As social networking sites such as Facebook become more and more popular with students, school administration is having a difficult time defining if teachers and professors should be able to use Facebook. Some cite that it makes sense to go where students are, while opponents say that encroaching on students’ privacy can cause unforeseen consequences.
Some schools are creating lists of things that are acceptable for teachers on networking sites. Tolerable activities can include exchanging messages relating to the course or assignments, or creating a custom group for old classmates to reconnect. However, chatting about non-school subjects or ‘poking’ maybe frowned upon.
Circadian Clock Linked to Remembering What You Learned
0 Comments Published October 10th, 2008 in Uncategorized 
Stanford researchers find that the circadian rhythm which guides our daily routine from sleeping to waking might also be integral in learning retention. In an experiment with Siberian hamsters, researchers found that those hamsters with a disabled circadian rhythm did not recognize objects which they have previously encountered.
Until now, no research has linked the circadian clock to learning and memory. The change appears to be tied to a neurotransmitter called GABA. Implications from this study can be used to further research with Down syndrome and Alzheimer’s—both diseases react to GABA and GABA antagonists.
Now everyone from schools, libraries, publishers, and authors is embracing video games as the link to bring children to reading. Some books, such as PJ Haarsma’s “The Softwire: Virus on Orbis 1,” have accompanying video games which require knowledge from the novels to advance. Libraries inspired by new theories, such as how video games teach players to quickly absorb information and formulate strategies, now regularly hold competitions for popular games such as Super Smash Brothers Brawl and Dance Dance Revolution. Rick Riordan, a popular author, believes that games and books are alike in that gamers/readers are “looking to be dropped into an intriguing story and to become a character in the story.”
Some schools are giving away free Apple iPhones and internet-ready iPods to students. These universities could use these devices to send messages about classes, delays, crises, and even allow online research and instant polling in classes. And do not forget—hook a new generation of consumers to Apple products.
Like Duke University in 2004 which gave away free iPods to its incoming freshman class to foster effective use of new technology in higher education, universities such as University of Maryland, Oklahoma Christian University, Abilene Christian, and Freed-Hardeman hope that the iPhones and iPods will change the classroom for the better. However, some professors are balking at the possibility of students becoming distracted in class with the internet-capable devices and not participating.
Duke’s program evolved into the Duke Digital Initiative (DDI) and modified its program in 2005 to give only iPods to students enrolled in classes that use the device to enhance classroom materials. Students began from merely recording lectures into creating their own content and turning the passive learning environment into an active one. With time, these new programs with even more sophisticated devices will likely evolve into something that truly changes education.
British researchers found that students sending and receiving instant messages while completing assignments take longer but still understand what they are reading. In controlled experiments, the researchers found that students im-ing took roughly 50 percent more time to complete reading assignments but still performed the same on tests checking comprehension.
These results go against previously held notions that electronic media distractions negatively affect students’ performance. This study builds on the researchers’ previous study that found students who heavily used electronic media were more likely to become distracted while reading than avid book readers. The study will be presented in the 2008 annual meeting of the American Psychological Association.
The activation of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN should have already taken place by the time this article is published. Looks like the doomsayers were wrong that it would create a mini black hole that would consume the Earth.
It took $8 billion dollars, 13 years, and thousands of people to build, but wow is it a beautiful machine—a machine that will use 14 trillion volts of electricity to smash particles and see what the universe is made of and how it works.
Photos: Maximilien Brice, © CERN
Outraged at college textbooks costing hundreds of dollars? Now instead of illegally downloading MP3’s, some students are downloading scanned versions of the most popular textbooks. Examples include McMurry’s “Organic Chemistry” which retails for over $200 or the popular Stewart “Calculus” text; both are yours free at torrent download sites.
The problem has been less prevalent than ripping MP3’s due to the manual labor involved in scanning thousands of pages of text, but torrent downloads of texts are way up. This trend comes at an uneasy time for publishers which are just starting to implement subscription models for textbooks. Will hybridizing paper textbooks with rental online ebooks save the textbook publishers?
