December 18, 2007

Homework:
Continue researching
Sections 1 and 2 should have a preliminary topic for tomorrow and be ready for the quiz.
Sections 3, 6, and 7 will have an open book quiz on Unit 6. They will research one more day.

Today:
I tried to get the students focused on a topic for the DuPont Challenge.
1. Pick a topic you like that is science related.
2. As you research it, look for the way that it is solving a problem.
3. Explore the solutions your topic is offering people.
4. How does your topic influence other areas of science?
5. Is there any opposition to your topic?

I was discussing an example of data storage. As someone who relies on computers daily, at home and at school, I understand the need for reliable data storage. I was explaining that there are multiple topics relating to storage. There are the topics of size and reliability for which science is providing solutions. But I was also playing with the topic of archiving. Will our data be available in the future? Grandma's leather bound photo album is viewable. So are scrolls from 2000 years ago. Will the electronic documents and pictures we create today be available to people in the future? How many of us have records we can't play? I have floppies with no drive to read them. (I don't need them anyway, but you get the point.)