Google Contest for Young Inventive Scientists

Google Science Fair 2013

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/

"We're looking for the next generation of scientists and engineers. We're looking for ideas that will change the world."

Google

Today's, January 30th, Google Science Fair 2013 has launched online! The competition is focused on finding the brightest and most revolutionary teenagers. 

Google Science Fair is an international, online science and technology competition that encourages the next generation to be curious, ask questions, and perform science experiments to change the world.

In partnership with CERN, the Lego Group, National Geographic, and Scientific American, Google invites the students from around the world to post their science projects online so that they may compete for prizes, scholarships, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences. 

Students have some time to register and submitt in-depth investigation of a question or engineering problem, using a sound scientific method or engineering process.

They can register through the Google Science Fair website, although they will also need the consent of a guardian (parents or guardians).

Education:

Teachers can play a crucial role as mentors and partners to young scientists, offering practical advice on their projects, but also inspiring them on their journeys of exploration and discovery.

As educators, we know how curious and creative are our students. So let us involved and start to work on it on our lessons. 

Ages: 13 to 18

Let's tell our students about the competition, and encourage them to enter a project. They can be inspired visiting Google Science Fair website and Google Science Fair on Google +

Google present some good ideas to offer support to our students:

• Sharing biographies of young scientific innovators throughout history. For example Marie Curie, Jules Verne (writer, a true inventor and visionary in his time);

• Checking stories out of sicence heroes who changed the world at at young age here; Ada Lovelace is among these stories. Girls in Science, remember?
• 
  
• Watching videos from the previous competions here;

• Reminding students to get permission to participate from their parents or guardians;

• Guiding them through using scientific method to talk through and implement their ideas;

• Helping them find information and any specialized equipment they might need. Visit Student Resources here;

• Checking in regularly to make sure they're on track to meet the submission deadline (no procrastinating!). Visit Experiment Guidelines (what to and what to avoid) here;

You can help keep sutdents on track as they work on their projects by sending them to the Student Pack: a self-help guide that offers explanations of science terms (like hypothesis and variables), and some practice questions so they can work through important concepts and then check their answers at the end.

The youngest must have some tutoring on Student Pack.

If you need some guidelines, there are lesson plans that you can use to get your students started, and tips on getting them involved - and excited.

Parents also have a section help on the website here.

Deadline: April 30, 2013

In June, Google will select 90 regional finalists (30 from North and South America, 30 from Asia, and 30 from Europe/Africa). Out of those 90, 15 will emerge as finalists and will be jetted to Google HQ in Mountain View.

On September 23rd, a panel of judges will pick the winners (one in each age category) and an overall Grand Prize winner.

The best submission will be awarded the grand prize, which includes a 10 day trip to the Galapagos Islands - Wow! - courtesy of National Geographic Expeditions.

Now, watch this increadible idea on the video below. At the age of 14, Jonah Kohn has made great progress in helping the hearing impaired experience music through his passion for Music. Beautiful!

Jonah was the winner of the 13-14 age group in the "2012 Google Science" for his project. 

Some conclusions:

Promoting the science interchange between young scientists and guiding them to a better world is a powerful learning strategy.

Contests are always important activities to include at the curriculum. Students are encouraged to demonstrate the inner creativity to develop their competences as innovators.

Of course an internationqal contest, in this case a world contest, is an opportunity for the young students to exchange new ideas, share common interests and gain experience from an event which involves some many teenagers scientists. 

"The great benefit of science is that it can make a tremendous contribution to the alleviation of suffering on a physical level, but it is only by cultivating the qualities of the human heart."

Dalai Lama

" It's your turn to change the world. Make sure you register."

G-Souto

30.01.2013

copyright © 2013G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com 

Google Contest for Young Inventive Scientists by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Credits: videos | image Google

Schools : Teaching the Holocaust : book & other resources

http://www.unesco.org/

"The history of the genocide perpetrated during the Second World War does not belong to the past only. It is a ‘living history’ that concerns us all, regardless of our background, culture, or religion. Othergenocides have occurred after the Holocaust, on several continents. How can we draw better lessons from the past?"

Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO

http://www.unesco.org/

Every year around 27 January, since 2005, UNESCO pays tribute to the memory of the victims of the Holocaust. This date marks the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi German Concentration and Extermination Camp of Auschwitz-Birkenau by the Soviet troops in 1945.  

In 2013, the theme chosen by the United Nations for this International Day is:

“The Courage to Care: Rescue during the Holocaust”. 

It highlights the exceptional actions of individuals or groups that contrast to an indifferent majority. They took action despite tremendous danger. These stories of rescue are rare but provide strong evidence that action is always possible in the face of injustice and gross violations of human rights.

Auschwitz camp

credits: Euronews 2012

http://static.euronews.com/

The week’s events, began on 21 January 2013, provoking each participant’s own thoughts and beliefs about the moral values and courage that lie behind such daring acts of rescue. 

Each person who becomes aware of this history will no doubt reflect upon his or her own capacity to turn compassion for others into decisive and heroic action in their time of need.

Auschwitz Museum

photo: Children portraits

http://wa2.www.unesco.org/

Before the ceremony, UNESCO organizes a conference entitled "From Holocaust Education to the Prevention of Genocide: What have we learnt from the Past?" in partnership with the Office of the United Nations Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide. 

The event will include the participation of UN Special Envoy Assistant Secretary-General Adama Dieng and of several Holocaust and genocide scholars. 

Anne Frank timeline | Anne Frank House

http://www.annefrank.org/

Education:


"Freedom, goodness, giving, courage, happiness, humanity, usefulness…"

Anne Frank

Learning about this universal history can engage students in a critical reflection about the shared heritage of humanity, the roots of genocide, and the necessity to nurture peace and human rights to prevent such atrocities in the future.  

To mark International Holocaust Remembrance Day (27 January 2013), UNESCO has published a new brochure, “Why teach about the Holocaust?” which provides an overview of Holocaust education. 

The brochure explains that:

• The Holocaust was a defining historical moment; 

• Genocide is not inevitable; 

• States and citizens have responsibilities; 

• Silence contributes to oppression;

• Prejudice and racism have roots. 

In addition, it explores the challenges and opportunities of teaching about the Holocaust and provides educational resources on the Holocaust and other genocides. 

UNESCO 2012

http://www.unesco.org/

Last year a short film entitled “Hidden Children” by renown film maker Robert Bober was shown. The film brought to light moving letters of hidden children read by French actress Anouk Grinberg. 

• How do schools worldwide handle the Holocaust as a subject? 

• In what areas of the world does the Holocaust form part of classroom teaching?

Answers to these questions will be provided in late 2013 by a project conducted by UNESCO and the Georg Eckert Institute for International Textbook Research.

For the first time it will be possible to compare representations of the Holocaust in school textbooks and national curricula. 

Holocaust Education exemplifies UNESCO’s vision of education as the starting point for building peace and nurturing the principles of dignity, equality and mutual respect of all men and women.

Why Teach the Holocaust, Brochure 2013

credits: UNESCO

Teachers:

UNESCO "Why Teach the Holocaust", Brochure 2013 can be downloaded here .

Resources for Teaching the Holocaust And Other Genocides here

Anne Frank official website (Netherlands) has projects and activities that you can use at school, no matter the curriculum. Students can be involved in cross-curricula. 

Visit Education to inspire you and adapt the best resources to the level you teach.

Activities: Reading & Writing

It somehow surprises me that there are so many kids who don't know anything about the Holocaust or World War II or Anne Frank.  I don't know why, but I just assumed that they were a part of everyone's school experience, and as a teacher, I am always dismayed when I discover yet again that the students are not informed about this aspect of very recent world history. 

Thus, in 2012, a survey showed that a fifth of young Germans do not even knew Auschwitz was a Nazi death camp.

Diary of Anne Frank (manuscrit)

http://www.annefrank.org/

Tuesday, 7 March 1944

Think of all the beauty in yourself and in everything around you and be happy.

Anne Frank

Literature and Languages curriculum is the perfect curriculum. We can talk, read, write, and learn about every subject.

Reading and writing are two important skills that students must handle easily and digital literacy as well.

Diaries are an interesting part of the Narrative text. Students love to read diaries written from other young people.

How do diaries help us teach about this special narrative text ? 

The Diary of Anne Frank

https://www.amazon.com/

The Diary of Anne Frank is at once exceedingly special and totally normal. Her circumstances, her writing skill, and her insight make the diary extraordinary. 

What is it about diaries that make them such rich resources? Diarists are among the most honest writers you'll ever know!  Very few lies exist in a diary that carries the expectation of being private forever. 

Also, diaries are written in a way that is characteristic of an era.  One can learn about speech patterns, syntax, and changes in language from reading diaries.

Diário de Anne Frank

https://www.fnac.pt/

Activities:

The Diary of Anne Frank is part of my lessons when I teach the Narrative text.

Anne's diary should not be taught without context. Students must understand the circumstances surrounding the Franks' decision to go into hiding.

So, invite your students  to do a research on the official website of Anne Frank (in the classroom and at home); Anne Frank House (Facebook up-to 13), to understand better all the events during the World War II, taking some notes to discuss in the classroom. 

Of course, you must prepare carefully your lessons, choosing the best resources for the level you are teaching, reviewing in detail each one.

Anne Frank

via Wikipedia

https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Frank

Students love to read The Diary of Anne Frank, they discuss a lot about Anne's ideas shared on her diary. You can read (Portuguese language) some thoughts of my students on the Dia Internacional da Memória do Holocausto (blog of my students in Portuguese language).

She inspires them to write touching creative texts: pages of a diary; letters to Anne; storytelling; poetry. 

They always ask for other suggestions about books on the same or similar subject.

Note: If you're going to use the diary as a reading book, try to fit in the whole thing. 

Resources: Films

• Elementary education (up-to 8-13 years)

Anne Frank The Whole Story,  Robert Dornhelm (2009) 

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2009) based on the book by John Boyne

• High Junior School | Secondary Education

Schindler's List, Steven Spielberg (1993)

Sophie's Choice, Alan J. Pakula (1983) based on the book by William Styron

Aristides de Sousa Mendes, O Cônsul de Bordéus (2011), a true story of rescue, (English subtitles).

• App "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank: ipad (all levels)

To coincide with "Holocaust Memorial Day", Penguin Books launched an app of The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank available on iTunes

The app has a wealth of embedded content: video footage of Frank's only living relative Buddy Elias, audio extracts of the diary read by Helena Bonham Carter and translated facsimile pages from the original diary. There are also "Story Trails" with titles such as "Fear" and "Life in Hiding".

iPad screenshot | Anne Frank app

https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/anne-frank/

ipad screenshot | Anne Frank app

https://itunes.apple.com/nz/app/anne-frank/

The diary has been translated into dozens of languages, is read by millions of people and is on the curriculum of so many schools around the world.

Anne Frank’s diary has inspired children’s authors to write books that continue the importance of telling the stories. There are some good books for young people that we can include in the curriculum.

Language: English

Price: $9.99


Other Resources:

• Books (e-books) | Authors - Literature & ICT

The Diary of Anne Frank by Anne Frank  (students blog)

The Book Thief by Markus Zusak (on this blog)

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas by John Boyne (students blog)


O Mundo em que vivi by Ilse Losa (German-Portuguese children's writer) 

Let Me Whisper You My Story by Moya Simons

Trilogy Then | Once ! Now by Morris Glietzman

The Reader by Stephen Daldry

• BD | Manga

Anne Frank au pays du manga

Alain Lewkowicz 

https://gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.pt/

Anne Frank au pays du manga est une BD documentaire interactive. Un voyage en BD documentaire interactive "pour comprendre ce qui, de la Shoah et d'Hiroshima, peut - ou non - constituer une expérience commune au Japon et à l'Europe."

• Web | Social media

Anne Frank official website 
http://www.annefrank.org/en/

Anne Frank House | Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/annefrankhouse

Official Anne Frank Channel | YouTube
http://www.youtube.com/annefrank

Ilse Losa: uma escritora luso-alemã
http://fragmentosvirtuaisdumaprofessora.blogspot.pt/2012/11/ilse-losa-1913-2006.html

The Anne Frank Center US
http://annefrank.com/

USC Shoah Foundation | Teacher Education
http://sfi.usc.edu/education/

The Insurbodinate Consul of Portugal
 http://www1.yadvashem.org/yv/en/righteous/stories/mendes.asp

Sousa Mendes Foundation, vidéo (French language, English subtitles)
http://sousamendesfoundation.org/filmvideo/

Aristides de Sousa Mendes, O Cônsul de Bordéus (2011) Portuguese language, English subtitles 
http://www.trailers.com.pt/o-consul-de-bordeus/

Sousa Mendes saved more lives than Schindler | The Independent
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/sousa-mendes-saved-more-lives-than-schindler-so-why-isnt-he-a-household-name-too-2105882.html

Anne Frank

http://www.annefrank.org.au/

I'm sure you will develop wonderful projects with your students. They love History  and Literature. Love biographies of other young people.

You don't have to finish in a week. Give some time of your lessons to really help your students to understand the values of a young girl who died tragically but never lost her faith in a better world.

"Transmitting the memory of the Holocaust is a vital part of the struggle to combat ignorance and prejudice through education in humanist values, the sharing of cultures and knowledge of history.”

Irina Bokova, Director-General of UNESCO

G-Souto

24.01.2013
update 27.2013
copyright © 2013G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com


Schools : Teaching the Holocaust : book & other resources by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

Forest Photo Contest : UNFF

http://www.un.org/

"Look deep into nature, 
and then you will understand everything better." 

Albert Einstein

Everbody knows that I am for Environmental education as a cross-curricula activity. There are so many post about the theme on this blog!

Now, here another interesting contest! The UNFF Forest Photo contest invites everyone, in every part of the world, to share photos that visually capture their relationship to forests.

See! Don't you agree that it could be exciting to invite your students to take a photo from a forest near you?

http://www.un.org/

Education:

Environmental education and outdoor play is important for our children’s personal and academic growth. With students now spending 90% of their time indoors, “nature deficit disorder” is on the rise. 

Getting kids outside teaches them about the world around them and gives them an appreciation for nature while providing an opportunity for sunshine and exercise.

Portuguese forest

http://www.teamxanfre.com/

Not so difficult! I am sure that your students have beautiful photos from holiday time if they don't have a forest near school. If there is a forest near school, that's perfect!

You and your students take a lesson outdoor, and I am sure that will be a very interesting learning activity.

Let's do it! And how?

Download and fill out the entry form (pdf) here

Email the entry form and the Forest photo submission to forests@un.org

Deadline:

1 February 2013

Curriculum: cross-curricula Geopgraphy, Arts (Photography), Sciences, Languages, other.

Level(s): Elementary and Secondary education; Vocational Education.

Jury:

After the deadline on 1 February 2013, an international jury will select 15 semi-finalists and 5 finalists.

Prize: Finalists

The 5 finalists will be awarded at the United Nations Forum on Forests meeting in Istambul, with travel support to be provided.

“What we are doing to the forests of the world is but a mirror reflection of what we are doing to ourselves and to one another.” 

 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi

G-Souto

20.01.2013

copyright © 2013G-Souto'sBlog, gsouto-digitalteacher.blogspot.com

Forest Photo Contest : UNFF by G-Souto is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.