that the mission had been extended (through a tweet, of course) to the end of September, so I can use this for at least part of the upcoming semester. Here’s just one example (of many) of a great pointer from Phoenix, which can be used to address common misconceptions about the cause of the seasons.
Clipped from JPL site. See http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/phoenix/images.php?fileID=15091 for full story.
Oh yeah, here’s a link to the famous Private Universe video showing interviews with Harvard grads that demonstrates just how tenacious this misconception can be.
If Twitter can help, I’m in!
Campus Technology Award
Our project using Google Earth to connect Boston, NY, and Greenville in Lloyd Benson’s Urban History class won an Annual Campus Technology Award. Check it out!
Here’s a little bit more info on the project that I put together for a NITLE conference this spring.
It’s amazing how quickly things change. Picasa and Flickr now automatically put geocoded images on the map. For Flickr you have to make sure this is set to ‘yes’ in the privacy and permissions section of your profile.
Here’s an example of an image in Picasa that is automatically placed on the map. I took it with an iPAQ with built-in GPS. I almost walked right through the web when getting out of my car. That would have been interesting! It reminds me of the time I put my kayak on my head to carry it, and a big spider that had set up camp started falling towards my face. I closed my mouth just in time!
