Something you can do about the oil spill and preventing some of the environmental damage that can result from oil spills:

So many times I've seen students who have been discouraged about environmental issues. They haven't realized that each of them can do many things to improve the environment. People are very resourceful in solving problems. I believe that is the message to convey to students. Using the HOT Skills Wheel TM brings students through several levels of critical thinking (Contact me to arrange training for faculty and students on the HOT Skills Wheel TM.) Problem solving results from using higher order thinking skills and then taking action. Here are some links to get you started in solving one global crisis: the current oil spill. Having such deep-thinking skills, the HOT Skills, and knowing that each of us can take action in solving global problems gives hope for achieving both sustainability and a peaceful World.

Here's a video about using human hair to prevent damage from oil spills:
http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/video?id=7425820


Here's a link to the organization that you can contact for more information:
http://www.matteroftrust.org/

Use Reach Reading TM (Workshop Inquiries) and come up with research to back up other decisions about what you can do to help the environment. You might also want to look at the book Mycelium Running for ideas on not only cleaning up oil, but, also cleaning water before it is returned to the environment.

The current oil spill gives students the opportunity to understand the relevancy of their science education. It helps them understand why Reach Reading TM, science literacy, and science education are so important to their abilities to solve and prevent global problems. I challenge you to empower your students. Show them they can use their skills to take positive action to solve problems, even those of a global nature. We can show them the resiliency of the human spirit and give them pathways to solve and prevent future global problems. We can help them achieve sustainability and peace if we give them the science literacy and higher order thinking skills (HOT Skills)

One Viewpoint on Global Health Care (Available in Several Languages)

Posting this link does not indicate support or lack of support for the ideas presented. In other words, the view of the blogger is not, or is not necessarily, presented.

The viewpoint presented is that of the company IBM and suggests a sustainable health care system from its perspective: http://www-03.ibm.com/industries/healthcare/doc/content/landing/2955767105.html?re=gihclshome

It is presented to serve as a discussion starter. Your viewpoints and comments are welcome in the comments (Click on, "Comments," below the post.) For Earth to have sustainable systems, all our voices, ideas, and effort are needed. Yours are welcome!

Dr-J

Internet II; Internet 2 Commons Link

"Internet2....consortium...to develop and deploy advanced network applications and technologies, accelerating the creation of tomorrow's internet."
Source
Security: Email [Internet] Educational CyberPlayGround website; 2004 [cited 2008 October 30]. Available from: http://www.edu-cyberpg.com/technology/email.html

http://commons.internet2.edu/

Thank you for visiting!

I am very happy to announce that recent visitors to this science education/global sustainability blog have been from many places on the globe. Most recent visitors have been from the following countries:

Australia * Canada * Colombia * France * India * Japan * Maldives * New Zealand * Pakistan * Phillipines * Portugal * Singapore * Switzerland * United Kingdom * United States of America

What a wonderful global forum. Please add your comments and suggest posts. Each person might contribute something on his or her own educational system, how science is taught, new research to discuss and other science ideas. Welcome.

You may contact me via my e-mail, or, by leaving a comment.

Thanks,
Dr. J

More Higher Order Thinking Links

1. Dan Montano added "higher-order-thinking" to Wiki
2. 
   Visit Gifted Education 2.0
3. Graphic Organizers---Video Welcome to Teachers At Risk

Elona Hartjes

(Click the "Graphic Organizers" link above, scroll down to the green video box, just above "Crowd") By the way, you may find the rest of the Elona Hartjes' Teachers at Risk page has useful information, too.

1. A video resource: Animoto Future link
   
2. Use "rich media" to engage and evaluate students' higher-order thinking
3. Andrew Churches: Digital World meets Higher Order Thinking
   
4. Higher Order Thinking Workshop a Success2008년 7월 28일 Dr-J이(가) 작성
5. Higher Order Thinking and Multiple Intelligences

The higher order thinking skills lead to students becoming good global citizens. No matter what country someone is from, he or she can look at data, and using his or her background knowledge, family's value system, and world view, evaluate the data and make informed judgments. It is likely if we all increase our higher order thinking processes we can contribute to World peace. Higher order thinking can lead to sustainability and to solving or lessening problems such as hunger, global warming, energy usage.

Solar power leads to sustainability... What do you think?

Watch this video and think about it. Compare and contrast your life to what you see in this video. Evaluate it based on what you know of science of solar power and on your own value system. Try writing about it. Do you know of other ways to use science to improve sustainability of the Earth and concurrently end poverty? Does charity overlap with science? Reflection using your science skills helps make informed decisions...


###
I have added another video that I found later:

Using "EOL" and...being Part of the Global Effort to Add Plant Species to the Encyclopedia of Life

People all over the world are adding plant species to the Encyclopedia of Life. If you know of someone with a database of plant species, encourage them to add their database of plant species
http://www.eol.org/

If you are from Bolivia, or Morocco, or South Africa, or, the USA or, Canada, or the UK, or Japan, or Iraq, or Australia, or, Eritrea, or Somalia, or, anywhere in the world, contact botanists where you live and see if they have added their data to the EOL. Or, perhaps you know a plant that hasn't been added. You can add it.

It is exciting to be a part of this world wide peaceful effort.

You can also use the Encyclopedia of Life.

Mark your Calendars

International Botanical Congress
http://www.ibc2011.com/ibc2011/

Mycologists Fight Plant Disease and Save the Food Supply

Mycologists all over the world cooperate to prevent devastation of food crops. In this way, they help to prevent famine. It is great that people internationally cooperate to solve world problems...Global solutions. I like that! Below is a mission statement and the related link in the USA that is used to fight plant disease. Places like this are found all over the world and countries cooperate so that people the world over can eat well especially when we use resources wisely.

"The mission of the Systematic Mycology and Microbiology Laboratory is to increase the knowledge and application of the systematics of fungi essential to solving problems in sustainable and conventional agriculture. Research emphasis is on organisms important as pathogens that threaten the production of a safe and abundant food supply and biological control agents of insects and diseases in order to reduce the need for chemical inputs in agriculture. On-line information about plant-associated fungi is provided to users through Internet access to electronic databases. The U. S. National Fungus Collections and databases about fungi serve as unique reference resources developed for use by customers throughout the world."

"Amy Y. Rossman, Research Leader
Rm. 304, Bldg. 011A, BARC-West
10300 Baltimore Ave.
Beltsville, MD 20705
(301) 504-5364"

http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/site_main.htm?modecode=12-75-39-00
.

Effect of Technology on Society: What do you think about what this speaker is saying?

Phytochemistry...and, sophistication of species
Industrial agriculture?
Shenandoah Valley...
Performing ecological services for each other
Cheap electric fencing, cows, egg mobile-houses 350 chickens, cow paddies, maggots are food, for the chickens, spreading the manure out...The grass then grows like crazy, and the cycle is repeated.
root-shoot ratio

Recent Visitor Map Link

Click here.

How do you use your science knowledge?

Applying knowledge is a higher order thinking skill.

Do you use your science knowledge to better the world?

Do you help eradicate noxious weeds? Invasive species?

Do you mentor youth?

Do you vote wisely?

Do you educate others?

Do you wash you hands frequently?

Do you eat, sleep, rest, play and in other ways live a healthy lifestyle?

Do you shop thinking about the environment?

Do you make choices that contribute to world peace?

What do you do?

Remember what an herbarium is...

You might remember previous posts on herbaria. Here is a link that you might enjoy that can expand your knowledge of plant families while you learn more about herbaria and international cooperation.

Here is a virtual herbarium of European plants.
http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/aart/index.html

Can you find similar plants near where you live? Can you draw pictures of them? In today's electronic age, perhaps you would like to take digital photos. Enjoy the diversity of living things. Contemplate their unity in how they share biochemical mechanisms, like DNA.

Research from Nations of Visitors and Thank you's for Visiting

Visitors to this blog are from all over the world. I found a site that can help me say thank you in many languages and linked it here:

Thank you in many languages! Thank you

These are the current visitors flags and some international links:

Germany

A botany position in Germany: http://www.academicjobseu.com/content/categories/GERMANY_science-Botany.asp

Portugal

Spain

Butterflies and Birds in Spain and Portugal:
http://www.wildaway.com/

Finland

History of Botany in Finland:
http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0021-1753%28196622%2957%3A2%3C286%3ATHOBIF%3E2.0.CO%3B2-D

Ireland

Science Education in Ireland:
http://www.science.ie/

Serbia and Montenegro

Learning through research: A Serbian Tradition:
http://www.scienceinschool.org/2007/issue7/petnica/

Canada

Corporate Support for Science Education in Canada
http://www.merckfrosst.ca/mfcl/en/corporate/newsroom/press_releases/expo_sciences_pancan_eng_2006.html

Netherlands

Marine biology in the Netherlands

1. www.rug.nl/biologie/onderzoek/onderzoekgroepen/marienebiologie/onderwijs/index - 40k -
2. http://www.iode.org/oceanportal/detail.php?id=5288

Mexico

Nanotechnology in Mexican Schools...comparison to US schools
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/18/AR2006121800905.html
.

Japan

A Japanese View of Science Education in the USA:
http://sciencelinks.jp/j-east/article/199913/000019991399A0325759.php

United Kingdom

Science Learning Centres:
http://www.sciencelearningcentres.org.uk/WebPortal.aspx?page=1


India (Flag to come soon)

Environmental Issues/Ecology in India

France

Engineering Schools in France:
http://www.learn4good.com/great_technical_colleges/france_engineering_science_school_degree_courses.htm

Australia

For those interested in Australian plants:
http://www.anbg.gov.au/education/index.html

Brazil

United States

.
More links to come.... Also, add interesting links that you find in the comments below.

Welcome to Society of Practical Education in Biology

Please click the link to visit the Society of Practical Education in Biology:
http://www004.upp.so-net.ne.jp/jissen/english.htm

Technology and Education

Podcasts-of-lectures is available technology in education, today. Here are some samples for grown-ups.

Leadership in Sustainability of the Earth:
This lecture, geared to grown-ups, uses facts to support an opinion. Have you developed your own opinion on sustainability?
http://www1.cuny.edu/portal_ur/news/radio/podcast/lecture_72.mp3

More examples:
http://www1.cuny.edu/forums/podcasts/?cat=8

Can you find these countries on a map?

	Most visitors have been from the United States:		United States
	But, many people have visited from other countries:
			United Kingdom
			Canada
			India
			Morocco
			Russian Federation
			Japan
			Greece
			Netherlands
			Serbia And Montenegro
			Spain
			Austria
			Australia
			France
			Philippines
			Mexico
			Germany

A Gift You can give

At freerice.com, you can play a game and donate rice to feed hungry people. Enjoy it.

http://freerice.com/index.php

Here you can see the generosity of the world:

http://www.poverty.com/internationalaid.html

All about rice:

---Under development---

International Rice Research Institute
People all over the world cooperate on rice research. This cooperation keeps so many people from dying from starvation. It helps us prevent or lessen the effect of plant disease on crop harvest. There is a similar cooperation among wheat researchers that is also saving lives and preventing or decreasing diseases of wheat crops. Research helps feed people. We can accomplish great things when we work together.
http://www.irri.org/

(c)2007 J. S. Shipman

Here's an Update on Visitors' Geography

		84.06%	United States
		4.38%	United Kingdom
		3.98%	Russian Federation
		3.19%	Canada
		1.20%	Belgium
		0.80%	Austria
		0.80%	Italy
		0.40%	United Arab Emirates
		0.40%	India
		0.40%	Iran, Islamic Republic Of
		0.40%	Australia