Psyblog is a great source of blog posts about all manner of topics of interest to students and teachers of psychology. Not only will this post on “Why We do Dumb or Irrational Things: 10 Brilliant Social Psychology Studies” fascinate students but there is also a great post of 40 of the leading blogs devoted to psychology. This one is my personal favorite: Top Ten Psychology Studies. While the old favorites of Loftus and Milgram are listed there are some surprises.
Triple A Learning IB Blogs
December 10, 2011
PsyBlog
November 25, 2011
Filling the gap with a different voice
I must admit to loving the radio and take it with me wherever I am. The advent of the podcast and interactive radio means that I can catch up on programmes I have missed. Several blogs have been stimulated by a radio programme or part of a programme. The BBC is an excellent source of news, ideas and views. Over the last week, I have been listening to lunchtime broadcasts and have been fascinated by two particular series.
In the first of these, the wonderful Stephen Fry traced the evolution of the mobile phone, from hefty executive bricks that required a separate briefcase, to sleek fashion smartphone carried by billions of people around the world. This social, technological and economic history of the telephone examined the development of cellular networks, messaging and texting and traced the miniaturisation of the components that made these possible. This was achieved through five accessible 15 minute programmes, now available from the BBC website, which has a huge range of downloadable programme suitable for the classroom and offering stimulus for debate and research. You will have to hurry though, because the Stephen Fry programmes are only available until 2nd December.
November 22, 2011
A micro revolution falls below the radar
If you were to ask your students to identify the big issues affecting businesses at the present time, they would probably include the effects of the recession, the impact of the social media, the growth of emerging economies such as India and China, e-commerce and new technology. However, if pressed on new technologies, it is unlikely that they would mention nanotechnology; yet developments in this field are set to revolutionise the nature and production of the goods and services we buy every day.
I first posted about a nanotechnology in January this year. Since then I have read articles about nanotechnology advances, but only in specialist sections of the media and not in a prominent position. The mainstream press appears slow to recognise the significance of this technological revolution.
November 11, 2011
No not the fact that its called Rainbow Warrior
Greenpeace has started sea trails of the new Rainbow warrior vessel. Whether you agree with the aims and methods of GP the one thing that can be said about this new vessel is its efficiency – especially the use of a new sail architecture. Have a read about how ocean travel can become a lot more energy efficient – the Guardian has a nice interactive about this state of art technocentric green ship.
October 16, 2011
Experiment-Resources.Com
The IA in IB Psychology is a challenging endeavor that requires a good understanding of research methodology as a starting point. The website Experiment-Resources.com provides a wealth of information of value to students. The site was set up by psychologists who had been struggling themselves to understand the complexities of the research process. Since then the site has grown into a detailed and comprehensive resource for researchers. In particular it is good in providing the basics as well as information about such concepts as within and between subject designs, confounding variables and so on.
September 10, 2011
James Dyson Award – Starting a New Academic Year…
The James Dyson Award is a fabulous award to show your students especially those thinking through Major Projects in DP2, or just starting the course and getting an idea for the wonderful world of design.
Whether the elegance or Curve a seat for cycles specifically designed for females…or Kwikscreen a way of dividing rooms easily and efficiently to maximize space wins remains to be seen as the judgement countdown suggests 16 days until the winner is announced but a great resource nevertheless. You could even ask students to decide which design they would choose and why – a great way to analyse products for their effectiveness.
August 9, 2011
Controlling the speed of social networking
As I watched the looting and burning of buildings and shops in parts of London and other UK cities orchestrated and co-ordinated by vandals using blackberries and mobile phones and social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook, it made me think about the speed and ability of societies and institutions to control ideas and communication.
The unrest in London has already been described as ‘Britain’s first 21st century riot’. The use of social networking has also been a key feature in the Arab Spring as civil unrest spread across the Middle East, with video from smartphones and Facebook messages and Twitter feeds to some extent replacing official press coverage, especially in areas where journalists are banned.
July 30, 2011
BigThink
BigThink is wonderful website that offers videos, blogs and newsfeeds on a wealth of diverse topics of interest to economics. There
are interviews with a range of leading world psychologists explaining their big ideas. For example, the interview with Steve Pinker is challenging but students are sure to find his point of view fascinating.
The site also has Special Series and which presents clusters of big ideas. There is a panel discussion ideal for the Biological Level of Analysis on “Breakthroughs: Alzheimer’s Disease” with a number of leading world experts discussing recent insights into the diseases.
July 18, 2011
Get Your School Into 3D Virtual Worlds TODAY!
By now you’ve most likely read (or at least heard of) the “2011 Horizon Report,” which predicts that games-based learning will be mainstream in schools as soon as 2013. If you haven’t seen it yet, don’t wait any longer. Get your free copy from the New Media Consortium website: http://www.nmc.org/publications/2011-horizon-report.
You probably already know WHY you want to get your school into 3D virtual worlds, but you just haven’t known HOW…but that’s all about to change. Courtesy of Changchun American International School, you can now have a free copy of “OpenSimulator: School Quick Start Guide.” Written specifically for teachers, this e-book includes introductory information, step-by-step setup directions and even lesson plans you can adapt. Second Life is covered too, since it’s now open to kids 16 years old and up! The e-book covers how to both choose an OpenSimulator host company and create a FREE OpenSimulator client/server installation, so your school can take the best path…the best path INWORLD, that is!
July 10, 2011
3D Printing for Design Technology IB Students – Are you Lucky Enough?
Image via Wikipedia
Are you thinking about a 3D printer for your Design Technology department – as we are at our school and have for a while. But were always unsure if the investment was too much. So to begin with we tested the water by buying one of the Open Source RepRap versions available that are very cheap and cost effective and at least give students an insight to the world of 3D printing. There is a great video at the BBC here – showing one version of the RepRap in action and also see one of the machines printing a chess piece below -
