Generation Earth

I just finished watching a BBC three-part series called Generation Earth.  It is available on Netflix.  It is about the ways humans have altered the planet. With stunning graphics it really shows you what we have done.  

It talks about the urbanization that has occurred in the last generation, the damming of rivers (all of this being impounded water has actually slowed the rotation of the earth).  It shows how we are utterly dependent on copper for all of our modern electrical devices.  I never thought about that.  It shows the biggest copper mine in the world which is in Utah.  What a giant hole in the earth.  There is only a tiny percent of copper ore in these limestone rocks, so they take out tons to get a little copper.

I recommend this series to everyone interested in human impact.  You can see a short video clip and a summary of the series on the BBC website.

Three Year Degrees?

I just heard a podcast from the NPR show Here & Now about the development of three-year degrees in the United States.  Some schools such as Florida State and Purdue are already putting these in place.  You can hear the audio on the Here and Now website.

They were talking about different aspects of doing this.  This is being pushed as a way to reduce student debt.  Student debt has become is a very serious situation for our country.  Students are coming out of college with a tremendous debt load.  We must do something about this situation.  I was able to leave college with essentially no debt.  I think I owed about $1,700.  A USA today article says "According to a government data analysis by financial aid experts at Edvisors, the class of 2014 graduated with an average student loan debt of $33,000. As the Wall Street Journal points out, “Even after adjusting for inflation, that’s nearly double the amount borrowers had to pay back 20 years ago.”

The podcast addresses several other issues such as the social factors:  Learning to live on your own, making friends, etc.  The interview points out that the British have had three-year degrees as the norm and the other countries in the EU are moving to this system.  What do you think?

Guns on Campus

Well now we have concealed carry on Texas public university campuses.  That just makes me feel great.  What happens if a student makes a bad grade?  Should I start packing heat and have a shootout with the student.

I will definitely vote against any house or senate candidate who voted for this.  I need to check and see how my house and senate member voted.  I do not feel that this will campuses safer!  Neither does the new UT system chancellor. 

Now how would I carry a concealed weapon on campus.  Maybe I could wear my lab coat all the time or start toting a "man bag".  Not sure.  Will have to give this some thought.  Here we are in the Wild West again in Texas!

Case Study in Science Education

This week I have been attending a workshop on using Case studies to teach science. This has taken place at the National Center for Case Study Teaching in Science at the University of Buffalo in Buffalo, NY-actually in a suburb of Buffalo.   We have learned a lot about applying this method. I see that it holds much promise for improving my teaching and goes right along with the University's Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP) which focuses on active learning.

Attending the workshop were college and high school science teachers from the USA, Canada, Qatar, and Singapore.  We each (or some in groups of two or three) prepared and presented a case study. Mine was on human anatomy. I recommend using this technique. I have made some use of it but now plan to use it more.

Another source is Science Case Network.

We also found time to go to Niagara Falls!