I assigned a project where the students received an issue that is currently going on in our big beautiful ocean. These topics are very real, very important, and in need of human intervention immediately. I challenged the students to make a real life impact on peers by taking to social media outlets or youtube to get the word out about these major issues. No one can make a change if they do not realize there is a problem to begin with!!! #realtalk #onebigocean #saveourseas Jelly problem? No Prob!!! Check out what they awesome students are doing to create jellyfish caramel candies out of the very same jelly that plagues their finishing industry! Or see the cookies that are made from giant jellyfish! Really innovating if you ask me... If you're interested in becoming a "medusivore" and try out some exotic jellyfish recipes go to In The Kitchen: Moon Jellyfish and read up about this fascinating (and supposedly delicious) topic! | |
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take a survey!You can click HERE and take a survey to figure out which type of marine science career would fit you the best based on what you find most interesting. You don't have to like to scuba or even know how to swim to work in marine science!!! Being a marine biologist doesn't just mean working with dolphins. You can work as an educator presenting to museum or aquarium guests, work with public policy and governing laws about marine animals, or just work in the lab studying the chemistry of ocean water and sediments. See http://www.marinecareers.net/marine-biology for more information! We will be discussing the ethics of keeping Orcanus orca - The Killer Whale and other cetecean species in captivity. How do you feel about it? Should we keep large, oceanic, predatory mammals in tanks- removed from their homes and families? If you think it is not right, then where do we draw the line? All animals or only some animals? Zoo animals? Fish like our class pets? Your pet dog or cat? Why are some animals OK to keep and some aren't? What makes Orcas any different?! Some useful links in your pursuit of knowledge: http://seaworldcares.com/the-facts/truth-blackfish/ http://www.whale-world.com/whales-in-captivity/ http://www.orcahome.de/links.htm http://www.defenders.org/orca/basic-facts http://www.whale-world.com/whales-in-captivity/ http://wildwhales.org/killer-whale/ Oral (Teeth Health) https://theorcaproject.wordpress.com/2010/09/25/the-hidden-cost-of-captivity-oral-health-of-killer-whales-exposed/ The incident that sparked this debate: http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/24/killer.whale.trainer.death/index.html #askseaworld http://us.whales.org/news/2015/03/seaworld-criticised-social-media-campaign-backfires http://www.petethomasoutdoors.com/2010/03/killer-whales-ought-to-be-left-in-the-wild.html http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?p=2688&more=1 http://www.orcahome.de/orcastat.htm http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/whales/interviews/rose1.html http://www.cnn.com/2013/10/21/us/seaworld-blackfish-qa/ https://oceanadvocatefl.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/orca-dorsal-fin-controvery-experts-vs-seaworld/ http://marinelife.about.com/od/marinelife101/f/killerwhaledorsalfincollapse.htm http://us.whales.org/wdc-in-action/fate-of-captive-orcas https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTXE653JPOg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52o5yV6G7tY https://theorcaproject.wordpress.com/killer-whale-orca-marine-parks/seaworld/ Who is Mark Simmons from Blackfish?
Use this blog post as a "place holder" for your links and pictures by commenting them in the space below. Share your resources with other students to help them find good information on the same project!
Doesn't everyone want to make a million dollars? Wave Energy is the topic of conversation all November! How do we use the ocean to create energy and if WE don't... why not!? We are studying the ways humans harness energy from waves and currents, but I challenge students this month to find a way OR INVENT ONE that could change the future of how we get energy for our cars, planes, houses, schools, etc. If you weren't inspired already, check out FAU's Ocean Energy Program. I hope someone leaves my class and makes millions of dollars one day creating renewable energy from our ocean! In the theme of Halloween I would like to inform you about the devious, devilish, creepy, crawly animals of the deep sea. Abyssopelagic animals are like aliens living on the seafloor. Truly strange and equally amazing!!!! Angler Fish- The angler fish is a unique species that has large females and tiny, tiny little male fish that are completely consumed by the female during mating. Sorry, guys- you lose. We were all scared in Finding Nemo by this fish... and yes, it is real. The Basket Star- This little guy is getting a lot of attention on social media lately. IFLScience reposted on facebook a video from a user that was taken on a pier. Sadly, the creature is fighting for its life, but it says they caught and released it. Do not do try this at the beach! LOL See the video from NOAA's Creatures of the Deep HERE The Goblin Shark- Nope, I didn't just make that name up in the spirit of Halloween! The goblin shark is a bottom-dwelling shark that is rarely seen up at the surface and is hardly ever in shallow waters. This species lives along the continental shelf edge (right near the slope). The BLOBFISH- Again, I don't make the names... you see why scientists didn't spend much time trying to find a name for this guy. It looks like, well, a blob! Read more about it being voted the world's ugliest fish here. Lastly, for your viewing pleasure...
Here are 15 Random Deep Sea Critters youtube Video and a BUZZFEED of some ugly deep sea creatures Colossal Squid Exhibition in New Zealand has video taped a (previously) live squid dissection. The mouth/beak is huge!!! Check out the youtube video of the dissection You can use their SQUID BUILDER to build your own squid here! On Friday September 12th 2014 we are talking via Skype with marine biologist and PhD candidate Heather Marshall from OCEARCH! We are excited and privileged to be able to talk with a scientist from such a nationally recognized organization. We have spent the past 3 weeks learning about OCEARCH and playing with the shark tracker. We have also begun learning about how scientists tag animals and use certain transmitters to tag them with.
Learn more about the company- OCEARCH See the scientist in action- Heather Marshall talks about the shark Beatriz It is said that all of the plastic ever made is still here with us on Earth. It is slowly breaking into smaller and smaller pieces, but never decomposing into other useful materials. Tossed away in landfills this trash is lightweight enough to float away on the breeze, gather in streams and rivers, then make it all the way out to our ocean. Even scarier, we have now seen that because of the strong ocean currents called gyres plastic seems to collect in one single resting place- just off the coast of paradise. Use the links below to explore the saddening matter of Hawaii's beaches and the "Great Garbage Patch" in the Pacific ocean basin. Videos of The Great Garbage Patch- NBC News Trash on the Water Hawaii Recognizes a Message in the Waves Ocean of TrashDigging in An interesting look at why garbage in the ocean made it impossible to find the missing Malaysian airlines flight- http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/missing-jet/landfill-high-seas-whys-ocean-full-trash-n83046 Mmmmmkay. I've operate d this website for a while and really like to do everything here. I realize that tons of other teachers use edmodo and students think it is easy to keep track of. So I've made a resolution to use both this year. Stay with me, I'm new!!!! I've listed the codes below for you to add yourself to my groups depending on which block you're in. If you want to join, go right ahead. If you'd rather just get your info from onebigocean - right on. Do whatever you want as long as it means you are keeping up in my class!!!
Group Codes: (I've linked the codes to the share URL so you can just click2join) 1st Block - xyiwdc 2nd Block - km49mi 3rd Block - 539qtp 4th Block - 3ma5a4 5th Block - jjuspb Edith Widder Biologist, engineer, expert, activist, conservationist- all of these words describe this wonderful woman who has been at the forefront of scientific research in the field of marine biology. It is her specially designed light that mimicked a jellyfish's bioluminescent pattern and attracted a giant squid, giving us the first video footage ever recorded of this once mythical creature. Not only does she study deep sea creatures from a lab, but she has logged over 250 dives in submersibles. She has visited the deepest darkest parts of the ocean we have only seen illustrated in "Finding Nemo". Dr. Widder spends her spare time every morning walking along the river shore and picking up the plastic garbage which sometimes collects behind the modest abandoned coast guard station that is now home to her tiny lab. This lab holds flasks of tiny dinoflagellate creatures that allow her to study the chemistry of bioluminescence. It is also here that she studies the toxic chemicals that accumulate in the sand and silt at the bottom of local lakes and rivers. Like I said before, she is an activist and a conservationist who looks forward to preserving the essential ecosystem that is the Indian River Lagoon. By looking at the sediment toxicity levels Edith and ORCA are able to help make policy changes in Florida that prohibit humans from dumping chemicals and other waste into our rivers and oceans. Making it a safer place for animals, as well as humans, to swim and play. See the video of her capturing footage of the giant squid- HTTP://DSC.DISCOVERY.COM/TV-SHOWS/CURIOSITY/VIDEOS/FIRST-VIDEO-OF-A-GIANT-SQUID.HTM News story about Edith and Giant Squid- http://www.cbsnews.com/news/the-technology-behind-those-amazing-giant-squid-images/ To be prepared for the first week of class you will need to have a few things. Of course you will need a pen, pencil, and paper. For my class you will also be required to carry a spiral or composition notebook which MUST be college ruled. You will also need a black permanent marker and a pack of colored pencils.
On the first day I will give the following handouts: -Syllabus -Welcome Letter/Student Contract slip -Website Photo Release Form All 3 forms must be signed BY YOU (if you are under 18 parents MUST sign too) and returned to Mrs. Dixon by Friday August 22nd. Students who do not have forms on file by August 22nd will receive a 0 as their first homework grade. This cannot be made up! |
AuthorMrs. Dixon Archives
May 2015
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