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advertisements geography and global resources human rights media popular culture Science resources sociology websites

Webby Award winners – the best of the web

Some good resources for media, art, photography, graphic design, popular culture, business studies, social sciences….

The 18th Annual Webby Awards
The Oscars of the online world have now been announced – chosen by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences. Categories include web, online film & video, interactive advertising & media, mobile & apps and social. A Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Lawrence Lessig, co-founder of Creative Commons and staunch advocate of the open, collaborative web.
http://www.webbyawards.com/
All the winners & nominees: http://webbyawards.com/winners/2014

Winners include:
Education: Coursera
Health: WebMD
Science: Nautilus
Cultural institutions: The Second World War in 100 objects
Social media: Vine (create and share beautiful looping videos)
Social media campaign: The Melbourne remote control tourist (yay Australia!)
Public service and activism: The internet must go (John Wooley)
Experimental and innovation: D-Day: as it happens
Activism: change.org
Art: Artsy
Travel: Airbnb
Best online commercial: The epic split (Jean-Claude van Damme and the Volvo trucks)
Best use of video: The Serengeti lion (National Geographic)
Best photography and graphics: GoPro
Best use of photography: Graffiti General
Best use of animation: The art of noise
Best user experience: Medium (everyone’s stories and ideas)
Reality: Google+ same sex marriage

Wow….gazillions of resources on the interwebs….and we’ve had access for maybe 18 or so years in schools. Remember the days before the web…where to next?

Categories
geography and global resources science fiction Science resources

How many things live on Earth?

RiAus

RiAus is Australia’s national science hub, promoting public awareness and understanding of science. Their email newsletter always has interesting user-friendly updates in the world of science: http://riaus.org.au/

 

“In 2011 the human population surpassed 7 billion people, but how does that compare to other animal species?

The combined population of our home planet is almost impossible to quantify. While the human population is in the billions, bacterial species measure in the quadrillion quadrillions!”

3 minute video: http://bit.ly/1ge4Jnc

Global Populations

RiAus have included some useful links:

Current World Population – Statistics from Worldometer

Population Fact Sheets – Fact sheets by United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs

How many people have ever lived on Earth – Article from the Population Reference Bureau

IUCN Red List of Threatened Species – Lists from International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources

Endangered Species Population Number – http://www.allaboutwildlife.com/endangered-species/endangered-species-population-numbers/3596

Farm Animal Populations Continue to Grow – Article from World Watch Institute

 

The science of Doctor Who

RiAUS are also presenting this fun & interactive stage show (BYOD) around Australia from April to June 2014. Investigate time travel and teleportation, discover how the Tardis can be bigger on the inside and find out if regeneration is really possible.

http://riaus.org.au/doctorwho/?utm_source=newsletter20140411&utm_medium=newsletter20140411&utm_campaign=newsletter20140411

The universes of Doctor Who: http://riaus.org.au/articles/universes-doctor/

Categories
geography and global resources human rights Science resources sociology

Climate, science & global poverty

Some interesting info for geography, science, global studies, sociology..…

State of the climate 2014 Report

Released 4 March, it is the third report produced by CSIRO & Aust. Bureau of Meteorology – a summary of observations of Australia’s climate and analysis of the factors that influence it. Chapters include: Heavy rainfall & tropical cyclones; Oceans; Future climate scenarios.

Fast facts: Aust’s climate has warmed by 0.9 degrees since 1910 & there is more extreme heat and fewer cool extremes. Extreme fire weather has increased and the fire season has lengthened across large parts of Aust. since the 1970s. Sea-level rise and ocean acidification will continue.

http://www.csiro.au/Outcomes/Climate/Understanding/State-of-the-Climate-2014.aspx

Video & info: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-03-04/climate-extremes-increasing-carbon-dioxide-levels-rise-report/5295876

 

Goodbye Scirus

Scirus, the science-specific search engine, has retired (Jan 2014). It was owned and operated by giant medical & scientific publishing company Elsevier (publisher of Lancet & Gray’s anatomy), which does have a reputation for very high subscription costs for universities & other institutions.

Elsevier still offers the ScienceDirect database which searches through thousands of journals and books. Many of the articles have a cost, but free open access full text articles can be found via Advanced search. Articles are suitable for university level and advanced senior high school students.

http://www.sciencedirect.com/

 

Global Citizen Tickets

This initiative of the Global Poverty Project tracks and rewards social activism that helps address poverty, by giving out free concert tickets. Fans can earn points for each online action taken (not fundraising) and go in the prize draw for tickets. Performers such as the John Butler Trio, Bernard Fanning, The Temper Trap, Gotye, Art vs Science, The Jezabels & Eskimo Joe have all donated tickets to their forthcoming concerts.

www.globalcitizen.org/tickets-au

Global Poverty Project is an international education and advocacy organization working towards the end of extreme poverty by 2030. Since launching in 2012, more than 250 000 Global Citizens have joined, taking more than 1.5 million actions.

http://www.globalpovertyproject.com/

 

Categories
Google music news popular culture Science resources sociology YouTube

Top Google and YouTube searches 2013

Google Zeitgeist 2013

Google processes 2 out of every 3 search requests on the internet – so what did the world search for in 2013?

Top 10 global trending searches of 2013

1. Nelson Mandela 2. Paul Walker 3. iPhone 5s 4. Cory Monteith 5. Harlem Shake 6. Boston Marathon 7. Royal Baby 8. Samsung Galaxy s4 9. PlayStation 4 10. North Korea

Cool video: http://www.google.com/trends/topcharts?zg=full

Top 100 searches picture gallery (good for a quiz):  http://www.google.com/trends/topcharts?zg=full

Google Trends Australia 2013

Most searched – Easter, Melbourne Cup, Movies…

People – Paul Walker, Cory Monteith, Nelson Mandela, Tony Abbott…. Athletes – Sonny Bill Williams, Federer, LeBron James…

Overseas destinations – Disneyland, Dubai, China, London…

What is….twerking, love, gluten… http://www.google.com/trends/topcharts?date=2013

YouTube Rewind 2013

Top videos 2013 (global) – Includes Volvo trucks with Van Damme; Harlem Shake (army); baby & me (Evian)… https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSTz8jpJdr5pn9LFw-pXbg0IOFy2Z_td_

Top videos Aust. 2013 – Ylvis the fox (What does the fox say?); How animals eat their food; YOLO (Adam Levine)…. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtrr-XW7pnGDOwdZ17JEGSFkOKdwRVQE2

Top music videos (global) – Psy; Miley; Katy; Pink… https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtrr-XW7pnGDUy4BaN4z62fL4aWAMtqd1

YouTubers star in a mashup of the year’s popular moments: https://www.youtube.com/user/theyearinreview

The 10 weirdest science stories of 2013

Dogs can tell left from right. Cats – they just don’t care. There are 10 smells – and popcorn is one. Compiled by the Aust. Science Media Centre, RiAus and CSIRO.

http://riaus.org.au/podcast/a-week-in-science-13-december-2013/

Categories
books literature popular culture Science resources

Best books of 2013

Some ideas for holiday reading….

Winners of the 2013 Goodreads Choice Awards

Looking for some good new books to read in the holidays? Check out this list just released by Goodreads, with nearly 2 million votes cast. 20 categories include sci-fi, fantasy, horror, historical fiction, non fiction, memoir & autobiography, graphic novels, picture books, young adult fiction…Something for everyone! http://www.goodreads.com/choiceawards/best-books-2013?utm_campaign=winners&utm_content=logo&utm_medium=email&utm_source=GRCA_2013

Or try Amazon Editors’ Best Books of 2013: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/browse/-/7728816011

Free ebook: The curious country

From the Office of the Chief Scientist. A collection of essays about the scientific issues affecting Australians today – health and wellbeing, cybercrime, life on other planets, food and water, energy…..Free download from ANU E Press.

http://www.chiefscientist.gov.au/2013/11/The-Curious-Country/

The bone season by Samantha Shannon

This paranormal fantasy book has received a lot of hype and yes there is a lot of info-dumping in the first 50 pages, but it is an intriguing, complex and exciting read. In 2059, many cities are under the control of a security force called Scion. Nineteen year old Paige Mahoney is a clairvoyant who works in the criminal underworld, scouting for information by breaking into the minds of people. When she is captured she is sent to Oxford – now a penal colony controlled by a supernatural race, and there she must become a soldier in their army. It is the first book in the series of 7 and the film rights have been sold.

“[A] dazzingly brainy, witty and bewitching tale of outrageous courage, heroic compassion, transcendent love, and the quest for freedom…the first in a thoughtful fantasy series by a brilliant young writer.” – Booklist http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-bone-season-samantha-shannon/1114205463?ean=9781620401392 http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17199504-the-bone-season

The tournament by Matthew Reilly

Reilly’s new historical mystery set in Constantinople. In 1546 Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, invites every king in Europe to send their finest player to compete in a chess tournament to determine the champion of the world. Accompanying the English delegation is young Bess, who narrates the story and witnesses events that will shape her character as the future Queen Elizabeth I. Murder, intrigue, Ivan the Terrible, Michelangelo…sounds intriguing and sure to be a page turner! But where is Scarecrow??

http://www.matthewreilly.com/the-novels/the-tournament

Reilly’s next releases in 2014 are a fantasy novella about trolls and a techno thriller set in China: http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/books/matthew-reilly-returns-with-the-tournament-20131108-2x6um.html

Reviews: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17611937-the-tournament

Review by Aust. author Jack Heath: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/759256355

 

Categories
geography and global resources Science resources websites

National Science Week

National Science Week is on 10 – 18 August – an annual celebration of science in Australia.
http://www.scienceweek.net.au/
Maybe it’s time to enter the national Sci-ku poetry competition with a short 3 line Haiku-style poem about science – this year with a statistics or mathematics theme: http://riaus.org.au/events/sciku/
We are having a Sci-ku writing competition for Science Week and Book Week at our college – after all Book Week has the universe theme! We are going to be flexible with syllables (usually 5,7,5).
Sci-ku examples: http://blog.mbl.edu/?p=1953

African clawed frogs
have flown on the space shuttle.
That’s one giant leap.
(Greg Early)

Some know the time by
looking at the sun. I can’t
make out the numbers
(A. Shalizi)

Good sites for science news:
Science Daily: Extensive science news http://www.sciencedaily.com/
Scirus: Use this science-specific search engine for science news, information, journal articles etc http://info.scirus.com/
CSIRO: Includes news, blogs, CSIROpedia http://www.csiro.au/en.aspx
ABC Science: News, TV and radio programs http://www.abc.net.au/science/
Royal Institution of Australia: A national science hub bringing science to the people  http://riaus.org.au/
Science Direct: Full text database of journal articles and book chapters http://www.sciencedirect.com/
Science, physics, technology: http://phys.org/
Science news and blogs: http://scienceblogs.com/
LiveScience: Science articles and news http://www.livescience.com/
Australian Popular Science: http://www.popsci.com.au/
How stuff works: http://www.howstuffworks.com/

eBizMBA: This site has rankings for many subject areas, based on Alexa Global Traffic Rank + other ranking tools. Intriguing! Find the most popular music sites, gadget sites, health sites, reference sites, most popular blogs etc  http://www.ebizmba.com/
15 most popular science websites for Aug. 2013: http://www.ebizmba.com/articles/science-websites

Since it’s also the International Year of Statistics, here are some interesting sites with info about world stats that would be useful for social science classes.  And without statistics, we would have to search the internet one page at a time! http://www.statistics2013.org/

Gapminder: for a fact-based world view
Stats, graphs, videos. Gapminder World shows the world’s most important trends.
http://www.gapminder.org/
Search for many indicators on the Data page eg. poverty, marriage, democracy, drought, working hours etc  Then visualise them in Gapminder World: http://www.gapminder.org/data/

Worldometers
Real time world stats – population, economics, environment, society and media, food, energy etc.  Great site!
http://www.worldometers.info/

NationMaster
Compares national statistics in graphical formats, using data from sources such as CIA World Factbook, UN, WHO, UNESCO, OECD etc Some of the data may be a bit dated but could be used as a starting point for more research.
http://www.nationmaster.com/index.php

IDB: International Database World Statistics
Choose countries and various demographic reports. Compare figures from past years and into the future.
http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/informationGateway.php

World stats in many categories: A great list of sites.
http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/doemoff/govinfo/intl/gov_intlstats.html

State of the climate in 2012
The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released their report on 6 August – an annual “checking on the pulse of the planet”.
http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/2013-08-07/climate-report-warns-extreme-weather-events-are-now-the-norm/1172262
The full report: http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/bams-state-of-the-climate/2012.php

Categories
ed tech Science resources websites

Good science resources

Total solar eclipse in Aust. Wed. 14 Nov 2012 (Cairns region)
The eclipse will begin 5.45am (Cairns Qld time) and finish 7.40am. Totality (when the moon completely covers the sun) will last about 2 minutes, starting at 6.38am. 
 
In Canberra:
Partial solar eclipse starts 7.10am. Maximum eclipse 8.04am. Ends 9.03am.
62% of the sun’s width will be covered.
Good animation of Canberra view & info about future Canberra solar eclipses: http://www.timeanddate.com/eclipse/in/australia/canberra
 
Several stars and planets will be visible during totality (near Cairns). There are an average 2.4 solar eclipses each year around the world. The next solar eclipse (an annular eclipse – moon is smaller and silhouetted against sun) will also pass over Aust. next year on 10 May 2013 – but we will have to wait until 23 July 2028 for the next total solar eclipse, which will pass over a large part of Aust. including Sydney.
 
Guide to the 2012 total solar eclipse – Clear & interesting info & pics; safety tips: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/11/07/3624663.htm#e
How often do solar eclipses occur? – Good article; map with years: http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/11/06/3624600.htm
Live streaming: http://www.ustream.tv/cairnseclipse2012
http://eclipsecairns.com/
 
NASA solar eclipse website: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/solar.html
Nov 2012 eclipse: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEmono/TSE2012/TSE2012.html
NASA eclipse website: http://eclipse.gsfc.nasa.gov/SEdecade/SEdecade2011.html
Paul Floyd’s astronomy and space website: http://nightskyonline.info/

Some interesting science resources:
 
100 useful websites for science teachers
A US focus but a comprehensive list for different levels.
http://www.forensicsciencetechnician.org/100-best-websites-for-science-teachers/
 
ScienceDaily
Amazing amounts of science! Latest research and findings – news, articles, videos, images, books. Click a topic and see all the resources on that topic. “ScienceDaily is best known for showcasing the top science news stories from the world’s leading universities and research organizations. These stories are selected from among dozens of press releases and other materials submitted to ScienceDaily every day, and then edited to ensure high quality and relevance”.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/
Includes strange science news: http://www.sciencedaily.com/news/strange_science/

Scirus: the search engine for scientific information only
“Scirus is the most comprehensive scientific research tool on the web. With over 545 million scientific items indexed at last count, it allows researchers to search for not only journal content but also scientists’ homepages, courseware, pre-print server material, patents and institutional repository and website information.” (from the home page).
The home page has a link to the latest scientific news from New Scientist. Not all articles found on Scirus will be full text.
http://www.scirus.com/
 
Ptable: An excellent interactive Table of Elements
iPAd app also available. Click on the element to reveal photos, videos, info.
http://www.ptable.com/
http://www.makeuseof.com/dir/web2mailcom-cool-periodic-table/
 
ABC Science
Lots of good resources here – Explore by topic, In depth features, Quizzes and games.
http://www.abc.net.au/science/
Ask an expert – Email your questions: http://www.abc.net.au/science/askanexpert/
News in science: http://www.abc.net.au/science/news/
Science archive – Browse by topic or date:
http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/archive/?site=science&subsite=news&section=2012
Videos: http://www.abc.net.au/science/video/
Dr Karl – Intriguing science facts and trivia: http://www.abc.net.au/science/drkarl/

CSIRO
Cutting edge research and info from Aust.’s top scientific organisation.
http://www.csiro.au/
CSIROpedia: Discoveries and innovations by CSIRO scientists and engineers. http://www.csiropedia.csiro.au/display/CSIROpedia/Home
Achievements A-Z: http://www.csiropedia.csiro.au/display/CSIROpedia/Achievements+A-Z
Achievements by impact area (eg. environment; farming; health): http://www.csiropedia.csiro.au/display/CSIROpedia/Achievements+by+impact+area
News @ CSIRO – Quick news & updates: http://csironewsblog.com/
CSIRO Publishing – excellent resources: http://www.publish.csiro.au/home.htm
Scienceimage – High quality science and nature images. Includes access to CSIRO’s database of film and video productions. “Every image held at the scienceimage site is supplied with a short caption, scientific notes, source and copyright information. This level of detail and dedication to scientific accuracy helps to make scienceimage one of the most valuable resources for scientific images online.”
http://www.scienceimage.csiro.au/