Describing a photo 20 different connected ways I love examining a good image. As a trained geographer I always examine an image in 20 different yet connected ways. Sounds intense but it really is quick and can be an extended starter task or a collaborative task on the same image. I like this avenue best:) I'll do it in numbered points so you can see the level of depth to the thinking that can be applied to a single photo. 1. You can extend these even more by applying the question matrix to each of the 6 senses and vary the thinking required as a personalisation strategy. As you can see this links to our senses. This all applied to the NOW. 7. Thinking of a photo in these four ways is fascinating and gets students being creative and also reflective. 11. Add further strength to this and allows imaginations to run riot:) The next few are geography categorising skills but can really focus students into specifics of an image or get them thinking of likely or possible issues: 13. 16. 17. I like multiple coloured post it notes. 18. 19. 20.
Why Don't You Try This?: Scientists Use Sound Waves To Levitate, Manipulate Matter A team of researchers in Switzerland have developed a way of levitating and transporting small objects using nothing but sound. Using ultrasonic waves – that is, sound waves whose frequency is too high for humans to hear – scientists at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich have made water droplets, instant coffee crystals, styrofoam flakes, and a toothpick, among other objects, hang in midair, move along a plane, and interact with each other. It is the first time that scientists have been able to use sound to simultaneously levitate several objects next to each other and move them around. Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences describes how objects placed between two horizontal surfaces, the bottom one emitting high-pitched sound waves and the top one reflecting the waves back, can be levitated and manipulated. As anyone with a subwoofer and a teenager knows, sound waves exert pressure. Full Article Related:
25 maps that explain the English language English is the language of Shakespeare and the language of Chaucer. It’s spoken in dozens of countries around the world, from the United States to a tiny island named Tristan da Cunha. It reflects the influences of centuries of international exchange, including conquest and colonization, from the Vikings through the 21st century. 1) Where English comes from English, like more than 400 other languages, is part of the Indo-European language family, sharing common roots not just with German and French but with Russian, Hindi, Punjabi, and Persian. 2) Where Indo-European languages are spoken in Europe today Saying that English is Indo-European, though, doesn’t really narrow it down much. 3) The Anglo-Saxon migration Here’s how the English language got started: After Roman troops withdrew from Britain in the early 5th century, three Germanic peoples — the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes — moved in and established kingdoms. The next source of English was Old Norse. 7) The colonization of America
Train Rumbles Through Busy Thailand Market Food traders in Thailand have been filmed dodging trains that pass straight through their busy market. When the warning siren blares, traders have just three minutes to clear away their stalls and produce. Then, once the train has rumbled past, it is back to business for the fish and vegetable sellers in Mae Khrong, about 35 miles west of the Thai capital Bangkok. Eight trains pass through every day. "We have so little time (to move away from the tracks) but all the vendors can make it in time. We are used to it," said fishmonger Pailin Worakum. The market was originally behind the railway line but as it expanded, the vendors started spilling out over the tracks and their stalls now straddle a 500m stretch. It has become a popular sight with tourists who marvel at the traders' stall-clearing routine. Officials say there have been "no major accidents" since the railway market started.
Researchers Identify a New Form of Carbon: Grossly Warped 'Nanographene' Chemists at Boston College and Nagoya University in Japan have synthesized the first example of a new form of carbon. The new material consists of multiple identical pieces of “grossly warped graphene,” each containing exactly 80 carbon atoms joined together in a network of 26 rings, with 30 hydrogen atoms decorating the rim. Because they measure slightly more than a nanometer across, these individual molecules are referred to generically as “nanocarbons.” Credit: Nature Chemistry A team of researchers has identified a new form of carbon, a “grossly warped nanographene.” Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts – Chemists at Boston College and Nagoya University in Japan have synthesized the first example of a new form of carbon, the team reports in the most recent online edition of the journal Nature Chemistry. Until recently, scientists had identified only two forms of pure carbon: diamond and graphite. Graphene has been highly touted as a revolutionary material for nanoscale electronics.
Ed Resources Online - Home of the free Ed Resource Toolbar If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!  By using multi-media geography resources you can make geography lessons come alive as you virtually transport your students/children to places they’ve never been before.  Take your students on a virtual field trip through the fifty U.S. states with Awesome America, featuring: Amazing photographs and links to additional state resources (state symbols, facts, trivia, state parks etc). A great way to take a virtual field trip through the fifty states.Earthcam.com links to live video cameras throughout the world. Your kids can explore exotic sites around the world (as well as within the US) from your computer. My kids enjoyed viewing Times Square and the Osprey web cam. This site does require supervision as some of the cameras are located in areas you may not wish them to see.
World's oldest and stickiest lab study ready for drop of excitement | Science | The Observer In terms of output, Queensland University's pitch drop study – the world's oldest laboratory experiment – has been stunningly low. Only eight drops have emerged from the lump of pitch installed in the university's physics building foyer in 1927. Watching paint dry looks exhilarating by comparison. But excitement is now rising over the experiment, which was set up to calculate the viscosity of the world's stickiest substance, pitch, which has been found to be at least 230 billion times more viscous than water. "No one has actually seen a drop emerge, so it is getting quite nervy round here," said Mainstone. The fact that pitch – which is so brittle it can be smashed with a hammer – behaves like a fluid is the most surprising aspect of the experiment, added Mainstone.
40 maps that explain the world By Max Fisher By Max Fisher August 12, 2013 Maps can be a remarkably powerful tool for understanding the world and how it works, but they show only what you ask them to. So when we saw a post sweeping the Web titled "40 maps they didn't teach you in school," one of which happens to be a WorldViews original, I thought we might be able to contribute our own collection. [Additional read: How Ukraine became Ukraine and 40 more maps that explain the world] Click to enlarge. Silent Circle's latest app democratizes encryption. Governments won't be happy Courtesy of Silent Circle For the past few months, some of the world’s leading cryptographers have been keeping a closely guarded secret about a pioneering new invention. Today, they’ve decided it’s time to tell all. Ryan Gallagher is a journalist who reports on surveillance, security, and civil liberties. Follow Back in October, the startup tech firm Silent Circle ruffled governments’ feathers with a “surveillance-proof” smartphone app to allow people to make secure phone calls and send texts easily. “This has never been done before,” boasts Mike Janke, Silent Circle’s CEO. True, he’s a businessman with a product to sell—but I think he is right. The technology uses a sophisticated peer-to-peer encryption technique that allows users to send encrypted files of up to 60 megabytes through a “Silent Text” app. By design, Silent Circle’s server infrastructure stores minimal information about its users. The cryptographers behind this innovation may be the only ones who could have pulled it off.
The 1931 Histomap: The entire history of the world distilled into a single map/chart. The Vault is Slate's history blog. Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter @slatevault, and find us on Tumblr. Find out more about what this space is all about here. This “Histomap,” created by John B. Sparks, was first printed by Rand McNally in 1931. This giant, ambitious chart fit neatly with a trend in nonfiction book publishing of the 1920s and 1930s: the “outline,” in which large subjects (the history of the world! The 5-foot-long Histomap was sold for $1 and folded into a green cover, which featured endorsements from historians and reviewers. the actual picture of the march of civilization, from the mud huts of the ancients thru the monarchistic glamour of the middle ages to the living panorama of life in present day America. The chart emphasizes domination, using color to show how the power of various “peoples” (a quasi-racial understanding of the nature of human groups, quite popular at the time) evolved throughout history.
Touchable Holograms To Our Faithful Current.com Users: Current's run has ended after eight exciting years on air and online. The Current TV staff has appreciated your interest, support, participation and unflagging loyalty over the years. Your contributions helped make Current.com a vibrant place for discussing thousands of interesting stories, and your continued viewership motivated us to keep innovating and find new ways to reflect the voice of the people. We now welcome the on-air and digital presence of Al Jazeera America, a new news network committed to reporting on and investigating real stories affecting the lives of everyday Americans in every corner of the country. You can keep up with what's new on Al Jazeera America and see this new brand of journalism for yourself at Thank you for inspiring and challenging us. – The Current TV Staff
UK storms: Before and after 7 January 2014Last updated at 08:59 ET Stormy weather has wreaked havoc across the UK. A combination of high winds, rain and strong waves have battered the coastline and also caused flooding further inland. Here, a landmark rock arch in Porthcothan Bay in Cornwall, has been reduced to rubble. In Portland, Dorset, a rock stack off the coast, known locally as Pom Pom rock, has been washed away. In Portreath, in Cornwall, a section of the finger pier and harbour wall has been damaged by the waves. Flooding in the Somerset Levels has left villages cut off and roads and buildings damaged. Aberystwyth promenade was evacuated again on Monday night as the coast was hit by an 'exceptional' wave swell.
Underwater Photos That Mimic the Look of Baroque Paintings Hawaii-based photographer Christy Lee Rogers specializes in creating dreamlike photos of people underwater. Her project Reckless Unbound shows people swirling around one another while wearing colorful outfits. The photos are reminiscent of the paintings of old Baroque masters, who would often paint people floating around in heavenly realms. Rogers creates her photos in swimming pools at night. The scenes are illuminated with bright off-camera lights, and the shoots often last two to four hours each. GUP Magazine writes, Christy Lee Rogers reshapes the boundaries between contemporary photography and painting, with her series Reckless Unbound. You can see more of her work over on her website. Reckless Unbound by Christy Lee Rogers (via My Modern Met) Image credits: Photographs by Christy Lee Rogers
How do you stop flooding? 29 January 2014Last updated at 05:15 ET With parts of the UK continuing to suffer the aftermath of the most severe winter floods in years, attention has focused on how flooding can be prevented or alleviated. Here are some of the main methods and principles in use. The Somerset Levels have been flooded for several weeks Dredging Farmers in Somerset claim a lack of river dredging has worsened the impact of the flooding in the area in recent weeks. But the issue of whether rivers should be dredged is not clear cut. The Environment Agency says that while dredging can improve general land drainage, it cannot prevent rivers from flooding, due to the huge volumes of water involved during major floods. The basic aim of dredging is to remove silt - a sedimentary material made of fine sand, clay and small-sized particles of rock - from the river's bed, therefore increasing its capacity to carry water downstream. Flood barriers Metal frame barriers in use at Bewdley in Worcestershire Sustainable drainage