Week 7 Module

1. Explain: What new learning have you taken from this module?

Image taken from "Inuit Observations
of Climate Change"

I really enjoyed watching the video “Inuit Observations of Climate Change”. In part of the video they were talking about how researches talk to the women about the fat content of animals. I had never thought about that relationship before. The women have hands on experiences with how the animals have changes over the years. What a wealth of information, I am happy to hear that researches are writing the information down!

The video “Seeing Stars” was very educational for me. I had no idea astronomers where measuring the wobble of stars. It really is amazing what science can do these days. Many times when I watch videos like this I am reminded of science fiction from when I was a child, scientists were looking for other planets to colonize.

2. Extend: How can/will you use this week’s resources and/or others in your community in your lessons?

The video clip “Life Before Oxygen” will work great in my life science class in a few weeks. We will be talking about photosynthesis and how important it is to have plants to balance out the animals on the planet. This video really shows how different our atmosphere would be if we didn’t have plants. It is also a great reminder to us about how important it is that we keep a health plant population on the planet.

I am currently teaching astronomy in one of my Earth science classes. I will be showing my students the video “The Elements: Forded in Stars”. I really like how the explanations in the video and brought down to a level my students can understand. The graphics and simple, but really do a good job at giving students visuals. I personally enjoyed how they went between the two scientists telling the story. It made it more enjoyable to watch.

3. Evaluate: How useful, insightful or relevant are this module’s information and resources for you?

I will be showing the video “La’ona DeWilde: Environmental Biologist” in my classes. I really like this video for many reasons. It is really nice to show my students what kind of job you can have with a science degree, and the fact that it is a native woman who has the degree and job is wonderful. It is always great to show my students role models. Many of them don’t think it is possible for them to leave the village and go off to college. Here is a great example of a woman who did that.

Image taken from "Global Warming:
Carbon Dioxide and the Greenhouse Effect"

I used the video “Global Warming: Carbon Dioxide and the Greenhouse Effect” in my Earth science class about three weeks ago. The students really enjoyed watching it. What an amazing visual. Even I was surprised the first time I saw the video. I did not know that carbon dioxide would have that dramatic of an effect on infrared radiation. This demonstration really puts greenhouse gasses in perspective. 

3 Colleagues

On “Esther Gust’ Explore Alaska” page she talks about how easy it is to make the cultural connection when you live in a village on the ocean. I totally agree with this. It is very easy to understand how important the ocean is when your students rely on it for food.

On the “Science Explorations” page Alicia mentioned how she finds it interesting that the pollution from other places comes to Alaska. I also found that interesting, and very sad. When I was younger I thought of Alaska as a pristine place that was untouched by pollution.

On his site “Doug’s Explore Alaska Blog” he mentioned how useful Google Earth weather layer will be in his earth science class. I also have been using Google Earth in my classes. It is such a great toool, and I love the layers you can get.