Google Body: As Cool As It Gets

I'm spending today (and the week) playing catch up.  I've really let my PLN slip this year,  and I think it shows in my librarianship, though the bosses seem pretty happy!

Anyway, while playing around online, I ran across Google Body, which Google released in December.  You will need Firefox 4 or Google Chrome 10 for it to work.

Basically,  it's Google Earth for the body.  It loads with a  1) 3D rotating computer-generated body (you can choose male or female), with layers for 2) muscles, 3) skeleton, 4) organs, vascular system and nerves/brain .  Tools allow the user to 5) zoom in on specific elements, 6) add pins and highlight (I highlighted the stomach here), hide/unhide body parts,  with links to 7) specific systems, muscles, organs, etc.

And,  just because we're teachers and we have to ask,  8) here's a picture of the anatomically correct male parts. I think Google does as good a job as possible removing any titter-causing elements.  But, hey, 7th graders are 7th graders, and they're going to titter no matter what!  (No similar worries with female mammaries, I might add).

This will also allow them to take very specific screen grabs to illustrate reports and research, instead of hunting for generic images.

I can't wait to show this to our elementary and science teachers tomorrow.  I also think students will love playing around with it, and may even learn something in the process!

(click on photos for larger view)

The Physics Behind Figure Skating

Talk about teachable moments! NBC and the Science Foundation collaborated on this series of 10 videos exploring the science behind, for example, snow-boarding and figure skating, just to name a few, as a tie-in with the upcoming Winter Olympics.

Click the "watch video" link in the lower right-hand corner.

On Beakers and Bunson Burners

If you haven't informed your Science Dept. about National Lab Day, do it now! Even Thomas Friedman is on board.



Sponsored by several leading scientifically-based organizations,such as the National Science Foundation, NLD links up science classrooms with local professionals in an effort to improve the quality of labs and scientific inquiry in schools, whether through direct participating or help with resource funding.

Teachers create a project/lab, and the site helps connect them with scientists, engineers, university students or other professionals in a collaborative effort.

Now as an English major/teacher, don't get me started on the whole privileging of science over the arts thing, but any program that promotes students' creative thinking and analytical abilities--along with intellectual curiosity--has my 100% support.

I've passed this along to my own Science Dept., and will certainly be gently nudging them to participate.