Tag: geo-literacy

Classroom Ideas

Wednesday Word of the Week: Haplogroups

Haplogroups: [human geography]
Noun: branches on the tree of early human migrations and genetic mutations of “markers” found on the Y chromosome (NatGeoEd.org); the study of haplogroups is commonly used to define genetic populations.(Reference.com)

2011-02-07_1030627.JPGAll humans belong to a halpogroup, this enables geneticists to follow the ancestry of ancient humans all the way to the present day.  Inspired by the “tree” of human life, National Geographic and partners embarked on the Genographic Project. The Genographic Project studies where our early human ancestors came from and how humans came to populate the entire planet. Following genetic markers through thousands of human generations enables scientists to track our human origins back to Africa and to determine the pattern of routes by which humans migrated around the world. Researching the characteristics and journeys of specific haplogroups can help students understand how people from distant places are genetically related. (www.natgeoed.org)

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Wednesday Word of the Week: Biomimicry

The MWW Blog is launching a new series called “Wednesday Word of the Week.” This feature will contribute to our ongoing work educating the public about geo-literacy–the ability to use geographic knowledge to make informed decisions about the dynamic world we live in. Geo-literacy is a relevant, applicable, and global tool; it is a communicative bridge between the peoples, places and possibilities of our earth.

Biomimicry: (bi-oh-MIH-muh-kree)        
Noun: process of using the natural world as a guide to develop new technology. (NatGeoEducation)
Check out the Biomimicry Institute for more information on educational projects, partnerships, videos, and recent innovations. Click here to watch their latest video featuring Biomimicry 3.8!

2008-10-25_0226443.JPGBiomimetics: [bahy-oh-mi-met-iks]
From National Geographic magazine’s “GeoPedia: the research behind the stories”
By Nora Gallagher (ver. 4 – Thu, Mar 13, 2008 at 12:38:11 PM)
Almost all living organisms are uniquely adapted to the environment in which they live, some so well that scientists study them in hopes of replicating their natural designs in products and technologies for humans. This process–called biomimetics, biomimicry, or bionics–is the crossroads where nature and engineering meet.

Velcro is perhaps the best example of biomimetics. In 1948 a Swiss scientist, George de Mestral, removed a bur stuck to his dog’s fur and studied it under a microscope. Impressed by the stickiness of the bur’s hooks he copied the design, engineering a two-piece fastener. One piece has stiff hooks like that of the prickly seedcase, while the other has soft loops that allow the hooks to adhere. De Mestral named his invention Velcro–a combination of the words “velour” and “crochet.” (NatGeoMagazine) See more great examples of Biomimetics in action courtesy of Mother Nature Network!

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Wednesday Word of the Week: Autotroph

The MWW Blog is launching a new series called “Wednesday Word of the Week.” This feature will contribute to our ongoing work educating the public about geo-literacy–the ability to use geographic knowledge to make informed decisions about the dynamic world we live in. Geo-literacy is a relevant, applicable, and global tool; it is a communicative bridge between the peoples, places and possibilities of our earth.

2011-09-06_1195235.JPGAutotroph: [aw-tuh-trof, -trohf] [environmental geography]
Noun: An autotroph is an organism that can produce its own food using light, water, carbon dioxide, or other chemicals. Because autotrophs produce their own food, they are sometimes called producers.

Plants are the most familiar type of autotroph, but there are many different kinds of autotrophic organisms. Algae, which live in water and whose larger forms are known as seaweed, is autotrophic. Phytoplankton, tiny organisms that live in the ocean, are autotrophs. Some types of bacteria are autotrophs.

What about carnivorous plants? How would you classify the venus flytrap–is it an autotroph because it is a plant? Or is it a heterotroph? (HEH-tuh-roh-trohf) noun. An organism that cannot make its own nutrients and must rely on other organisms for food.

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Classroom Ideas

Wednesday Word of the Week

The MWW Blog is launching a new series called “Wednesday Word of the Week.” This feature will contribute to our ongoing work educating the public about Geo-Literacy–the ability to use geographic knowledge to make informed decisions about the dynamic world we live in. Geo-literacy is a relevant, applicable, and global tool; it is a communicative bridge between the peoples, places and possibilities of our earth. … Continue reading Wednesday Word of the Week

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Danny Edelson: Tricorders–The Next Tool for Geographic Learning?

Tricorders–The Next Tool for Geographic Learning?
DCEpublicityPhoto_small.png
“Geo Learning”
by Daniel C. Edelson

Vice President for Education
National Geographic Society

If you’re of a certain age, you probably find yourself looking around and remarking on how much today’s world looks like the world that Gene Roddenberry imagined in the original Star Trek series. OK, we don’t have transporters or warp drives. But we do have computers you can talk to, two-way video communications, and devices that work like communicators and tricorders.

There is a lot of discussion these days about what impact these Star Trek technologies might have on education. In just the last couple months, I attended a one-day summit on the promise of wireless technologies for education and a two-day workshop on the use of mobile devices for citizen science.

For geoliteracy, I think these devices offer amazing opportunities to move learning outside the school building, and we’ve been designing software at National Geographic that students will be able to take into the world on handhelds that will enable them to record observations, combine them with observations of others, and analyze them for geospatial patterns. However, an inescapable challenge of learning in the real world is that the real world is complex and unpredictable. Sometimes it is too complex and unpredictable to enable you to be sure that you can teach specific relationships or skills through real-world experiences.

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