For more info and cool images check out the WISE project website.

Some of Technology for WISE was developed at Space Dynamics Laboratory here in Cache Valley where some of my neighbors work. Another fun connection for me is that the rocket that carried WISE into orbit was launched from Vandenberg Air Force base where my Dad was serving when I was born.

David shared Evidence Based Design (not sure if this is what he was referring to) as a model. I shared Conditions of Learning – the idea that different types of learning outcomes should be taught differently, and Jim Cangelosi’s (forgive the flashing text) work on designing mathematics instruction for different types of learning outcomes. Interestingly he has advocated the idea of mini experiments as an approach for teachers to learn about and evolve learning.

Magnetic Sculpture kit from Collin Cunningham on Vimeo.

Or at least watch other people do, and think how cool it would be to do

Today I came across the STEM Challenges website, a new site created by STEM Net in the UK:

A new initiative to inspire the next generation of British scientists and engineers was launched today (Monday 12 October 2009) on the Olympic Park in London. All secondary schools in the UK are being urged to take part in a series of ten STEM Challenges which encourage pupils to explore the challenges involved in delivering the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games and tackle them using science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) skills.

This sounds really cool and aligned with my idea for stem challenges. Centering challenges around something as interesting as the Olympics, creating a public forum for sharing solutions, and rewarding responses.

Each term there will be a regional winner of the Challenge, chosen by a panel of STEM Ambassadors and online voting by all of the participating schools. Each of the ten regional finalist teams will then go on to compete at national level for a change to win an ‘experience’ prize, related to the Olympics.

I’m interested to see what comes of this. I think similar competitions could be centered around the grand challenges.

After years of keeping them in boxes, I recently got out my University Physics and Math books and put them on my shelves. Just getting them out inspired me . This morning while testing the Open Yale Courses feed that I had added to OER Recommender, I ran across the Fundamentals of Physics course. This led me to R. Shankar’s home page, where I noticed an old friend, Shankar’s book that I used in my quantum mechanics class at the University of Utah. I also smiled to see him list his

Most important contribution to physics

“Discovered a small parameter that justifies most calculations performed in physics: 1/ego, where ego is the author’s ego.”

Very clever. It is cool to see a self-deprecating physicist. The description of his other book shown there: Basic Training in Mathematics rang true to my experience. My love and interest while studying at the UofU was always Physics, but I ended up taking so much math that I decided to go ahead and major in Math as well. While doing so, I found that almost everything I learned in my Math classes I had previously learned in my Physics classes .