90 Second History Lesson On the Middle East

        I found this website on StumbleUpon, and had to share it with those interested in education and furthering their minds. The website is a 90 second video of the empires that have ruled over the Middle East and what time period. It also covers time of independence. I highly recommend this to people, even if they have no interest in the Middle East. In the future I will be posting all sites like this one, and including this one under History in the Education Resources tab. Enjoy. :)

http://www.mapsofwar.com/images/EMPIRE17.swf

Where Cooking and Science Meet

      Frog legs that have been skinned get prepared to be cooked. The chef gives them a little salt and almost instantly they start twitching like mad. Why?

      Well, the reason is all in how muscles work. When the cells are intact and fresh they still have stored energy in them in the form of ATP ( Adenosine Triphosphate ). The salt activates the muscles and they use the remaining energy to contract and relax. These frog legs must have had a lot of left over ATP. Muscle stimulation does not always have to happen with salt, it can also be started with electricity. 

Laryngeal Nerve On a Dissected Giraffe

      This video is not for the faint of heart. If you have never seen a large mammal dissection this may be disturbing. Older audiences only.

      This is biological history at its finest. Finding evidence of evolutionary processes that do not fit our mainstream intelligent design theories. Thought I would share this, maybe I am the only one fascinated. Imagine being able to take a class where you could watch this, how many people get to dissect a Giraffe? I saw my first large mammal autopsy in the third grade. The result of a sudden death of one of our livestock. My Dad being a biologist thought it was a golden opportunity for learning. It was. I learned about animals having multiple stomachs, about hearts, other organs, and more. It exposed me to science at a young age, so that when I had to dissect a cow eye two years later in school it was no problem. I am thankful for having these scientific experiences, and it made me into a science lover today.

TED Talks, The Importance of Science Online

  Scientists and internet surfers everywhere are discovering the wonders of TED Talks. This site consists of short videos on a range of topics. From science to design, you can find videos relating to almost anything you find interesting. TED holds a conference, and has guest speakers to speak on their area of expertise. The speech or lecture is usually short, detailed and interesting. Some are humorous, some informative. Something for everyone. Really.
Say you are into online gaming. As someone in my 20s it has appeared many of the generations greatest minds have been lost to this past time. Even I picked up playing online games on the Xbox 360, in order to compete with my boyfriends over infatuation with gaming. Instead we argued over who got to play when because neither of us wanted to play on split screen. When I started trying to do more outdoors activities I had to quit video games cold turkey. For me there was no playing an hour a day, it was all I wanted to do if I was awake and home. So I quit playing and started seeing it as an evil impact on my generation and society in general. I just played for a couple hours this week for the first time in over 10 months. It was a video on this site that made me think twice about online gaming.

Say you are into art, maybe sculpture? Want to get to know some great modern sculpture artists? Here are the videos and lectures from the artists about their work. One I particularly liked was Reuben Margolin: Sculpting Waves in Wood and Time. An amazing sculptor that combines both art, mechanics, and math all in one amazing piece of work. The movement is stunning. I liked that all his pieces in this lecture came from one inspirational source of water and fluid movements, waves. Yet every piece is unique and has variety within his work. Pieces have variety in speed, size, material, and shape. Truly an inspirational artist.

Just want to relax and watch something funny? Many comedians has done short routines on videos for TED, including Maz Jabroni. Jabroni is a Iranian American comedian, who jokes about stereotypes and his experiences as someone of middle eastern descent. Not entirely politically correct, nor educational, but for the comedy lover this is one example of what TED Talks has to offer.

Need science in your life? Love to learn? Then watch one of the many science videos. From interesting species to inspirational and motivating videos from today’s top scientists. One of the Scientists is Noah Wilson, an expert on honey bees and how the mysterious vast disappearence of bees in urban areas has been affecting the ecosystem.

I use TED Talks daily, I like to say I learned something new everyday. I just select a short video I haven’t seen before when I have 10-15 minutes to spare online. To me it is a valuable resource online waiting to be utilized. I know several high school teachers who used TED Talks to get conversations about science flowing in the classroom. My Dad when he taught Biology used to show a video once a week just to relax the students and get them thinking about different areas of science. Not only for science teachers would this site be useful, but for design classes, engineering, and even humanities. This is a great way to supplement your knowledge if you are in one of these courses. Please share this video collection of knowledge with your friends. You might spend hours on the site your first visit so be careful! Learning online is addictive!

     Sources:
http://www.ted.com/