Several Lessons to Be Learned from the Finnish School System The Internet has been abuzz since the release of “What Makes Finnish Kids So Smart?” by Ellen Gamerman of the Wall Street Journal. In essence, Finland teens are able to deliver the goods on international tests and now American educators have begun researching the Finnish system to see what tidbits they can glean. According to Gamerman, the differences between Finland and American education are enormous. In other words, Finland educates its children with a model that is virtually the anti-thesis of what we do in America. Different Schools and Different Kids However, though school is different, it should be noted that Finnish youth appear to be very similar to their American counterparts in their teenage behaviors. At the same time, it must be noted that Finland as a country is nothing like America. The people are far more homogeneous in terms of both income and education. “That’s the reason for our present-day success,” Tuurala states. Photo of Finnish student by Ekurvine.
Japanese breakthrough will make wind power cheaper than nuclear NOTE: Some major wind projects like the proposed TWE Carbon Valley project in Wyoming are already pricing in significantly lower than coal power -- $80 per MWh for wind versus $90 per MWh for coal -- and that is without government subsidies using today's wind turbine technology. The International Clean Energy Analysis (ICEA) gateway estimates that the U.S. possesses 2.2 million km2 of high wind potential (Class 3-7 winds) — about 850,000 square miles of land that could yield high levels of wind energy. This makes the U.S. something of a Saudi Arabia for wind energy, ranked third in the world for total wind energy potential. The United States uses about 26.6 billion MWh's, so at the above rate we could satisfy a full one-third of our total annual energy needs. Now what if a breakthrough came along that potentially tripled the energy output of those turbines? You see where I'm going. Well, such a breakthrough has been made, and it's called the "wind lens." Editor's note: Want more info?
Science vs. Religion: 50 Famous Academics on God by Maria Popova Decoding divinity, or what the great intellectuals of our time have to say about science and spirituality. The dialogue between science and religion is among humanity’s oldest and most controversial, drawing each era’s greatest thinkers into some of history’s most heated debates. We’ve previously looked at a BBC documentary on the complex relationship between the two and 7 essential books on the psychology of faith. Today, we turn to a fantastic mashup of 50 famous academics — including Brain Pickings favorites Carl Sagan, Stephen Hawking, Oliver Sacks, Steven Pinker and Daniel Dennett — talking about spirituality and science, created by Jonathan Pararajasingham. I can’t believe the special stories that have been made up about our relationship to the universe at large, because they seem to be too simple, to connected, too local, too provincial. The speakers, in order of appearance: 1. via @kirstinbutler Donating = Loving Brain Pickings has a free weekly newsletter.
First universal quantum network prototype links two separate labs An article from Scientific American. Quantum technologies are the way of the future, but will that future ever arrive? Maybe so. Daniel Brunner/iStockphoto Networks based on single atoms, linked by the exchange of single photons, could form the basis of versatile quantum networks. The network is only a prototype, but if it can be refined and scaled up, it could form the basis of communication channels for relaying quantum information. Quantum bits, or qubits, are at the heart of quantum information technologies. Physicists have used all manner of quantum objects to store qubits—electrons, atomic nuclei, photons and so on. Because each node can perform a variety of functions—sending, receiving or storing quantum information—a network based on atoms in optical cavities could be scaled up simply by connecting more all-purpose nodes. The Nature podcast team discuss quantum networks with the researchers. That is where the optical cavity comes in.
How to Extract DNA from Anything Living First, you need to find something that contains DNA. Since DNA is the blueprint for life, everything living contains DNA. For this experiment, we like to use green split peas. But there are lots of other DNA sources too, such as: Spinach Chicken liver Strawberries Broccoli Certain sources of DNA should not be used, such as: Your family pet, Fido the dog Your little sister's big toe Bugs you caught in the yard Step 1: Blender Insanity! Put in a blender: 1/2 cup of split peas (100ml) 1/8 teaspoon table salt (less than 1ml) 1 cup cold water (200ml) Blend on high for 15 seconds. The blender separates the pea cells from each other, so you now have a really thin pea-cell soup. Step 2: Soapy Peas Pour your thin pea-cell soup through a strainer into another container (like a measuring cup). Add 2 tablespoons liquid detergent (about 30ml) and swirl to mix. Let the mixture sit for 5-10 minutes. Pour the mixture into test tubes or other small glass containers, each about 1/3 full. Why am I adding detergent?
10 Real Sea Creatures Lifted Directly from Your Nightmares Any fan of this site knows that the core of our mission statement is "Nature is terrifying and you should only leave the house if it's an emergency." But in the course of our relentless examination of horrifying insects and vicious predators, we have to say that consistently all of them pale in comparison to the stuff that lives in the water. The ocean is the earth's last frontier, and just as we always suspected, it's full of sea monsters. Like ... #10. The Fish That Looks Like the Predator io9.com Well, it has the Predator's mouth, anyway. The Featured CreatureIf reincarnation is real, this is what Nixon's coming back as. ... before its entire face opens up into a gaping sprawl of predatory terror. And no, we don't know why they are called that. Discovery"No, dude, totally, eat all my fries, I didn't pay for them or anything." #9. io9.com All The Sea"Zooplankton, again?" #8. mabusincarnate.com That monstrosity is called a northern stargazer. Wikipedia"Don't mention it. #7. #6. Wikipedia
Theories of Learning - Learning: Theory and Research Behaviorist teaching methods have proven most successful in areas where there is a “correct” response or easily memorized material. Background View of Knowledge View of Learning View of Motivation Implications for Teaching Background Methodological behaviorism began as a reaction against the introspective psychology that dominated the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Introspective psychologists such as Wilhelm Wundt maintained that the study of consciousness was the primary object of psychology. Their methodology was primarily introspective, relying heavily on first-person reports of sensations and the constituents of immediate experiences. The mentalistic problem can be avoided by going directly to the prior physical causes while bypassing intermediate feelings or states of mind. Radical behaviorists such as Skinner also made the ontological claim that facts about mental states are reducible to facts about behavioral dispositions. View of Knowledge
How to retain 90% of everything you learn Imagine if you had a bucket of water. And every time you attempted to fill the bucket, 90% of the water would leak out instantly. Every time, all you’d retain was a measly 10%. How many times would you keep filling the bucket? The answer is simple: just once. The first time you noticed the leak, you’d take action You’d either fix the bucket or you’d get another bucket, wouldn’t you? Yet that’s not at all the way we learn. That weird thing is that you’re wasting time. To summarize the numbers (which sometimes get cited differently) learners retain approximately: 90% of what they learn when they teach someone else/use immediately. 75% of what they learn when they practice what they learned. 50% of what they learn when engaged in a group discussion. 30% of what they learn when they see a demonstration. 20% of what they learn from audio-visual. 10% of what they learn when they’ve learned from reading. 5% of what they learn when they’ve learned from lecture. 5000bc now has a Waiting List.
EasyDefine - Define multiple words quickly PowerPoint Games Racing Games No preparation required, just have a sheet of vocabulary or review questions in your hand. Click a button on the screen and the car or horse moves one step closer to the finish line and victory. (Whole Class Participation Game) Download Car Race (Beach Rally) Download Horse Race | Instructions | Office 2007 Instructions | Video Tutorial | What is Louie Thinking (Pyramid Game Show) Similar to Pyramid Game. Download Guess Louie | Instructions | Office 2007 Instructions | Sample Game | Video Tutorial | March Mayhem - Basketball Great for the Basketball March Madness time of year. | View Video of Game | Purchase Game Now | Big Board Facts (Jeopardy Game Show) Similar to Jeopardy. Download Big Board Facts Download Big Board Facts with Answers Slide | Instructions | Office 2007 Instructions | Sample Game | Video Tutorial | Easter Bunny Road Race No preparation required, just have a sheet of vocabulary or review questions in your hand. Available from Premium Games Web Site. The Big Wheel
Classroom Architect Numbaland! The Leitner System Contents General Flashcard Information How Do I Create Flashcards on Cram.com? Using our site to create your very own flashcard sets is simple. First click on Create Flashcards. Now you can enter your flashcards. Creating Flashcards Manually: Simply type in the text for the front of your card then fill in the back of the card. Once all your cards are inputted click the ‘Create Set’ button to save your set. Using Import Options to Create a Set: Need to create lots of cards quickly, create cards from a spread, or import cards from another site? Import Using Google Docs: Select ‘From Google Docs’ under Import Options. How Can I Edit My Flashcard Sets? Sign in to your account. How Can I Delete a Flashcard Set? Sign in to your account. If you mistakenly deleted your set you will have 30 seconds to undo it or you may contact Customer Support to restore your deleted sets. How Can I Delete an Individual Flashcard? Sign in to your account. How Do I Search For Flashcards? What does "read" do?