I came across this wonderful video which gives the scientific answer to this question. Which has more potential- A child’s brain or the internet? You can find out for yourself by watching “BRAIN POWER: From Neurons to Networks.” You will actually build more connections in your brain by watching the video, because you will be learning something new!
Interesting facts about the brain:
* A child is born with 100 billion neurons.
* The Internet has 100 trillion links.
* An adult’s brain has 300 trillion connections.
* A child’s brain has a quadrillion connections, which form during the first five years of a child’s life….that is 10 times the amount of the entire internet!
* A fruit fly has 100,000 active brain cells.
* A mouse has 5 million.
* A monkey has 10 billion.
* Adults have had 100 billion active brain cells, since birth!
This simple question is how a ten year old student begins his speech to thousands of educators. “I can do anything, be anything, create anything because you believe in me and it rubs off on me,” says Dalton. Someone believed that he could “communicate” and give speeches.
What would happen if every child in our schools were inspired to develop their talents? One such child was encouraged to develop his talent of public speaking and communication skills. Dalton Sherman, a ten year old fifth grader from Dallas gave the keynote speech to the Dallas School District in 2009. His speech is inspirational, personal and powerful.
Isn’t that what teaching is all about? Making a difference. Helping a child grow and develop into a productive citizen? When adults simply believe in a child, that child becomes empowered to work and try harder. If you as an adult can think of someone who believed in you and helped you become who you are today, then you are proof that “belief” is powerful!
On this mornings digital New York Times, I read about a new technology that I did not even know existed. Sure, I’ve seen some amazing computer screens and animations on Iron Man, but never anything similar for real people. So, I began wondering why this was such a treat for me to read about. To be honest, I find it difficult to find interesting technology lessons that deal with Science. What about you and the technology that you use in the classroom? What subject do you use technology in the most? Perhaps it is a digital Math curriculum, similar to Pearson Success net. Or maybe you incorporate iPad’s or Interactive Whiteboard lessons into sight word games and lessons. It is even possible to use Brain Pop and Brain Pop Jr. to teach Science in a fun way. How about Geography and Astronomy? The more specific a topic becomes, the trickier it can be to find technology to use in an interesting way in the classroom.
“Earth on a Sphere” or the “Magic Planet” is a two foot 3-d model of the Earth. It is not projected onto a flat surface. It is actually projected onto a spherical screen, using four projectors! It is the aspiration of the inventor, to one day have such models in classrooms, just like interactive whiteboards are becoming more common. Currently, there are 85 models in institutions around the globe. Most of them being in museums.
Lessons have already been made for classroom use; however, they focus on older elementary age levels. One such lesson was created by an 11-year old girl. She researched how global warming affects animal life. She then projected her results onto the sphere to show how climate warming actually affected the turtle population and how warming caused more female turtles to be born.
In the videos below, the movement of airplanes is shown over time lapses across the globe. In addition, the illumination of lights at night is shown on the 3-d Earth on a Sphere. Even a visual of the ocean currents during a Tsunami are shown. This information in a 3-D model is genius and I hope to see one in the future!
What do you think? Is this something that could be used in your school or classroom? If so, how? I would love to hear your ideas!
Did you know? Learning something new can make you smarter. Perhaps you can make a goal (or a New Year’s Resolution) to do just that. Instead of making resolutions that will make you feel guilty because they are too hard to reach, simply make more positive choices. Here are some attainable suggestions:
Create your own blog – Begin with baby steps by following blogs! (WordPress.com and Blogger.com are easy to use and completely free).
Read a Non-fiction book – Seeing how someone else overcame or attained something can encourage and motivate you to do the same!
Travel – Go somewhere you have never been before. Choose somewhere close by or travel abroad. Learning about new people transforms your thinking.
Study a New Language – You don’t have to become a master. Simply begin by learning 10-20 vocabulary words and 2-5 phrases.
Tweet – Learn to use twitter and follow successful and influential people!
Use Pinterest – Sign up. Dive in. Pin. Follow. You will get many ideas and inspiration from others.
Take a Free Class – On iTunes University you can listen to lecturers from well-known Universities.
Drink more Water – It increases your concentration and also aids in weight loss.
Whatever you hope for in the New Year- I wish you a great journey as you work towards it. Should you need more inspiration, I recommend reading Joel Osteen’s “I Declare.” It has encouraged me to keep moving forward towards the things I want to attain.
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