My novice response to the question: What is the difference between sketch notes, graphic recording, and graphic facilitation?… Continue Reading
Monthly Archives: January 2012
My first attempt at real-time graphic recording: The 2012 State of the Union
Real-time graphic recording is hard. But fun. There is no pausing of the tape. No rewinding. Just intense listening with an intent to keep up with the flow of information. The graphic above is what I came up with while listening to President Obama’s State of the Union address last night. There is plenty of… Continue Reading
Radiolab: On the miraculous survival of falling cats (and one of the best demonstrations of Newton’s 2nd Law that I’ve seen)
If you happen to be a science teacher looking for an intro to Newton’s laws, then I’ve got a story for you. Actually, I don’t have it – Radiolab does. We’ve all heard the news stories – “Cat Falls From 34th Floor, Walks Away.” And chances are you have wondered, “How do they survive such… Continue Reading
On Writing Well: The Introduction
During my last two years of high school I was a member of the school newspaper staff, first as a reporter and page editor, then as the co-editor in chief. The whole process – brainstorming story ideas as a class, picking which ones we would write, interviewing students, staff, and community members, writing the stories,… Continue Reading
Freakonomics: Correlation ≠ Causation (Money can’t buy elections)
I recently listened to a Freakonomics podcast that looked at this question: Does money really buy elections? The podcast came out just after Mitt Romney won big in the New Hampshire primary, and the focus was on what the candidates are doing for the next primary, this one in South Carolina. The strategy – raise… Continue Reading
Word Sketch: Meta
Learning about learning. Thinking about thinking. Writing about writing. These are all examples of “meta” activities. Though technically a prefix, “meta” has already made the leap to the urban dictionary, and it’s a word worth knowing. The first time I can remember coming across this term was during a Spanish literature class that I took… Continue Reading
Curiosity and Mindfulness
I was browsing through Powell’s a few weeks ago when I came across a book that caught my eye: Curious?: Discover the Missing Ingredient to a Fulfilling Life by Todd Kashdan. I’m not one for fluffy self-help books, but this book is more than that – it’s based on the science of curiosity. I think… Continue Reading
Word Sketch: Emergence
Back in 2007, Radiolab did an entire episode on the topic of emergence. Emergence is the idea that structure can arise from complex systems not because of a leader directing the show but simply due to the combined behavior of all of the individual components of that system. Common examples are flocks of birds and… Continue Reading
