No Automation, One Shot at Landing: It’s Really Hard to Fly SpaceShipTwo

Friday morning, Virgin Galactic’s spaceship, meant to eventually take wealthy passengers on brief rides into space, crashed during a test flight over southern California. One of the pilots onboard was killed, the other suffered serious injuries and was transported to the hospital. It’s a serious setback for the space tourism effort, but is unlikely to kill the enterprise altogether. The program is quite advanced, and Richard Branson’s employees have put a ton of effort into finding a reliable way to get people into space. Here's how they plan to do it once they're back on track.

The post No Automation, One Shot at Landing: It’s Really Hard to Fly SpaceShipTwo appeared first on WIRED.

from WIRED » Science http://feeds.wired.com/c/35185/f/661470/s/400b3002/sc/21/l/0L0Swired0N0C20A140C10A0Chard0Eto0Efly0Espaceshiptwo0C/story01.htm

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A new pathway for job-seeking IT students

by Ron Bethke, eCampusNews

According to a report by McKinsey, freelance portals will create more than 150 million jobs globally by 2025. And a new education startup called CodersTrust is aiming to teach students new IT and coding skills in order to land those freelance and outsourcing jobs–a goal that CodersTrust believes will be critical for future economies. For example, Elance, one of the major online freelance job portals, has a whopping 54 percent of its listed jobs in the IT & Programming category, with those jobs going for over $2 billion dollars total.

http://www.ecampusnews.com/top-news/coderstrust-unique-it-826/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/Z2fWxJQSGxc/

Wanted: Immersive gaming in K-8 classrooms

By Laura Devaney, eSchool News

Seventy-four percent of K-8 teachers in a recent report said they use digital games for instruction, but few teachers reported engaging students with immersive games that offer in-depth exploration and 21st-century skill development. Teachers surveyed for a new report from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center said they believe using digital games in the classroom helps students improve math skills (71 percent), computer/technology content and skills (65 percent), executive function skills (59 percent), and 21st-century skills (52 percent).

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/22/wanted-immersive-gaming-673/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/NOkHRnoyqF4/

Free online aquarium resources foster science inquiry

By Alicia Archer, eSchool News

To reach more classrooms with its educational programs, the Aquarium of the Pacific has created free online curriculum materials based on live animal webcams. The Aquarium Webcam Resource Kits include lesson plans, activities, online resources, and educational videos. Aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), these inquiry-based kits encourage students to make observations using the aquarium’s live streaming webcams, such as Shark Lagoon, Tropical Pacific, and Penguin Habitat.

http://www.eschoolnews.com/2014/10/22/online-aquarium-resources-235/

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/Z2kqYeCQbOI/

Space Tourism Isn’t Worth Dying For

Today, a brave Virgin Galactic test pilot is dead and another one critically injured---in the service of a millionaire boondoggle thrill ride.

The post Space Tourism Isn’t Worth Dying For appeared first on WIRED.

from WIRED » Science http://feeds.wired.com/c/35185/f/661470/s/400ad65e/sc/21/l/0L0Swired0N0C20A140C10A0Cvirgin0Egalactic0Eboondoggle0C/story01.htm

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Science’s Favorite Deep-Sea Explorer Gets High-Tech Upgrades

After 50 years of cutting-edge seafloor exploration, the Alvin submersible—renegade deep-sea explorer for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute—just got a long-deserved makeover. Alvin is the United States’ only deep-diving manned submersible used for science, so its upgrades will have a serious impact on the discoveries we can pull off in the deep. To make a […]

The post Science’s Favorite Deep-Sea Explorer Gets High-Tech Upgrades appeared first on WIRED.

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Absurd Creatures of the Week: Real-Life Animal Zombies That Are Way Cooler Than Your Costume

A staggering number of creatures out there (and even some fungi) have figured out how to mind-control their unfortunate hosts. In Absurd Creature of the Week, I’ve covered quite a few of these. But today I present to you my five favorites: Real-Life Zombies That I’m Sorry to Say Are Cooler Than Your Zombie Halloween Costume That You Really Just Phoned In. First up…

The post Absurd Creatures of the Week: Real-Life Animal Zombies That Are Way Cooler Than Your Costume appeared first on WIRED.

from WIRED » Science http://feeds.wired.com/c/35185/f/661470/s/40052746/sc/36/l/0L0Swired0N0C20A140C10A0Cabsurd0Ecreatures0Eof0Ethe0Eweek0Ereal0Elife0Eanimal0Ezombies0C/story01.htm

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Reflecting for Change, From Journaling to Blogging

by Rafranz Davis, Edutopia

On the day of my college graduation, my math education professor cornered me to hand me a gift that would forever set the tone for my career in education. Dr. Vanessa Huse gave me a journal with a note inside telling me to use it for reflecting daily on three things that I could improve upon, as well as three things that had gone great. That was years ago. At the time, I thought that a journal was such an odd gift. Little did I know that this gift from a professor would be my ticket to becoming not only a reflective blogger, but also a growth-minded educator.

http://www.edutopia.org/blog/reflecting-for-change-journaling-blogging-rafranz-davis

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/BJxbDWUOyZE/

UC Irvine Extension Adds 12 New Distance Courses for Recent Grads

By Joshua Bolkan, Campus Technology

The University of California, Irvine Extension has launched 12 new career readiness courses to be offered as four Coursera Specializations. A Coursera Specialization is “a targeted sequence of courses with an applied final project,” according to information on the Coursera blog. “These courses are designed to provide learners with further skills and abilities to succeed in today’s workplace,” according to a news release. “The UC Irvine Extension courses consist of online training and a sequence of development sessions, intended for new graduates and other professionals who want to learn practical skills that will improve their marketability as employees.”

http://campustechnology.com/articles/2014/10/16/uc-irvine-extension-adds-12-new-distance-courses-for-recent-grads.aspx

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from Educational Technology http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/uis/edtech/~3/og3hHgZfbFM/

Homestead students give flex days good grade

By Kevin Kilbane, The News-Sentinel

Several Homestead High School students were nearly unanimous in describing one big benefit of the school’s e-learning flex days — they get to sleep in. But students interviewed said they feel they learn as much as during a regular school day, just in a more time-efficient manner. “It’s actually very, very relaxing,” senior Ethan Snead, 17, said Tuesday morning during break from the online classwork he was doing during Homestead’s second e-learning flex day. Southwest Allen County Schools was one of 12 school districts in Indiana granted state approval to hold e-learning flex days this school year. The district chose to implement the program at Homestead, which has 2,300 students.

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20141022/NEWS/141029900

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Winning Microscope Photographs Are Beautiful, Intriguing, and Creepy

The winner's of Nikon's annual Small World microscope photography contest this year include images of transgenic kidneys, a cricket's tongue, spider eyes, and a scarlet pimpernel. The first-place photograph was chosen out of more than 1,200 entries from 79 different countries. Rogelio Moreno, a computer programmer and self-taught microscopist from Panama, managed to capture an image of a tiny creature known as a rotifer with its mouth open.

The post Winning Microscope Photographs Are Beautiful, Intriguing, and Creepy appeared first on WIRED.

from WIRED » Science http://feeds.wired.com/c/35185/f/661470/s/3ffc76c6/sc/10/l/0L0Swired0N0C20A140C10A0Cnikon0Esmall0Eworld0Emicroscope0Ephoto0Ewinners0C/story01.htm

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Why It Took 23 Years to Link Amelia Earhart’s Disappearance to This Scrap of Metal

Researchers had tried for 23 years to connect this piece of metal to Amelia Earhart's disappearance. They finally think they've proven it was part of her plane.

The post Why It Took 23 Years to Link Amelia Earhart’s Disappearance to This Scrap of Metal appeared first on WIRED.

from WIRED » Science http://feeds.wired.com/c/35185/f/661470/s/3ffbb4e3/sc/2/l/0L0Swired0N0C20A140C10A0Cmetal0Escrap0Eamelia0Eearhart0C/story01.htm

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Science Graphic of the Week: How Magic Mushrooms Rearrange Your Brain

A new way of looking at the mind's activity may give insight into how psychedelic drugs produce their consciousness-altering effects.

The post Science Graphic of the Week: How Magic Mushrooms Rearrange Your Brain appeared first on WIRED.

from WIRED » Science http://feeds.wired.com/c/35185/f/661470/s/3ffb7440/sc/4/l/0L0Swired0N0C20A140C10A0Cmagic0Emushroom0Ebrain0C/story01.htm

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