ExploreLearning News

Intellectual Stimulation Slows Aging Process

When our brains aren't stimulated, i.e., when we are bored, it often feels like time slows down; however, recent studies with dogs suggest that lack of mental stimulation actually speeds up the aging process.

From the New York Times (registration required):

Old beagles, like old humans, act younger and smarter when they get the right diet and plenty of intellectual stimulation. A report published in the January issue of Neurobiology of Aging found that a diet rich in antioxidants combined with a stimulating environment slowed the canine aging process.

So now if one of your students complains that math is too difficult, you can tell them that doing math problems (and eating healthy) just might make them live longer.

Man Bites Dog and Kids Ask for Homework!

Talk about a "Man Bites Dog" headline, this is one of the best testimonials for ExploreLearning we've ever come across. Science teacher Linda Canobbio of Monroe Township Public Schools in New Jersey writes,

The kids worked on the module today on cell division. They were so engaged and quiet that I had to check for their pulses!

And, get this, the Linda's students are asking for Gizmo homework!

We are expecting a big snow storm this weekend and the kids asked if they could work on Gizmos at home and on Monday if we don't have school. What! They are asking to do homework !?! Love it, love it, love it.

We love it, too, Linda. Thanks so much for letting us know about your students' enthusiasm for the Gizmos. It doesn't get any better than that.

Meanwhile, Linda's story stands in sharp contrast to this one:

A suburban Milwaukee teen and his dad are suing the boy's math teacher for assigning homework to be done over summer vacation.

They are seeking to bar homework assignments over the summer.

No doubt, homework is a tough sell with students. That's what makes Linda's experience in Monroe Township so inspiring for all of us here at ExploreLearnng World Headquarters.

Can math predict the worst day?

January 24. Monday. Can this really be the worst day of the year? A British psychologist has developed a mathematical formula to predict the worst day for people.

y = [(W + (d-d)) * TQ]/(M * NA)

What do you think of the formula? What are all those variables? Do you think the feelings of people can be predicted from equations?

Now I'm heading off to the dentist. Can you predict how I feel?

New Science Exploration Guides

Yesterday, we posted a whopping 28 new Exploration Guides and sets of Assessment Questions to our site! These accompany some of our newest and best science Gizmos (listed below).

In fact, this was a bit of a landmark here, as this wraps up our latest round of development of 75 brand-new science Gizmos and associated curriculum material.

To check out the new Gizmos, Exploration Guides, and assessment questions, use the links below.

• Additive Color v2
• Cell Division
• Cell Energy Cycle
• Cell Structure
• Coastal Winds and Clouds
• Earthquake - Determination of Epicenter
• Greenhouse Effect
• Household Energy Usage
• H-R Diagram
• Human Karyotyping
• Hurricane Motion
• Identifying Nutrients
• Laser Reflection
• Mystery Powder Analysis
• Natural Selection
• Plate Tectonics
• Pollination: Flower to Fruit
• Rabbit Population by Season
• Rainfall and Bird Beaks
• Rock Classification
• Rock Cycle
• Solar System Explorer
• Subtractive Color v2
• Vectors
• Virus Life Cycle (Lytic)
• Water Cycle
• Water Pollution
• Weather Maps

Huygens on Titan

As I child I was stuck to the television as I watched the first landing on our moon. Today the Huygens probe has successfully (hopefully) landed on Titan, a moon of Saturn. Science is amazing.

Links of interest:

http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/history/apollo/
http://saturn.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.cfm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4175099.stm
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/space/01/14/huygens.titan/index.html

ExploreLearning Goes Back To School!

Two members of our ExploreLearning team recently went back to school to talk with a group of 11th grade Computer Mathematics students — all members of the Blue Ridge Virtual Governor's School. The students, from four different high schools, are not only learning their first programming language (Visual Basic), but are also learning how to use technology to solve problems and to work with others across physical distance.  The discussion, led by Paul Cholmsky (Director of Product Design and Analysis) and Margarita Figueroa (System Administrator Extraordinaire), focused on ExploreLearning Gizmos and what happens behind the scenes to turn an idea into a design, and a design into a new Gizmo, a Gizmo that (we hope!) will make its way into classrooms across the world. Here are some discussion board postings from the group about what they learned from the presentation (the teacher was kind enough to share the feedback with us):

… think it's neat that they're using technology to help out all the visual and kinesthetic learners of the world understand subjects that are otherwise difficult (at least for me — math and science isn't really my thing). Good job guys.…

… I think that the most interesting thing about our field trip yesterday was the gizmos. It was really interesting that a small group of 15 people could make so many useful tools to help people learn certain topics. The gizmos made something complicated, such as tides, seem incredibly easy, and it was neat how they allowed the user to interact (with the topic).…

… I actually thought the presentation was interesting, especially seeing how they took a complicated concept and made it into an easy-to-understand program.…

… I'd say that the most interesting thing that I... well, realized, as opposed to learned, was that static images do make learning hard. Trying to learn some science concepts (DNA, etc.) from the textbook last year was murder because you couldn't have a moving image in your head. It would make sense that a company would move in to fill this niche.…

… I thought the most interesting thing I learned from the presenters was that they started their own business from scratch, and now they have more customers every day, even though they still have the same amount of employees working. People from all over combined their ideas and formed their business from scratch. I think that's pretty impressive.…

Thanks for the feedback! We enjoyed giving the presentation and demonstrating some of our Gizmos.

U.S. College Matriculation: Sobering Stat

This isn't the kind of news one likes to start the new year off with. In an op-ed in the LA Times, Richard Lee Colvin, director of the Hechinger Institute on Education and the Media, writes,

Nearly six in 10 high school graduates in 2005 will start college in the fall, but half of them — and more than two-thirds of the African American and Latino students who enroll — will fail to earn either an associate's or bachelor's degree.

While this is sobering and troubling news, the situation is far from hopeless. Read what Colvin advocates as potential solutions.

Ten-year-old's Earth Science Knowledge Saves Family

In yet another example of how what we teach and learn in science and math classes has "meaning" in the real world, comes this story of Tilly Smith:

A British girl aged ten saved 100 tourists from the tsunami — thanks to a geography lesson.
Tilly Smith, who studied the huge waves in school two weeks before Christmas, realised a Thai beach was about to be swamped when the tide shot out (The Sun).

Tilly's family, from Surrey, England, was enjoying a day at Maikhao Beach last Sunday when the sea rushed out and began to bubble.

The adults were curious, but Tilly froze in horror.

"Mummy, we must get off the beach now!" she told her mother. "I think there's going to be a tsunami."

The adults didn't understand until Tilly added the magic words: "A tidal wave."

Her warning spread like wildfire. Within seconds, the beach was deserted — and it turned out to be one of the only places along the shores of Phuket where no one was killed or seriously injured (NY Post).

What an amazing story!