Social Networks Organize Political Revolutions. Can They Revolutionize Education?

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:44:22 +0000

Social networks such as Facebook allow people to stay connected or get connected with physically distant persons in ways not otherwise possible. Recent news from Iran exemplifies this concept in ways most of us probably had not imagined. Navid Mansourian works for Facebook and is an Iranian immigrant. He recently wrote a column posted on [...]

New Fedora-based Solution Offerings from Sun and its Partners

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:40:57 +0000

Mountainview, CA Sun has introduced two new solutions that combine the Fedora Repository and the Sun Open Archive Framework. Based on open source software and industry-standard hardware, the Sun Open Archive Framework controls costs, providing long-term sustainability and enabling you to future-proof your digital assets. Learn more: • Enterprise-Wide Digital Repository and Archive solution http://www.sun.com/storage/archive/oasolutions.jsp#2 • Research and BioScience [...]

Cutest Lynx kitten *ever*

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 16:12:58 +0000

Well, I bet they’re all that cute. But I don’t care how big and manly you are, you know you’re moved to scritch it behind the ears and say “who’s a cute little kitty? That’s right, you’re a cute little kitty. Waschawhaschawhuh.” From the original article at National Geographic. June 29, 2009—The discovery of ten lynx [...]

Fedora Repository 3.2.1 Now Available

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:36:56 +0000

Ithaca, NY The current release of Fedora Repository is 3.2.1 is a minor upgrade that addresses a security issue discovered in Fedora 3.2.  If you are running Fedora 3.2, please see Upgrading from 3.x. If you are running Fedora 2.x, see Upgrading from 2.x. Full release notes are available here: http://www.fedora-commons.org/confluence/display/FCR30/Fedora+Repository+3.1+Release+Notes Although Fedora 3.2.1 is a minor [...]

Polar News and Notes: June 2009 News Roundup

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 06:00:42 +0000

News from the polar regions during June included reconstructions of past climates and carbon dioxide levels, changes in the Greenland ice sheet, and impacts of climate change on Arctic people and mammals. Missed these stories the first time around? Read on! Researchers analyzing plankton shells have reconstructed carbon dioxide levels over the past 2.1 million years. [...]

Reading and Writing Mathematics

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 17:13:45 +0000

Reading the math textbook or handouts or extended response problems presents built-in challenges. The vocabulary of mathematics can be confusing, with some words meaning one thing in a mathematical context and another in everyday settings. Symbols can look alike, and different symbols can represent the same operation (for example, *, x, and • for multiplication). [...]

Welcome to the Community Corner

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:58:52 +0000

Here’s the quick update so far on the 2009 NSDL Annual Meeting. The planning committee has begun meeting to talk about how we can streamline the meeting given our short timeline, yet meet the needs of the community as expressed through the 2008 meeting survey. The RC is working on a contract with a DC [...]

Even Historical Sites Can Be Dealt a Blow When Glaciers Retreat

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:31:54 +0000

One of the trading routes that collectively made up the famed Silk Road of ancient times is under threat from melting glaciers in nearby mountains. The Hexi corridor in Gansu province, China, now experiencing regional floods, will not be the only ancient site endangered by glaciers according to researchers into global warming. According to an [...]

Globalwarmingkids.net Features Online Books from NSDL’s Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears eZine

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:45:52 +0000

Global Warming Kids draws millions of young people from across the U.S. and around the world who enjoy exploring this lively and engaging Web site. The project is part of Climate Change Education.Org (CCE) where volunteers from science museums as well as students, staff and scientists at the University of California, Berkeley provide the people [...]

Developing Vocabulary in Middle School Science

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 15:08:22 +0000

Science, like other disciplines, has a specialized vocabulary, encompassing both terms that represent scientific concepts and those that describe process skills. Although science education focuses on inquiry and hands-on experiences, current research shows that teachers must also help students develop vocabulary to be successful in both the content and methods of science. However, this is often [...]

REMINDER: You are Invited to Attend Weekly Fedora Commons Committer Meetings

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 14:28:14 +0000

Ithaca, NY  Fedora Commons repository committer meetings are held every Tuesday at 10am EDT (US). Everyone is invited to call in and participate in these meetings.  If you are interested in attending this week’s meeting, or future meetings please visit: https://fedora-commons.org/confluence/display/FCREPO/Meeting+Notes Prior to the meeting each week, this page is updated with a link for the agenda/notes [...]

Greenland Science Seminar

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 06:00:10 +0000

Register for a free, real-time event about science being conducted in Greenland on July 8, 2009! This special seminar is part of the Greenland Education Tour 09′, a group of educators and students from Greenland, Denmark and the United States, touring Greenland to learn more about the science being conducted in this unique polar region. The [...]

CALL: “Beyond the Repository Fringe” 2009

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:15:12 +0000

Edinburgh, UK Sponsored by JISC, the “Beyond the Repository Fringe 2009″ event will be hosted by the University of Edinburgh July 30-31 2009 with support from the Digital Curation Centre, the School of Informatics, EDINA, and Information Services, as well as UKOLN and EPrints. This year the Repository Fringe organisers aim to draw on and showcase [...]

Hands-on Science Sunday: Ticker-tape timer for measuring motion

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 21:03:40 +0000

A pretty standard lab for introductory physics is to chart what constant speed (or constant acceleration) looks like, and graph it versus time. There are all different ways to do this, but one is to use a ticker-tape timer, which I think is wonderfully cool. The idea is to attach a piece of [...]

Glaciers Gave Rise to One Big Ice Sheet in Antarctica

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 14:34:15 +0000

More than 34 million years ago, glaciers were creating the Gamburtsev mountains in Antarctica as well as the ice sheet that now covers the continent. Radar images suggest to an international team that glaciers expanded, retracted, and flowed downstream, creating high altitude hollows, or cirques, hanging valleys, and the main valley through the mountain range, [...]