-The age old question: what will I use math for?
“Physicist Geoffrey West has found that simple, mathematical laws govern the properties of cities — that wealth, crime rate, walking speed and many other aspects of a city can be deduced from a single number: the city’s population. In this mind-bending talk from TEDGlobal he shows how it works and how similar laws hold for organisms and corporations.” [Note: PG-13 language]
-A cool idea and possibly easy way for students to get connected to this one
“For the millions who live in the shantytowns of the developing world, there are better things to spend money on than electricity. But many corrugated-iron-roofed shacks, like the ones seen throughout the poorer neighborhoods of Manila, Philippines, lack windows to let in natural light, leaving residents the choice of complete darkness or running expensive electric bulbs all day. However, a new development project called Liter of Light aims to solve that predicament through an unexpected and highly affordable technology: old soda bottles.” CONTINUE TO FULL ARTICLE
-Is there such a thing as “safe” social networking? If so, is it REALLY useful to the classroom environment?
“This school year, the students in Robert A. Miller’s 5th grade class at Port Orange Elementary School in Florida have been chatting with historical figures. They’ve given Thomas Jefferson advice on how to write the Declaration of Independence and touched base with Benjamin Franklin…” CONTINUE TO FULL ARTICLE
-Here’s how one school connects students with local scientists to do real-live field work.
“As Falmouth Academy (Massachusetts) sophomores Dan Eder and Tyler Barron considered topics for research projects for their science fair last year, they read statistics indicating a high rate of Alzheimer’s disease on Cape Cod. They told their biology teacher, Alison Ament, they wanted to learn more about human memory. She put them in touch with Alan Kuzirian, a scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory down the road in the science community of Woods Hole…..” CONTINUE TO FULL ARTICLE
Link to FALMOUTH ACADEMY website
When Pooja Nath was an undergraduate at the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, an elite engineering school in India, she felt isolated. She was one of the few women on campus. While her male classmates collaborated on problem sets, Ms. Nath toiled in the computer lab alone…The experience as a young woman in that culture formed the foundation of her start-up in Silicon Valley, Piazza.
The EdFive is edited by Corbett Simons
The EdFive 