Clearly there is something mesmerizing and delightful about anything that has to do with fractals (at least, that’s what I think). This fractal tree generator is a wonderful way to explore fractal designs.
Original link. Thanks to @GabrielleNYC for sharing with me!
I never get tired of watching these animations of cellular processes. I’ve linked to an earlier animation several years ago (music version; narrated version), and as amazing as that was, it just keeps getting better.
To see a really nice quality of this animation, go here.
If you care about something, you want other people to know about it. This means that the way you present your information is important because it can mean the difference between true communication occurring and boredom or confusion. Unfortunately, many presentations (especially at conferences) fail miserably at this task. If you think your content is important, you need to pay attention not only to what you talk about but how you do it.
Many people think that Powerpoint (or Keynote) presentations assist in communicating ideas and facts. It’s true that visual information that accompanies oral presentations can help — but it has to be done well!
Here’s a youtube video of how NOT to use Powerpoint.
And here’s a slide show that shows how creative visuals can supplement (not compete) with the speaker’s words. Ideas and information will be better retained when this kind of dual presentation is employed.
The creator and presenter of this slide show, Beck Tench, works for the NC Museum of Life and Sciences. Follow her on Twitter at @10ch
Here are some great science links that I was told about today from the Science Online 2010 conference (being held in Durham, NC this weekend).
Fold It: Contribute to science research by playing protein folding games (very cool)
Science for Citizens: the source for science you can do
Mindmeister: Real-time Brainstorming
A bit of humor: The Soul Storage Company
Routes (lots here, but this link takes you to “Sneeze” game… you may get infected)
More later! You can follow the conference online by following the #scio10 hashtag on Twitter. Also, live streaming here. All sessions will be up on YouTube later. I’ll provide the link once they are up.
Chris Heard has put together two screencasts demonstrating how to setup and use your Mac to type in Hebrew. You might want to be sure you have the unicode SBL Hebrew font installed before you watch the videos. The font is available free for download here. Be sure to also download the keyboard driver and PDF manual. You don’t need to use the SBL Hebrew keyboard drivers, but Chris does demonstrate them in the screencast. Thanks, Chris, for a great resource!
I just returned home from a couple of weeks on the road. While traveling, I put some new apps for my iPhone through their paces. Here are a few that I’ll be keeping.
I had my solid standbys with me too–iFlipr, Things, Library (syncs with my Delicious Library), Olive Tree, and of course Koi Pond. Koi Pond is absolutely mesmorizing for distressed children sitting next to you on an airplane. Don’t hand the phone over to the child, but hold it in your hand and get them to put their finger on the pond and wait for their reaction when the fish start to “nibble” their finger. Everyone in the plane will think you are a hero.
Below are links to material from my SBL session entitled, “Examining our Exams: What to include, exclude, and revisit for Biblical Language Exams.” These links have been added to my SBL 2009 Pedagogy page (link in toolbar above). A summary of my presentation, as well as links from other presenters will be added soon.
These materials are, of course, just samples and will continue to be refined. Leave a comment with a suggestion or description of what you do in your own classroom!
I’ve updated my SBL 2009 Pedagogy page with the following links from Taylor Halverson:
Taylor Halverson, Brigham Young University
Effective Uses of Discussion Forums for Biblical Studies Courses at a Distance (20 min)
Today I was one of the presenters in the following session:
22-201 Academic Teaching and Biblical Studies
11/22/2009 1:00 PM to 3:30 PM Room: Studio 9 – MR
Theme: Distance Learning: How to teach traditional topics in a non-traditional format
I’ve posted links to some of the resources mentioned in my portion of session below. An updated list (including material from the other presenters) will be kept on the SBL 2009 Pedagogy page of my blog. Check back again to find more material as we (the five presenters) update the links.
Online Tools:
A few of the tools mentioned by Brooke Lester:
Check his resource page for more links and tutorials to use these resources.