Can Kids Teach Themselves?

Here is the video that we watched in class today; we will have some questions on this example of carrying out experiments and evaluating their results on the exam.

more about "Can Kids Teach Themselves?", posted with vodpod

Close the Book. Recall. Write It Down.

Advice on studying for finals, from the Chronicle of Higher Education.  Here’s what they reported (and a link to the full article)

That old study method still works, researchers say.
So why don’t professors preach it?

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By DAVID GLENN

The scene: A rigorous intro-level survey course in biology, history, or economics. You’re the instructor, and students are crowding the lectern, pleading for study advice for the midterm.

If you’re like many professors, you’ll tell them something like this: Read carefully. Write down unfamiliar terms and look up their meanings. Make an outline. Reread each chapter.

That’s not terrible advice. But some scientists would say that you’ve left out the most important step: Put the book aside and hide your notes. Then recall everything you can. Write it down, or, if you’re uninhibited, say it out loud.

Two psychology journals have recently published papers showing that this strategy works, the latest findings from a decades-old body of research. When students study on their own, “active recall“ — recitation, for instance, or flashcards and other self-quizzing — is the most effective way to inscribe something in long-term memory.

Close the Book. Recall. Write It Down. – Chronicle.com.

Homework Comics

This comic strip seemed appropriate for the last week of classes….

Learning Objectives – Chapter 14 and Chapter 15

Cover of The Sociological Imagination

Learning Objectives, Chapter 14 – Divorce & Remarriage

1.      How are divorce rates measured?

2.      How do divorce rates vary across cultures?

3.      How have divorce rates varied historically in the United States?

4.      What factors are associated with divorce?

5.      What are the dimensions of the divorce experience?

6.      What are the consequences of divorce for children?

Learning Objectives, Chapter 15 – Families and the Sociological Imagination

1.       How does the sociological imagination help us to understand families?

2.      How are family members, especially women and children, affected by economic disparities in the United States?

3.      How are societies and nations around the world interconnected?

4.      How are families both private relationships and public institutions?

5.      How do family policies reflect historical, cultural, political, and social factors?

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Apple pulls ‘offensive’ Baby Shaker iPhone game

Strong public outrage forces software firm to take quick action

Apr 24, 2009 04:30 AM

Comments on this story (3)

Debra Black
Staff Reporter

Apple Inc. didn’t win any votes with parents, advocacy groups or health experts across North America this week by offering a game called Baby Shaker to iPhone customers.

Reaction to the game was so vociferous that Apple pulled it from its iTunes store Wednesday – two days after it became available.

The 99-cent game, designed by Sikalosoft, was one of thousands of iPhone applications submitted by independent developers. It invited users to quiet a crying baby by vigorously shaking their iPhone.

According to an Associated Press story, once the phone was shaken often enough, the onscreen baby went quiet and developed large red Xs over its eyes.

Parents, experts and advocacy groups like the Utah-based National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome were quick to condemn the game, citing the real dangers of brain injury or even death that can result when an infant is mistreated in that way.

“I can’t imagine why someone would think it would be funny to shake your hand (holding an iPhone) to silence a crying infant,” said Richard Volpe, a psychologist and professor at University of Toronto’s Institute of Child Study.

“It’s inappropriate and very unfortunate to cast this serious problem in a lighthearted way,” said Volpe, who co-authored an Ontario study on Shaken Baby Syndrome.

No one from Apple Inc. returned the Star’s calls yesterday.

However a spokesperson at Apple’s Cupertino, Calif. headquarters called the game “deeply offensive” and said it shouldn’t have been approved for sale.

“We sincerely apologize for this mistake,” Natalie Kerris said.

According to the Public Health Agency of Canada, violent shaking of infants is “a serious and clearly defined form of child abuse.”

A study in Canada estimates 40 to 50 cases of shaken baby syndrome occur after every 100,000 births, Volpe said.

Some 1,400 to 1,600 American infants are believed to need hospital care every year after being shaken, said Marilyn Barr, executive director of the Utah-based National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome.

Barr, who is also head of British Columbia’s prevention program, said she was appalled to hear iPhone users were being offered such a game.

But she was pleased public opinion forced Apple to remove it so promptly

“Shaking an infant is probably the most dangerous thing a parent or caretaker can do,” Barr said.

The iTunes store’s description of the game began:

“On a plane, on the bus, in a theater Babies are everywhere you don’t want them to be! They’re always distracting you from preparing for that big presentation at work with their incessant crying.

“Before Baby Shaker, there was nothing you could do about it …”

The text did warn that one should “never, never shake” a real baby.

Demographic Winter

On Monday, April 6, we will (finally) be able to view Demographic Winter.  The film includes graphs and statistics, and reports from a large number of family sociology experts (some of the “big names”).

The topic is one that is just gaining attention.  The Chancellor of Germany, Angela Merkel, said this week that her nation cannot afford to contribute to the needed economic stimulus because their future population will not be able to pay off the debt.