24 FEB 2014 by ideonexus

 MMO Players Use the Scientific Process

In MMOs, individuals collaborate to solve complex problems within the virtual world, such as figuring out what combination of individual skills, proficiencies, and equipment are necessary to conquer an in-game boss dragon in the example above. As part of developing efficient and effective solutions, players are customarily expected to research various game strategies and tactics by consulting on- and offline manuals, databases, and discussions, as well as by using such knowledge as the basis ...
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They hypothesize, collaborate, experiment and test their ideas in the virtual worlds to learn how they work.

25 JUL 2011 by ideonexus

 School Kills Scientific Inquiry

Again, in the customs and institutions of schools, academies, colleges, and similar bodies destined for the abode of learned men and the cultivation of learning, everything is found adverse to the progress of science. For the lectures and exercises there are so ordered that to think or speculate on anything out of the common way can hardly occur to any man. And if one or two have the boldness to use any liberty of judgment, they must undertake the task all by themselves; they can have no adva...
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The structure of curriculum is to set a path and provide no deviation from it, but deviation from the path is the stuff of scientific discovery.

28 MAY 2011 by ideonexus

 80 Percent of Americans Can't Read the NYT Science Section

One prominent researcher on the public understanding of science has even found that due to their failure to understand basic scientific terms or the nature of the scientific process, 80 percent of Americans can't read the New York Times science section.
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Due to scientific ignorance.

18 MAY 2011 by ideonexus

 Scooby Doo is a Show About Skeptics

A series called 'The X Files', which pays lip-service to sceptical examination of the paranormal, is skewed heavily towards the reality of alien abductions, strange powers and government complicity in covering up just about everything interesting. Almost never does the paranormal claim turn out to be a hoax or a psychological aberration or a misunderstanding of the natural world. Much closer to reality, as well as a much greater public service, would be an adult series ('Scooby Doo' does it f...
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It is the exact opposite of the X-Files.

Various notes taken from the conference session on science education with Stacy Baker's biology students:

  • Jack – into games, not many learning games out there. – homeVSschool technology use: what’s allowed in the different contexts, home is about socialization, school is about productivity, need to intersect the two. (Media needs to relate to him, technology, chemistry “New Social Network of Atoms Creates New Compounds”)
  • Michael – into vlogs, recording things on a research boat – students want hands-on activities, looking for internships, homeVschool: school tumbler account and home personal tumbler account to distinguish uses of productivity and socialization. PLoS was a great resource.
  • Carl – into Classroom blogs, likes tumbler sciokid.tumblr.com. Baker sends opportunities all the time and preparing for scio11. Was inspired by Baker showing him how people around the world were seeing her website
  • Paul – into wikis, allow students to express themselves, science online wiki, Proj: you have to put yourself out there, read newspapers and follow links to find things, NYT and Wired, (Interest: be interesting enough and esoteric as well, be terse without complicated jargon)
  • Naseem– into science literacy, how media , nature blog (Adult readers) rely on word of mouth for students to find the blog
  • Samantha – encourage more student blogs, students communicate at  a level appropriate to other students, Green Science, global warming, (What about Adult readers) adults can still read her blog, but she is targeting her
  • Alexandra – believer in personalizing education, more into humanities, used podcasts and youtube, youtube.com/vlogbrothers, - teenagers want to feel like they are doing something, they want to participate and contribute. homeVSschool: the more competitive college search gets, the more she uses her laptop at home for educational purposes, looking for opportunities to improve chances of getting into colleges, MSNBC, Google News for facts, This Week in Tech Podcast, Relatability (how something relates to me) is important for having something catch her eye, Carl Zimmer cut to the chase about Duck Mating by calling it Duck Sex
  • Justin – blogging, using blogs in a variety of ways in science learning, frogs with the citric fungal disease and blogged it
  • Rachel Ward – chemistry teacher, using online tools to make the classroom a more exciting place
  • I’m A Scientist, Get Me Out of Here: imascientist.org.uk, website where students chat with scientsts and vote for their favorites, least votes get evicted, connected students in remote areas to scientists around the world, allows quieter students to participate more in class discussions, what about when scientists give wrong answers (they should say “I don’t know”), why isn’t there a USA version of this? (Kiome Jarrets: People need to complain. State by state engagement)
  • Shanahan – research online science communication, science education professor, works to get students interested in science, reduce their fear, arsenic life story, had students choose a blog and follow it for a month and write a book report on what the blog was about and a lesson sequence for future classes on the blog, students found science blogs were interesting, easy to understand, students used blog the same way they used books and magazine-no engagement no using comments, need bloggers who will give students an interactive experience,
  • Audience Comment: everone is trying to find balance between professional and personal technology use, separating and integrating.