Twitter–do your students (or you) reveal your location on every tweet?

Social networking was something I could never have imagined as a student.  I sat as a third year university student chatting on amateur bulletin boards over my high-tech dial-up modem and using chat rooms on CompuServe (who charged for access by the minute).  I was using the internet before the WWW started and thought it would never catch on but my imagination didn’t extend to a powerful computer in my pocket with the internet, GPS and social networking.  Today our students (often labelled digital natives) have grown up with this level of technology and they aren’t phased by it.  Of course with this familiarity comes a level of complacency that has recently surprised me.

I hear on technology sites that Facebook isn’t cool anymore (it’s where your parents hang out) so youngsters are moving to Twitter, Instagram and Tumblr instead.  After years of nagging and much publicity our youngsters have grown used to the privacy settings that keep them safe.  Unfortunately these privacy settings aren’t as detailed in the other networks that are intended to be more open and public.  On Twitter you are either private or public, and in an ecosystem where the number of followers matters, many teenagers opt to leave their steam public meaning it is open to all.  Many Twitter clients also have the ability to attach a location to individual tweets meaning that these tweets are searchable by location.

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This is a screenshot of an app called Banjo for iOS.  You can enter a location and see tweets and instagram photos on a map, many of these people are posting status updates from home.  I’ve zoomed out of the map on this screenshot but you can zoom to street level quite easily.

So does the content of your twitter stream matter?  Perhaps being from an older generation I think differently to the youth of today, but many of the tweets I see contain obscene language, sexual references and reference to drunken behaviour.  If this information is public it is quite possible for it to come to light at a later date and scupper employment prospects as Paris Brown found out when she got a high profile job.  The same is true of teachers who tweet the same kind of tweets.

The moral of the story is to exercise some common sense before you post and turn on location reporting with caution (and only use it where you want the location to be reported).  How do we get that message through to our students?

Do you have to unteach the science that the media teaches our students?

I indulged in one of my guilty pleasures last night watching Secret Eaters on Channel 4.  As part of the programme, an ‘expert’ has a theory about eating and they get a single group of students in a room to test them out (once!).  They then present what they have found out as scientific fact.  Granted the theory has probably been postulated and tested elsewhere but this gives the impression that a quick experiment is enough to test a theory.  No mention of repeating or other measures we might take to ensure the reliability of the data.  I’ve watched a few episodes and sit grating my teeth every time – for those of you who have never seen Secret Eaters there’s a clip here with the science here.

Today I was indulging in another guilty pleasure, reading the Times on my iPad (before I get berated it’s my partner’s subscription!) and I saw a headline grabbing article about the dangerous levels of sugar in ‘natural foods’ and how many are higher than Coca Cola.  The graphic below immediately had me blowing steam out of my ears – how can you compare a litre of cranberry juice, 500g of All-Bran, a jar of chicken sauce and a can of Cola? What do they mean by ‘natural foods’?   Why let science get in the way of a good headline?

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As a science graduate and science teacher, I see through lots of the information presented to us by the media as ‘scientifically proven’ but my students will not.  That means I will likely have to do extra work to unpick the bad science and explain how it should be.  Worryingly there seems to be plenty of examples to choose from…

If you can think of any other examples you might want to leave a comment below or tweet me @cleverfiend and I’ll add them as a comment.

Science video clips to use in class from the BBC Learning zone

BBC learningThe BBC learning zone currently has some useful resources available for you to use in the classroom or link to from your own websites (perhaps those of you who share a blog/Twitter stream with your group).

Here they are, courtesy of the BBC, for your viewing and teaching pleasure!

 

Title Link
The ImagineersA series of inspirational films  (in production) celebrating the work of young engineers trying to solve some of the world’s most challenging problems. Presented by Fran Scott

 

Coming Soon!
Beneath the Lab CoatTV presenter Rani Price explores existing and future aspirational careers involving science, meeting young men and women working at the cutting edge of fashion, food, rocket science and computer chip technology.

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01r0ck8/clips
The Science of Space DiveShort films explain how science made possible Felix Baumgartners amazing leap into the unknown. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01phpyy/clips
Made of MoneyRadio1 Newsbeat journalist Adina Campbell helps young people take control of their cash by creating a budget, finding a bargain, understanding debt and APR, and starting to save http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pwwm9/clips
Alchemist’s ApprenticeCambridge chemist Dr Peter Wothers offers 12 Key Stage 3 students the unique opportunity to join him in his laboratory for a master class exploring the four ancient elements: Water, Earth, Air and Fire – with explosive results. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rghrj/clips
Royal Institute Christmas Lectures (2012) http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01pp026/clips
The Code (reversion)Each film begins with a mystery that will be explained by a mathematical concept, taking viewers on an odyssey to uncover the code and reveal its meaning. Presented by Professor Marcus du Sautoy. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01bd49x
Genius of Invention (reversion)Our experts explain how these inventions came about by sparks of inventive genius and steady incremental improvements. They separate myth from reality in the lives of the great inventors and celebrate some of the most remarkable stories in British history. Coming Soon!
Wonders of Life (reversion)

Ep 1-Prof Brian Cox explores how Earth became host to the incredible natural world we see today.

Ep 2-Prof Brian Cox explains how life is shaped by both the environment and the laws of nature.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01rgjt0/clips
Wonders of the Universe (reversion)Professor Brian Cox witnesses the wonders of the universe through some of the most breathtaking environments on Earth. In the process, he reveals how the most fundamental scientific principles and laws explain not only the story of the universe, but the story of us all. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01117nd/clips
MegabitsFive short videos from real life work settings about about how computers actually work. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01kl16t/clips
3, 2, 1 Go!3 2 1 Go! takes kids into the mathematical world that underpins their favourite sport. Versions for Key 3 http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01fhj81/clips
Materials: How they WorkScientist Mark Miodownik reveals the fascinating world of metals, ceramics and plastics. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01hkyfr/clips
Bitesize ScienceScientist and rapper Jon Chase has 60 entertaining minutes to reveal his top 20 demonstrations and brings school science to life using music, magic tricks and everyday objects such as toffees, coins, and cups of very sweet tea. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01hmz85/clips
Bitesize Space ScienceJon brings alive a series of fun and engaging demonstrations introducing the subject of space science to Scottish Nationals and GCSE pupils. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01qy21k/clips
Inside the Human Body (reversion)Using spectacular graphics based on the latest science and stories of remarkable people around the world, Michael Mosley takes us on a fantastic voyage through our inner universe. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b015gncq/clips
Orbit: Earth’s Extraordinary Journey (reversion)Presenters Kate Humble and Dr Helen Czerski follow the earth’s voyage around the sun for one complete orbit, to witness the astonishing consequences this journey has for us all. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01h8n9m/clips

http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningzone/

 

William’s word games for cells – the sequel to William’s words in science

Just as Alien was followed by Aliens, Terminator was followed by Terminator 2, William Hirst has produced a sequel to his popular science dictionary. Like all great sequels there has to be something to link it to the first publication and something different to grab your interest. William’s word games for cells has vocabulary (and therefore literacy) at its heart, in just the same way that William’s words in science did. However the format of the book is much different to before, and it designed to be used with students rather than as a reference material.

The book opens with a list of key words and a rationale for the book. William explains that he wants students to learn the meanings of key words by using them in context rather than just being words copied down from the board or on a worksheet. To this end he has created a set of activities that have key words at their core, some of them more familiar than others. There are also teaching ideas that explains when you might want to use the activities and how they fit into starters or plenaries (see example below)

Connect-a-WordThis is a smaller version of the scattershot; the difference is that connect-a-word uses the whiteboard alleviating the need to distribute paper.Pupils have to match the words to the definitions in the boxes; excessive writing by pupils is avoided by using numbers as identifiers for the words, and letters to identify the definitions.Difficulty can be increased by leaving a blank box, or by scrambling the letters of the word.

 

The book contains all the resources a busy teacher needs to use these ideas in class with students. There are wordsearches and crosswords of different types (a favourite of many teachers), card games, ‘circle 6′ activities, connect-a-word, fortune flippers, give us a clue games (a variation on a crossword). Other activities include ‘loop frames’, scattershots, scidoku (yes you read that right!), spell & check, trionimos and so on. There are many activities ideal for science teachers of all levels of literacy teaching capability, and answers are provided where appropriate (for those with low self-confidence!).

Examples of activity from the book

The image below shows a word step activity (there are three of these on an A4 page)

This image shows scidoku:

This is part of a trionimos activity:

 

Whilst some of the techniques are familiar to teachers new and old, there are many here that I haven’t come across before and this book could easily be used as a “how to teach key words” book as well as a resource for teaching cells. Many of the activities appear useful for children with special needs, although the font could do with changing if William intends to target this market.

Unfortunately a lot of purchasing decisions in education come down to cost, and William has done his best to keep costs low for the school or the individual. The book is available in two formats, a printed copy (which is available for £46) and an electronic copy (available direct from William) for a more reasonable £15. Either price represents good value for money for this 200 page resource.

I would advise purchasers to consider the range of activities and teaching ideas available in this book, it is easy to write it off at first glance as “just another book of crosswords and word searches” but it really is much more than that. At its worse this book is a wide range of literacy activities for teachers who teach cells as a topic. At its best this book contains a wealth of ideas and strategies for teaching literacy in science (vocabulary and key words) together with examples of what the activities look like in practice.

William’s book isn’t on his site yet, but interested parties should go to his site and contact him directly to ask about it (and tell him where you heard about it). For those of you who prefer dealing with Amazon I’ve linked both of William’s books below:

Teaching Earth Science – #ASEchat 01/03/13

Earth sciences tend to be the overlooked parts of science by many teachers, because of their overlap with the geological sciences taught in other subject areas. Despite their minimal appearance in the national curriculum, the chat tonight proved that many science teachers have a soft spot for this branch of science.

One of the clear threads to emerge from the chat was the number of practical activities and models that teachers are using to help teach ideas from Earth sciences. There were also other big ideas including the concept of change over billions of years (link to space science and evolution) and the development of scientific theories from data and evidence.

Favourite practical activities included:

hrogerson @cleverfiend glued lumps of sand or plaster of Paris in Pringles tubes. #asechat
needhamL56 @cleverfiend cooling Salol fast and slow for difft crystal size #ASEChat
Geol_2008 Rivers made of guttering to examine transport of sediment, destroying plaster of Paris cubes for erosion are good practicals #ASEchat
Mrz_Black @cleverfiend making fossils; sedimentary rocks, transportation, Xstallisation, volcanoes with water sand wax, lots of good stuff! #asechat
KDWscience @hrogerson @cleverfiend #asechat come back to my choc rocks for the different types of rock formation.
hrogerson @Mrz__Black making fossils- students love that! #asechat
AlexMsinclair @NeedhamL56 @cleverfiend Heating old glass rods in Bunsen and then putting in cold water to show mechanical weathering

 

Earth science was identified as having numerous opportunities for field work including rock visits, cave visits, beach walks, rock walks and looking at river beds etc. It was even suggested that you could look at the ecosystems of different rock types.

Useful links and resources:

cleverfiend http://www.tes.co.uk/teaching-resource/Teachers-TV-How-Science-Works-Journey-to-Etna-6044461/ Video with real scientists
NeedhamL56 http://www.earthscienceeducation.com/ Resources site
Hrogerson http://earthlearningidea.blogspot.co.uk/ Resources and teaching ideas
Geol_2008 http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/ks3/gsl/education/resources/rockcycle.html Rock cycle
Geol_2008 http://www.rsc.org/education/teachers/resources/jesei/ Ideas and resources
Geol_2008 http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/home.html British Geological survey
Geol_2008 http://www.bgs.ac.uk/discoveringGeology/climateChange/climateThroughTime.html Free resources

Click here for my copy of the chat summary with links highlighted yellow and useful tweets highlighted orange.

Update: Submitted after this #ASEchat session closed – How the Earth works on the National STEM science site.

Putting things into perspective – the day my world changed

 

I’ve never been one to share my personal problems. Many of my twitter followers are unaware that I was signed off work for the first half-term of this year with chronic sciatica and back pain. I managed to keep involved with work despite being signed off sick, and I kept on top of my inbox and tasks I could remotely complete from home. I found it hard being at home when I didn’t feel ill, and I was able to control the pain by being horizontal or walking.

Normal disc

Bulging disc

 

By the time my MRI results had come through I was feeling much better and I was diagnosed with a bulging disc in my spine at L5/S1. I was offered surgery but declined it because much of the pain had gone away. The disc was pliable and had recently moved, and I was given permission to return to work. I returned to work for three weeks, and although I wasn’t to sit for extended periods of time I soon settled back into my role. I believed I was getting better.

On Friday 8th March 2013 something changed. I got up as normal and had a shower, but as I got my breakfast ready a pain started to develop in the back of my legs. I’d experienced this before and thought that a dog walk might be my best course of action as gentle exercise had worked in the past. I started walking but the pain was so bad that at several stages of our walk I had to stop and get on my hands and knees to relieve the pain. As the pain intensified I realised that I wouldn’t be able to go to work that day and phoned in. The pain got worse over the day and even codeine failed to touch it. I spent the day on my hands and knees which was the position in which I experienced the least pain. A telephone appointment to the doctor proved fruitless as I was prescribed more of the same pain killers (the same ones that weren’t working). Evening came and I tried to sleep next to the bed curled over a bean bag, which wasn’t very comfortable. The pain didn’t subside but I was aware of the lack of sensation spreading from my legs to my feet and groin. At that point I knew to call for help and an ambulance was dispatched to take me to hospital.

I was taken to A&E at Derby hospital where I greedily gulped at the gas and air, and was given IV paracetamol for my pain (which is extremely effective). The doctors reviewed my last MRI on the computer and decided I needed another so after a wait for a few hours I was admitted to a ward. I had an MRI scan (my second of the year) and was dispatched back to wait on my ward for the results (still nill by mouth just in case). The results came back within the hour and I was to be prepared for theatre as soon as possible. My disc had moved and was pressing hard on my nerves causing cauda equine syndrome (CES), this is a rare condition and affects around 100 people annually in the UK. Speed is of the essence in treating CES to avoid permanent nerve damage. Blood was taken, consent forms signed and the anaesthetist put me out for a few hours. I woke up in recovery and spent the evening dozing in and out of consciousness. The next day I started to realise the gravity of my condition. My legs were tested and I had very little sensation in the backs of my legs and the soles of my feet (which makes walking a wobbly affair!) and my groin/saddle area were completely numb.

I spent several days more in hospital while I was tested, prodded, fed microwave food and observed. My pulse/blood pressure and temperature were checked every four hours and my fluid intake & output monitored carefully as well as any output from my bowels. I can’t fault the service I received at Derby hospital – the work ethic and compassion of the staff on my ward was humbling. Eventually I was discharged home with a number of follow-up appointments, after a total of 6 days in hospital.

So where am I now? The doctors won’t class any of my nerve damage as permanent until at least 12 months which means I could have a long recovery ahead. No one can say if my condition will improve, or by how much if it does. I have no feeling in my buttocks/saddle which has implications for toileting. I have no feeling in my groin (which means I have to use a catheter since I can’t make myself urinate) and the backs of my legs and bottom of my feet are still numb (cue comedy Charlie Chaplin walking). I hope that I will make at least a partial recovery but I am powerless to do anything but wait and see. I’ve still got a lot to be thankful for since I am still mobile (comedy walking is still better than no walking) and I’m not in pain at the moment.

What I’ve learned

  • Out of hours service from my doctor is even worse than the daytime service they provide
  • Derby nurses work long hours and do a fantastic job.
  • My school has continued to run without me, and the world hasn’t stopped turning while I’ve been ill
  • That sometimes we need to stop and rest to allow our bodies to heal
  • Not to give up hope – I’m hoping that I don’t return to work with a disability but if I do I’m in the right kind of school.

 

Summary of #ASEchat 11/02/13 Encouraging literacy in Science

The image above shows a ‘tagxedo’ of most common words used in this ASEchat (with some words removed like the names of frequent tweeters and the word ASEchat).  Interactive version here

 

Literacy across the curriculum is a hot topic, with much more emphasis put on teaching literacy in the latest framework. Even without the pressure from the government, literacy is an important skill in every subject – as Mr_D_Cheng put it “if students can’t read or write about science there is no point”. TeacherChemist asked “is literacy in science the ability to communicate effectively?” and Cleverfiend agreed it was, but also being able to understand/assimilate information. Biolady99 added that using terminology in the right context is important whilst HThompson1982 added that literacy is a whole school issue, not just the English department. IanMcDaid felt that there isn’t enough talking in science and often too much writing. As DeejBee pointed out, derivations and word stems are important and can serve students well in later life, teaching the skills that will serve them later in life.

Cleverfiend pointed out that literacy can often get lost when we mark for another purpose and others agreed that the marking policy is important.

Top tips from the discussion

  • Remind students to use key skills to complete a task (KDWscience)
  • Give students a framework to help them – SOLO is very good for this (crazyscience34)
  • Present each unit as a book with front page, glossary or blurb (c_gibson85)
  • A skills ladder is useful to help non-specialist teachers mark a style of writing and students see next steps (Cleverfiend)
  • Students with poor literacy skills might appreciate the chance to record their answers instead (brittgow)
  • Do your colleagues produce a word list of scientific words new to each topic (ViciaScience)
  • Create reference displays and use them with students (specialsciteach)
  • Newspapers are super easy for (shared) reading and you can instantly differentiate by reading age (Cleverfiend)
  • You can use online tools like wordle and tagxedo as well as concept maps, Frayer mats, quizlets (brittgow)
  • Putting GCSE specs in Wordle can help be helpful with key word analysis (ViciaScience) and Cleverfield used this technique to visualise APP levels.
  • My marking policy includes literacy and science (Specialsciteach)
  • There are some books called web readers that are useful for science reading and comprehension (SpecialSciTeach)
  • William’s Words is a useful dictionary of science terms (many tweeters recommended this)
  • We focus too much on writing (eg QWC) but reading and comprehension are part of literacy too and important for learning science (A_Weatherall)
  • Good literacy starts with speaking (Mr_D_Cheng)
  • Has anyone used speaking frames? (HRogerson)
  • Catalyst magazine has some challenging articles for reading and can teach skills of scanning and skimming text (NeedhamL56)
  • Excellent book – Language and literacy in science education by Wellington and Osborne. Should be required reading for all (oboelizzy)
  • I’ve got my A2 kids to answer long questions as bullet points, without the blobs at the beginning (Lethandrel)
  • Use graphic organisers to structure writing (damianainscough)
  • Key word card sort – used to use them all the time (HRogerson)
  • Has anyone mentioned newswise? (damianainscough)
  • All outstanding lessons in our recent Ofsted inspection has a literacy or numeracy component (Cleverfiend)
  • Science APP is useful and English APP Too (NeedhamL56)
  • We need to use a wide range of writing styles and purposes to develop confidence in communication (ViciaScience)
  • Concept maps discussed with peer make a good precursor to writing (NeedhamL56)
  • BELIEVE that by improving students literacy you will improve their science its a win- win situation (NeedhamL56)
  • Use mini whiteboards all the time (NeedhamL56)
  • Model what a good one looks like (WAGOLL) (Needham56)

Useful Links

Digital toolbox – literacy in science

Sixcess – gaining top marks for QWC in Science

A review of William’s Words in Science

Write using only the ten hundred most common words

Stem resources – getting to level 6

Ideas for using catalyst magazine

Ofsted guidance

Developing literacy skills in science

Better writing in science

 

It is hard to summarise adequately everything that was said during the discussion. For those who are interested I’ve uploaded a full transcript of tweets with links highlighted in yellow and useful tweets highlighted in green (here).