Thursday, October 28, 2010

Module IV


What new learning have I taken from this module?
I did not know about the two different waves of earthquakes:  P waves & S waves (Predicting Earthquakes video)—but having just experienced a local earthquake at the end of school today, it got me thinking more critically about earthquakes.  Each one I've experienced has felt different & unique.  The video talked about how the P waves are experienced first, but they have less energy while the S waves follow.  The S waves are slower, but are more powerful & that has often been my experience in feeling earthquakes—except for today's quake.  It was really instantaneous & somewhat powerful followed by the subtle waves afterwards.  Was that because the quake originated only 30 miles away?  Curious & interesting.

I was really interested in what a "smoot" is—quite a fun story!  I like stories such as this—history built right into a science lesson so that it all has meaning!  Thanks for the little tid-bit.  I was left wondering, how in the world did Google folks know to incorporate smoots into Google Earth's measurement???  Crazy!

I'm embarrassed to admit I didn't know that Augustine is on its own island and I live just across the inlet!  And I wasn't aware that Alaska is home to 80% of the US' volcanoes.
How can/will I use this week’s resources and/or others in my community in my lessons?
I can definitely see using Real-Time Earthquakes in my classroom:  the first thing I wanted to do was check and see if today’s earthquake showed up or how long it takes—sure enough, there it was:  4.4 magnitude.  It was a decent quake and very nearby!  We’ll have a fun time checking local earthquakes out using this resource.

In general I have found these Teacher Domain video links very helpful in adding to my virtual library of classroom resources—many of them I don’t have specified to a particular lesson, per se, but I consider them valuable for future units that I have yet to dream up.  I get bored teaching the same lessons over, so I’m constantly developing new units/lessons and these Teacher Domain videos are an invaluable resource for me to rely on.  I really appreciate this exposure to what it has to offer.
How useful, insightful or relevant are this module’s information and resources for me?
As I mentioned above about P & S waves, living in Alaska we experience earthquakes all the time—so often I frequently don’t notice them or wake for them in the middle of the night.  But learning about the different waves and the ability to notify the public about an event 10 seconds out is really valuable, especially living ½ mile from Cook Inlet where the consequence of a large earthquake—tsunami or tidal wave—is very plausible.  I often envision such an event in my mind and imagine if time would slow enough for me to load my daughter, dogs, and cat into the car and allow us to drive away, would we really make it before the water came?  And would no one else in our neighborhood know, or would the streets be suddenly jammed with traffic?  Or would we load into our boat (the cat would simply cooperate here, I’m certain!) unhook the boat from the trailer, hoping/praying the wave would simply lift us up gently and push us inland and back without any harm, much like in the You Tube video of Lituya Bay, “BBC Nature: Mega Tsunami-Alaskan Super Wave-Amazing Survival.” 
 
3 Colleagues
I really enjoyed reading Matt Hunter’s “New World” vs. “Old World” blog, thanks to Clay’s suggestion.  What an anthropology review!  I wholeheartedly agree with his quote from Frederic Chaffee, Director VM Keck Observatory: “It’s very easy in science to become completely absorbed in what we’re doing.”  I get completely absorbed in what I’m doing whether it’s teaching science or taking care of my one year old—I have forgotten a lot of human history over the years and appreciate the mini lesson.  I was left wanting to hear more from him on Alaska—maybe we’ll get that next week. . . 


Janet Reed’s blog has a couple of great photos—I’m very jealous of the snowfall in Valdez last year.  Five feet in one dump is amazing!  I bet that kept you busy!  And the plane’s dashboard picture with the “never” sunset and “never” sunrise is great!  Alaska is known for its extremes, for sure. 

Doug Armstrong has posted some incredible photographs of Volcanos from the "ring of fire"--they are absolutely breathtaking!  I drive by Mt. Redoubt every day, but rarely does it look as gorgous as his photo depicts.  Definitely worth seeing his pics. 

2 comments:

  1. I also did not know that Alaska is home to 80% of the US' volcanoes. I liked reading all the things that you learned from this module. I too feel like I am learning so many things. I also liked your last part when you were talking about having enough time if something would happen, or how would you know. I guess the best thing is to just also be prepared. Living in Alaska has just taught me to be flexible and adaptable.

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  2. Alison,

    I liked the link to the Wikipedia page on Smoots and +/- one ear. Oh, those fraternity pranksters.

    Doug

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