B.Ed OPTIONAL COURSE
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE ? I
UNIT I Place, Goals and Objectives of Biology
Biology in the school curriculum ? its claims for inclusion ? Interdisciplinary approaches in the school curriculum ? Various branches related to Life Science.
Goals and objectives of teaching Biology with reference to Bloom?s taxonomy- Cognitive, Affective and Psychomotor Domains. Aims of teaching Biology at different levels ? Primary, Secondary and Higher Secondary.
Biology in the school curriculum
??????????? Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines. Among the most important topics are five unifying principles that can be said to be the fundamental axioms of modern biology:
- Cells are the basic unit of life
- New species and inherited traits are the product of evolution
- Genes are the basic unit of heredity
- An organism regulates its internal environment to maintain a stable and constant condition
- Living organisms consume and transform energy.
What is science?
??????????? The word "science" probably brings to mind many different pictures: a fat textbook, white lab coats and microscopes, an astronomer peering through a telescope, a naturalist in the rainforest, Einstein's equations scribbled on a chalkboard, the launch of the space shuttle, bubbling beakers ?. All of those images reflect some aspect of science, but none of them provides a full picture because science has so many facets:
- Science is both a body of knowledge and a process. In school, science may sometimes seem like a collection of isolated and static facts listed in a textbook, but that's only a small part of the story. Just as importantly, science is also a process of discovery that allows us to link isolated facts into coherent and comprehensive understandings of the natural world.
- Science is exciting. Science is a way of discovering what's in the universe and how those things work today, how they worked in the past, and how they are likely to work in the future. Scientists are motivated by the thrill of seeing or figuring out something that no one has before.
- Science is useful. The knowledge generated by science is powerful and reliable. It can be used to develop new technologies, treat diseases, and deal with many other sorts of problems.
- Science is ongoing. Science is continually refining and expanding our knowledge of the universe, and as it does, it leads to new questions for future investigation. Science will never be "finished."
- Science is a global human endeavor. People all over the world participate in the process of science. And you can too!
Science is complex and multi-faceted, but the most important characteristics of science are straightforward:
- Science focuses exclusively on the natural world, and does not deal with supernatural explanations.
- Science is a way of learning about what is in the natural world, how the natural world works, and how the natural world got to be the way it is. It is not simply a collection of facts; rather it is a path to understanding.
- Scientists work in many different ways, but all science relies on testing ideas by figuring out what expectations are generated by an idea and making observations to find out whether those expectations hold true.
- Accepted scientific ideas are reliable because they have been subjected to rigorous testing, but as new evidence is acquired and new perspectives emerge these ideas can be revised.
- Science is a community endeavor. It relies on a system of checks and balances, which helps ensure that science moves in the direction of greater accuracy and understanding. This system is facilitated by diversity within the scientific community, which offers a broad range of perspectives on scientific ideas.
??????????? Too many, science may seem like an arcane, ivory-towered institution ? but that impression is based on a misunderstanding of science. In fact:
- Science affects your life everyday in all sorts of different ways.
- Science can be fun and is accessible to everyone.
- You can apply an understanding of how science works to your everyday life.
- Anyone can become a scientist ? of the amateur or professional variety.
Definitions of Science
????????? sci?ence
1.????? A branch of knowledge or study dealing with a body of facts or truths systematically arranged and showing the operation of general laws: the mathematical sciences.
2. Systematic knowledge of the physical or material world gained through observation ?? ????????????????????????????????????????????and experimentation.
4. systematized knowledge in general.
5. Knowledge, as of facts or principles; knowledge gained by systematic study.
6. A particular branch of knowledge.
7. Skill, especially reflecting a precise application of facts or principles; proficiency.
Definitions by goal and process
?2. The organized body of knowledge that is derived from such observations and that can be verified or tested by further investigation.
?3. any specific branch of this general body of knowledge, such as biology, physics, geology, or astronomy.
Academic Press Dictionary of Science & Technology
??????????? Science is an intellectual activity carried on by humans that is designed to discover information about the natural world in which humans live and to discover the ways in which this information can be organized into meaningful patterns. A primary aim of science is to collect facts (data). An ultimate purpose of science is to discern the order that exists between and amongst the various facts.
??????????? Science involves more than the gaining of knowledge. It is the systematic and organized inquiry into the natural world and its phenomena. Science is about gaining a deeper and often useful understanding of the world.
The Nature of Normal Science
??????????? Normal science is the practice of gaining knowledge by using some paradigm. It therefore has a perspective, common rules, facts, and problems. Its task is to solidify, reify, and articulate the paradigm; quantify its predictions, extend it to new areas, and to develop the technology needed. It rejects the approbations of the lay. It does not attempt to answer all problems. It uses facts considered revealing to solve problems considered acute by the paradigm. It is to articulate accepted phenomena. Problems must be challenging but not hopeless. Frequently the paradigm and its rules are tacit, they cannot be articulated. The adequacy of a paradigm is judged by peers not lay.
??????????? Normal science is the finding of previously unpredicted phenomena and showing how that phenomenon is explainable with the existing paradigm. Finding unexplainable phenomena is not science; anyone can be capable of not explaining something. Brain damage helps enormously. Normal science does not produce new phenomena; it articulates those that the paradigm supplies. Extending the paradigm (showing how the paradigm explains previously unexplainable events) is mopping up and is where most scientists spend their lives.
??????????? A paradigm gains status because it handles problems that practitioners feel are important - not because it handles all problems.
??????????? 1. Empirical work to articulate paradigm or theory. Determinants of physical constants / quantitative laws / determination of way to apply paradigm to new situation.
??????????? 2. Facts without intrinsic interest which can be compared to predictions from the paradigm.
??????????? 3. Class of facts that the paradigm has shown to be revealing of nature. To desert the paradigm is to cease practicing the science it defines. The task is to explain current problems with rules such that the majority of past findings are consistent, somewhat like a judge trying to be consistent with precedent, or trying to minimize sum of squared differences when determining a regression line.
Fact
? ???????? ?1. ?Something that actually exists; reality; truth: Your fears have no basis in fact.
??????????? ?2. Something known to exist or to have happened: Space travel is now a fact.
3. A truth known by actual experience or observation; something known to be true: ???Scientists gather facts about plant growth.
4. Something said to be true or supposed to have happened: The facts given by the witness are highly questionable.
5. Law often, facts an actual or alleged event or circumstance, as distinguished from its legal effect or consequence. Compare question of fact, question of law.There are four types of fact. The first type of fact cannot be proved by the experiments as we wish. We have to see this fact when it happens. The second type of fact can be seen and shown at any time. The third type of fact is the generalization i.e. one fact is associating with another fact. The fourth type is a theory but it is treated as fact because of the evidences to prove the theory.
BIOLOGY AS A SCIENCE
??????????? When we say science we know pretty well that includes not only physics and chemistry but also Biology. We can give three reasons to prove that Biology is also a science. They are:
1.????? Biology possesses the characters of other branches of science like practical, experiments, data and utility for the life. We know that all the three branches of science possess all these qualities. Biology also gives the same benefits to the society as the other branches.
2.????? Biology gives a complete and notable knowledge like other branches of science. We know that physics deals with instruments and equipments, chemistry deals with chemical substances and their combinations and biology deals with living organisms. So it gives a complete notable knowledge about living organisms.
3.????? Biology gives extra training in the scientific method. We know that scientific method is a method followed by scientists to develop science. While physics and chemistry gives training to the pupil in this method, Biology is expected to give extra training in this method. This is because it deals with living organisms and they have to face complex problems in their life. The pupils are expected to adopt the scientific method in order to find how the living organisms overcome the complex problems. So they get extra training in the scientific method by studying Biology. Because of these three reasons Biology is considered as science along with other branches of science. ?
GOALS AND OBJECTIVES OF TEACHING BIOLOGY WITH REFERENCE TO BLOOM?S TAXONOMY
Benjamin Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains - Cognitive, Affective, Psychomotor Domains - design and evaluation toolkit for training and learning
??????????? Bloom's Taxonomy, (in full: 'Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains', or strictly speaking: Bloom's 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives') was initially (the first part) published in 1956 under the leadership of American academic and educational expert Dr Benjamin S Bloom. 'Bloom's Taxonomy' was originally created in and for an academic context, (the development commencing in 1948), when Benjamin Bloom chaired a committee of educational psychologists, based in American education, whose aim was to develop a system of categories of learning behaviour to assist in the design and assessment of educational learning. Bloom's Taxonomy has since been expanded over many years by Bloom and other contributors (notably Anderson and Krathwhol as recently as 2001, whose theories extend Bloom's work to far more complex levels than are explained here, and which are more relevant to the field of academic education than to corporate training and development).
??????????? Most corporate trainers and HR professionals, coaches and teachers, will benefit significantly by simply understanding the basics of Bloom's Taxonomy, as featured below. (If you want to know more, there is a vast amount of?related reading and references, listed at the end of this summary explanation.)
Bloom's Taxonomy was primarily created for academic education; however it is relevant to all types of learning.
??????????? Interestingly, at the outset, Bloom believed that education should focus on 'mastery' of subjects and the promotion of higher forms of thinking, rather than a utilitarian approach to simply transferring facts. Bloom demonstrated decades ago that most teaching tended to be focused on fact-transfer and information recall - the lowest level of training - rather than true meaningful personal development, and this remains a central challenge for educators and trainers in modern times. Much corporate training is also limited to non-participative, unfeeling knowledge-transfer, (all those stultifying boring PowerPoint presentations...), which is reason alone to consider the breadth and depth approach exemplified in Bloom's model.
You might find it helpful now to see the?Bloom Taxonomy overview. Did you realize there were all these potential dimensions to training and learning?
??????????? Benjamin S Bloom (1913-99) attained degrees at Pennsylvania State University in 1935. He joined the Department of Education at the University of Chicago in 1940 and attained a PhD in Education in 1942, during which time he specialized in examining. Here he met his mentor Ralph Tyler with whom he first began to develop his ideas for developing a system (or 'taxonomy') of specifications to enable educational training and learning objectives to be planned and measured properly - improving the effectiveness of developing 'mastery' instead of simply transferring facts for mindless recall. Bloom continued to develop the Learning Taxonomy model through the 1960's, and was appointed Charles H Swift Distinguished Service Professor at Chicago in 1970. He served as adviser on education to several overseas governments including of Israel and India.
??????????? Bloom's (and his colleagues') initial attention was focused on the?'Cognitive Domain', which was the first published part of Bloom's Taxonomy, featured in the publication: 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives: Handbook 1, The Cognitive Domain' (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill, Krathwohl, 1956).
??????????? The 'Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Handbook II, The Affective Domain' (Bloom, Masia, Krathwohl) as the title implies, deals with the detail of the second domain, the?'Affective Domain', and was published in 1964.
??????????? Various people suggested detail for the third?'Psychomotor Domain', which explains why this domain detail varies in different representations of the complete Bloom Taxonomy. The three most popularly referenced versions of the Psychomotor Domain seem to be those of???? RH Dave?(1967/70),?EJ Simpson (1966/72), and?AJ Harrow?(1972).
??????????? As such 'Bloom's Taxonomy' describes the three-domain structure, within which the detail may vary, especially for the third domain.
??????????? Bloom's Taxonomy has therefore since 1956 provided a basis for ideas which have been used (and developed) around the world by academics, educators, teachers and trainers, for the preparation of learning evaluation materials, and also provided the platform for the complete 'Bloom's Taxonomy' (including the detail for the third 'Psychomotor Domain') as we see it today. Collectively these concepts which make up the whole Bloom Taxonomy continue to be useful and very relevant to the planning and design of: school, college and university education, adult and corporate training courses, teaching and lesson plans, and learning materials; they also serve as a template for the evaluation of: training, teaching, learning and development, within every aspect of education and industry.
Training or learning design and evaluation need not cover all aspects of the Taxonomy - just make sure there is coverage of the aspects that are appropriate.
??????????? As such, if in doubt about your training aims - check what's possible, and perhaps required, by referring to Bloom's Taxonomy.
Explanation of bloom's taxonomy
??????????? First, don't be put off by the language or the apparent complexity of Bloom's Taxonomy - at this basic level it's a relatively simple and logical model.
??????????? Taxonomy?means 'a set of classification principles', or 'structure', and?Domain?simply means 'category'. Bloom and his colleagues were academics, looking at learning as a behavioural science, and writing for other academics, which is why they never called it 'Bloom's Learning Structure', which would perhaps have made more sense to people in the business world. (Interestingly this example of the use of technical language provides a helpful lesson in learning itself, namely, if you want to get an idea across to people, you should try to use language that your audience will easily recognize and understand.)
??????????? Bloom's Taxonomy underpins the classical 'Knowledge, Attitude, Skills' structure of learning method and evaluation, and aside from the even simpler?Kirkpatrick learning evaluation model, Bloom's Taxonomy of Learning Domains remains the most widely used system of its kind in education particularly, and also industry and corporate training. It's easy to see why, because it is such a simple, clear and effective model, both for explanation and application of learning objectives, teaching and training methods, and measurement of learning outcomes.
??????????? Bloom's Taxonomy provides an excellent structure for planning, designing, assessing and evaluating training and learning effectiveness. The model also serves as a sort of?checklist, by which you can ensure that training is planned to deliver all the necessary development for students, trainees or learners, and a template by which you can assess the validity and coverage of any existing training, be it a course, a curriculum, or an entire training and development programme for a large organization.
??????????? It is fascinating that Bloom's Taxonomy model (1956/64) and?Kirkpatrick's learning evaluation model (1959) remain classical reference models and tools into the 21st century. This is because concepts such as Bloom's Taxonomy, Kirkpatrick's model,?Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs,?Mcgregor's XY Theory, The?SWOT analysis?model, and?Berne's Transactional Analysis theory, to name a few other examples, are timeless, and as such will always be relevant to the understanding and development of people and organizations. Bloom?s taxonomy definitions
??????????? Bloom's Taxonomy model is in three parts, or 'overlapping domains'. Again, Bloom used rather academic language, but the meanings are simple to understand:
- Cognitive domain?(intellectual capability, i.e.,?knowledge, or?'think')
- Affective domain?(feelings, emotions and behaviour, i.e.,?attitude, or?'feel')
- Psychomotor domain?(manual and physical skills, i.e.,?skills, or?'do')
??????????? This has given rise to the obvious short-hand variations on the theme which summaries the three domains; for example, Skills-Knowledge-Attitude, KAS, Do-Think-Feel, etc.
??????????? Various people have since built on Bloom's work, notably in the third domain, the 'psychomotor' or skills, which Bloom originally identified in a broad sense, but which he never fully detailed. This was apparently because Bloom and his colleagues felt that the academic environment held insufficient expertise to analyze and create a suitable reliable structure for the physical ability 'Psychomotor' domain. While this might seem strange, such caution is not uncommon among expert and highly specialized academics - they strive for accuracy as well as innovation. In Bloom's case it is as well that he left a few gaps for others to complete the detail; the model seems to have benefited from having several different contributors fill in the detail over the years, such as Anderson, Krathwhol, Masia, Simpson, Harrow and Dave (these last three having each developed versions of the third 'Psychomotor' domain).
??????????? In each of the three domains Bloom's Taxonomy is based on the premise that the categories are ordered in degree of difficulty.?An important premise of Bloom's Taxonomy is that each category (or 'level') must be mastered before progressing to the next. As such the categories within each domain are levels of learning development, and these levels increase in difficulty.
??????????? The simple matrix structure enables a checklist or template to be constructed for the design of learning programmes, training courses, lesson plans, etc. Effective learning - especially in organizations, where training is to be converted into organizational results - should arguably cover all the levels of each of the domains, where relevant to the situation and the learner.
??????????? The learner should benefit from development of knowledge and intellect (Cognitive Domain); attitude and beliefs (Affective Domain); and the ability to put physical and bodily skills into effect - to act (Psychomotor Domain).
??????????? Here's a really simple adapted 'at-a-glance' representation of Bloom's Taxonomy. The definitions are intended to be simple modern day language, to assist explanation and understanding. This simple overview can help you (and others) to understand and explain the taxonomy. Refer back to it when considering and getting to grips with the detailed structures - this overview helps to clarify and distinguish the levels.
??????????? For the more precise original Bloom Taxonomy terminology and definitions see the more detailed domain structures beneath this at-a-glance model. It's helpful at this point to consider also the ?conscious competence' learning stages model, which provides a useful perspective for all three domains, and the concept of developing competence by stages in sequence.
| Cognitive | Affective | Psychomotor |
| knowledge | attitude | skills |
| 1. Recall data | 1.Receive? (awareness) | 1. Imitation (copy) |
| 2. Understand | 2. Respond (react) | 2. Manipulation (follow instructions) |
| 3. Apply (use) | 3. Value (understand and act) | 3. Develop Precision |
| 4.Analyse (structure/elements) | 4. Organize personal value system | 4.Articulation (combine, integrate related skills) |
| 5.Synthesize (create/build) | 5. Internalize value system (adopt behaviour)? | 5.Naturalization (automate, become expert) |
| 6. Evaluate (assess, judge in relational terms) |
N.B. In the Cognitive Domain, levels 5 and 6, Synthesis and Evaluation, were subsequently inverted by Anderson and Krathwhol in 2001. Anderson and Krathwhol also developed a complex two-dimensional extension of the Bloom Taxonomy, which is not explained here. If you want to learn more about the bleeding edge of academic educational learning and evaluation there is a list of further references below. For most mortals in teaching and training what's on this page is probably enough to make a start, and a big difference.
??????????????? Note also that the Psychomotor Domain featured above is based on the domain detail established by RH Dave (who was a student of Bloom) in 1967 (conference paper) and 1970 (book). The Dave model is the simplest and generally easiest to apply in the corporate development environment. Alternative Psychomotor Domains structures have been suggested by others, notably?Harrow and Simpson's models detailed below. I urge you explore the?Simpson?and?Harrow?Psychomotor Domain alternatives - especially for the development of children and young people, and for developing skills in adults that take people out of their comfort zones. This is because the Simpson and Harrow models offer different emotional perspectives and advantages, which are useful for certain learning situations, and which do not appear so obviously in the structure of the Dave model.
??????????? Bloom's Taxonomy in more detailed structure follows, with more formal terminology and definitions. Refer back to the?Bloom Taxonomy overview?any time you need to refresh or clarify your perception of the model. It is normal to find that the extra detail can initially cloud the basic structure - which is actually quite simple - so it's helpful to keep the simple overview to hand.
?Bloom?s taxonomy learning domains - detailed structures
Bloom's Taxonomy 1956 Cognitive Domain is as follows. An adjusted model was produced by Anderson and Krathwhol in 2001 in which the levels five and six (synthesis and evaluation) were inverted (reference: Anderson & Krathwhol, A Taxonomy for Learning, Teaching, and Assessing: A Revision of Bloom's Taxonomy of Educational Objectives, 2001). This is why you will see different versions of this Cognitive Domain model. Debate continues as to the order of levels five and six, which is interesting given that Bloom's Taxonomy states that the levels must be mastered in order.
??????????? In my humble opinion it's possible to argue either case (Synthesis then Evaluation, or vice-versa) depending on the circumstances and the precise criteria stated or represented in the levels concerned, plus the extent of 'creative thinking' and 'strategic authority' attributed to or expected at the 'Synthesis' level. In short - pick the order which suits your situation.
| cognitive domain | ||||
| ?level | category or 'level' | behaviour descriptions | examples of activity to be trained, or demonstration and evidence to be measured | 'key words' (verbs which describe the activity to be trained or measured at each level) |
| 1 | Knowledge | recall or recognise information | multiple-choice test, recount facts or statistics, recall a process, rules, definitions; quote law or procedure | arrange, define, describe, label, list, memorise, recognise, relate, reproduce, select, state |
| 2 | Comprehension | understand meaning, re-state data in one's own words, interpret, extrapolate, translate | explain or interpret meaning from a given scenario or statement, suggest treatment, reaction or solution to given problem, create examples or metaphors | explain, reiterate, reword, critique, classify, summarise, illustrate, translate, review, report, discuss, re-write, estimate, interpret, theories, paraphrase, reference, example |
| 3 | Application | use or apply knowledge, put theory into practice, use knowledge in response to real circumstances | put a theory into practical effect, demonstrate, solve a problem, manage an activity | use, apply, discover, manage, execute, solve, produce, implement, construct, change, prepare, conduct, perform, react, respond, role-play |
| 4 | Analysis | interpret elements, organizational principles, structure, construction, internal relationships; quality, reliability of individual components | identify constituent parts and functions of a process or concept, or de-construct a methodology or process, making qualitative assessment of elements, relationships, values and effects; measure requirements or needs | analyze, break down, catalogue, compare, quantify, measure, test, examine, experiment, relate, graph, diagram, plot, extrapolate, value, divide |
| 5 | Synthesis (create/build) | develop?new unique structures, systems, models, approaches, ideas; creative thinking, operations | develop plans or procedures, design solutions, integrate methods, resources, ideas, parts; create teams or new approaches, write protocols or contingencies | develop, plan, build, create, design, organize, revise, formulate, propose, establish, assemble, integrate, re-arrange, modify |
| 6 | Evaluation | assess effectiveness of whole concepts, in relation to values, outputs, efficacy, viability; critical thinking, strategic comparison and review; judgement relating to external criteria | review strategic options or plans in terms of efficacy, return on investment or cost-effectiveness, practicability; assess sustainability; perform a?SWOT analysis in relation to alternatives; produce a financial justification for a proposition or venture, calculate the effects of a plan or strategy; perform a detailed and costed risk analysis with recommendations and justifications | review, justify, assess, present a case for, defend, report on, investigate, direct, appraise, argue, project-manage |
??????????? Based on the 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives: Handbook 1, The Cognitive Domain' (Bloom, Engelhart, Furst, Hill, Krathwhol) 1956. This table is adapted and reproduced with permission from Allyn & Bacon, Boston USA, being the publishers and copyright owners of 'Taxonomy Of Educational Objectives' (Bloom et al 1956).
Note that levels 5 and 6, Synthesis and Evaluation, were subsequently inverted by Anderson and Krathwhol in 2001, on which point:
??????????? The question of the order of Synthesis and Evaluation is dependent upon the extent of strategic expectation and authority that is built into each, which depends on your situation. Hence it is possible to make a case for Bloom's original order shown above, or Anderson and Krathwhol version of 2001 (which simply inverts levels 5 and 6).
??????????? The above version is the original, and according to the examples and assumptions presented in the above matrix, is perfectly appropriate and logical. I also personally believe the above order to be appropriate for?corporate and industrial training and development?if?'Evaluation'?is taken to represent?executive or strategic assessment and decision-making, which is effectively at the pinnacle of the corporate intellect-set.
??????????? The inversion of Synthesis and Evaluation carries a risk unless it is properly qualified. This is because the highest skill level absolutely must involve?strategic evaluation; effective management - especially of large activities or organizations - relies on strategic evaluation. And clearly,?strategic evaluation is by implication included in the 'Evaluation' category.
??????????? I would also argue that in order to evaluate properly and strategically, we need first to have learned and experienced the execution of the strategies (ie, to have completed the synthesis step) that we intend to evaluate.
??????????? However, you should feel free to invert levels 5 and 6 if warranted by your own particular circumstances, particularly if your interpretation of 'Evaluation' is non-strategic, and not linked to decision-making. Changing the order of the levels is warranted if local circumstances alter the degree of difficulty. Remember, the taxonomy is based in the premise that the degree of difficulty increases through the levels - people need to learn to walk before they can run - it's that simple. So, if your situation causes 'Synthesis' to be more challenging than 'Evaluation', then change the order of the levels accordingly (i.e., invert 5 and 6 like Anderson and Krathwhol did), so that you train people in the correct order.
??????????? Bloom's Taxonomy second domain, the Affective Domain, was detailed by Bloom, Krathwhol and Masia in 1964 (Taxonomy of Educational Objectives: Volume II, The Affective Domain. Bloom, Krathwhol and Masia.) Bloom's theory advocates this structure and sequence for developing attitude - also now commonly expressed in the modern field of personal development as 'beliefs'. Again, as with the other domains, the Affective Domain detail provides a framework for teaching, training, assessing and evaluating the effectiveness of training and lesson design and delivery, and also the retention by and affect upon the learner or trainee.
| affective domain | ||||
| ?level | category or 'level' | behaviour descriptions | examples of experience, or demonstration and evidence to be measured | 'key words' (verbs which describe the activity to be trained or measured at each level) |
| 1 | Receive | open to experience, willing to hear | listen to teacher or trainer, take interest in session or learning experience, take notes, turn up, make time for learning experience, participate passively | ask, listen, focus, attend, take part, discuss, acknowledge, hear, be open to, retain, follow, concentrate, read, do, feel |
| 2 | Respond | react and participate actively | participate actively in group discussion, active participation in activity, interest in outcomes, enthusiasm for action, question and probe ideas, suggest interpretation | react, respond, seek clarification, interpret, clarify, provide other references and examples, contribute, question, present, cite, become animated or excited, help team, write, perform |
| 3 | Value | attach values and express personal opinions | decide worth and relevance of ideas, experiences; accept or commit to particular stance or action | doppler radar colorado rockies moonshine news channel 4 radar weather Friday, 7 December 2012Jay Miletsky Talks with Marketing Pilgrim About Getting Started in ...
On one side, business? can bring in new customers with informative videos and increase brand awareness. Then there?s the business of video ? earning money from ads and becoming a YouTube star. I know that getting started with video can be intimidating, so I talked went to Jay Miletsky, CEO of MyPod Studios for some advice. MyPod is a portal that aggregates quality video under content categories with each brand getting its own ?Pod.? No piano playing cats and grandpop falling off the skateboard. They feature only videos you can use. Here?s what Jay had to say about making your move into the thriving world of online video. MP: A lot of small business owners want to try video as a way of promoting their business but it?s overwhelming. Where do you start? JM:? Video is an excellent way of promoting your business, but it can feel overwhelming at the start. ?Don?t let that deter you ? it?s not always as daunting as you might think. ?Start with the basics ? what messages do you want your viewers to get from your video? ?What point do you want to make? ?What action (if any) do you want your viewers to take after watching? ?Once you have this info down, the next step is to write your script, put together a storyboard, and then you can deal with the production (that?s the fun part!) MP: If all I have is a webcam or home camera, is it worth doing? JM:? Absolutely, and don?t let an ad agency tell you any different. ?Audiences are pretty forgiving in terms of the quality of Web video, but even so, you don?t need the most expensive camera on the market to produce quality content. ?A lot of the quality comes from the lighting, the audio, the presentation, the script and the editing ? you can produce some great videos with a pretty inexpensive camera. MP:?? What are your thoughts on allowing ads to run on videos? Is there a better way to monetize? Is branding more important than monetizing? JM: 30 second ads tend to turn audiences off, so it?s not the ideal way to monetize; but on the flip side, standard pre-roll and mid-roll video ads are in abundance, so it?s likely that that?s going to be your best method for generating revenue against your videos. ?However, if your videos are for your company, in any way promoting your brand, product, services or messaging, running ads against them seems a bit much. ?The biggest benefit you should get from these type of videos should be an increase in brand recognition and ultimately sales. MP:? Can you talk about the online video world outside of YouTube?s walls? JM: YouTube is great for amateur video content. ?If you want to watch a South Korean dance around like he?s on a horse, or a cat falling off a shelf, YouTube is your absolute best resource. ?But to assume that YouTube is the only game in town is to assume that as long as there?s a CBS, there?s no need for an NBC, or an ABC, or any of the uncountable number of cable stations. ?Even when a show is in reruns ? you can watch shows like friends on Nick at Night, or TBS, or a bunch of other channels. ?It?s the same online ? different networks can offer their own, unique programming, or content that can be seems elsewhere, and ultimately, it?s the user experience, and individual viewer preference that will determine where they decide to watch their videos. MP:? Will we ever get to the point where people will pay for online video content? JM: Recently, someone in my office showed me a new online video network that asked people to pay for original, web-based content, and in return promised an ad-free environment. My knee-jerk response was ?that?s stupid,? and went on to focus on other things. ?Technically, people are already paying for online video content, through Amazon, Netflix, and a few others, but these aren?t to access original Web-based programming ? they?re to watch episodic programming that originally aired on TV or in theaters. ?In my opinion, any programming that originates on the Web, and is produced specifically for Web-based audiences will always be free. MP:? What?s the secret to creating a marketing video that doesn?t sound like a 5 minute commercial? JM: For one thing, don?t make it 5 minutes long. ?On the Web, few people want to watch programming that long, unless they?re watching an episode of their favorite TV show or a movie. ?Beyond that, give real information that users will find valuable ? that can support your brand without being too self-serving. ?For example, an online show that teaches people how to save money in 2 minute clips (make coffee at home for 50 cents per day, rather than spent $4 at Starbucks) can be sponsored by ?ABC Bank? as a way to show that their brand and set them up to be the experts when it comes to savings. ?But none of episodes should recommend that the best way to save is to visit your local ABC Bank branch and open an account ? that turns the whole thing into a commercial, and you?ll lose your audience almost immediately. #?? #?? # It?s time to get started. Plan and shoot a 2 minute informative video that ties into your brand over the next two weeks. Post it online, then come back here and give us the link. We?d be happy to be your first comment on your first video. Make it so! And thanks to Jay Miletsky for taking the time to answer my questions. Friday, 23 November 2012HP Is ?the Epitome of a Value Trap? After ... - Yahoo! FinanceHewlett-Packard (HPQ) shares tumbled 12% to a 10-year low Tuesday after the company announced a shocking $8.8 billion write-down and dismal quarterly results. In 2011, HP acquired London's Autonomy for $11 billion in a bid to move deeper into software and services. HP now says it was duped, citing "serious accounting improprieties" in announcing the write-down, of which over $5 billion was related to accounting issues and the rest due to the division's poor performance. HP's founder Michael Lynch vehemently (and publicly) disputed HP's claim of wrongdoing, leading many observers to wonder whether HP was really the victim of accounting fraud (a word the company notably hasn't used) or is just using these alleged accounting issues as an excuse to mask its poor performance. "The mind boggles as to where the snafu was," says Barry Ritholtz, CEO of Fusion IQ and author of The Big Picture blog, who notes the accounting industry is once again left with another black eye ? and with shareholders holding the bag. "I'm not just talking about HP," he says. "This is a mainstream part of finance and quite frankly an embarrassing debacle." Beyond questions over the potential failings of audit firms Deloitte UK and KPMG, HP's board and its finance team, "to me this is just another bad HP acquisition," Ritholtz says. "They were once a wonderful, storied company. Now they need to figure out who they are." For shareholders, this is the critical question because the Autonomy write-down and drama over the allegations served to somewhat obscure another lousy quarter for HP overall. For its fiscal fourth quarter, HP reported poor performance across the board as revenues fell in its PC, printer, services, and server and networking divisions. HP reported a 7% drop in revenue vs. a year ago and a whopping loss of $6.9 billion. For the full fiscal year ended Oct. 31, HP's overall revenues dropped 5% while earnings dropped 23%. Tuesday's swoon comes on the heels of another big drop in October when the company cut its fiscal 2013 guidance and CEO Meg Whitman talked about a long, slow turnaround process. After the earlier decline, many analysts declared HP to be "cheap." At around $12, The WSJ notes HP now trades at 6 times its enterprise value, which includes factors such as debt. But that compares to 9.7 times for Apple (AAPL), which is growing much faster and has a rock-solid balance sheet. "HP is the epitome of a value trap," says Ritholtz, who has no position (long or short) in the stock. "The stock has been in a relentless downtrend for a decade, has a history of making horrific acquisitions and is in a space that's pretty much been devastated by tablets in general and Apple specifically." Looking forward, the best chance for the company is to transform itself into an "IBM-like services company," he continues. "But I don't know if they have ability, or the skills or the management team to do that." Considering both the deals for Autonomy and EDS ? which the company took a separate $8 billion write-down this year ? were designed to do just that, it's a fair question and skepticism is warranted. Aaron Task is the host of The Daily Ticker and Editor-in-Chief of Yahoo! Finance. You can follow him on Twitter at @aarontask or email him at altask@yahoo.com More from The Daily Ticker: Can "Lucky" Numbers Help Sell Your Home? Holiday Travel: Tips For a Stress-Free Getaway Black Friday: Good Deals Can Be Found Year-Round Says NPD's Cohen Wednesday, 21 November 2012Twinkies sell for millions - Business InsiderAfter Hostess closed all of its factories last week, many junk food fanatics remain concerned about the future of one of the pastry giant's most famous desserts: the Twinkie. Many are scared that Twinkies, which are rumored to last for quite a long time, will go extinct (although the brand is so well-recognized, odds are another company will purchase it and start making Twinkies themselves). That hasn't stopped people from putting up Twinkie-related items for sale on eBay, and the prices are astounding. Odds are that a handful of these postings are scams, and it is difficult to verify with certitude the validity of each sale. Users are selling boxes of Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and other Hostess pastries at large sums and in turn donating the money to charity. The most expensive is pegged at $21 million for one box, and in turn the proceeds would go Samaritans Purse for Starving Children.: ? Many are trying to sell Twinkie-related domain names, including one user who is trying to sell MUSTHAVETWINKIES.COM for $10 million: Some are just hoping that they can catch the eye of wealthy pastry fanatics rather than the philanthropists, and are selling their 'rare' Twinkie paraphernalia. This user is selling 1 box of "Fall-time" Twinkies for $1 million: GOODBYE, TWINKIES: Check out how the beloved snack used to be made > Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/twinkies-sell-for-millions-2012-11 Tuesday, 20 November 2012Sprint playing crucial role in Softbank's 30-year grand plan ...Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content. maundy thursday fab melo google glasses kim kardashian and kanye west henrik stenson jobs act greg mortenson X Factor George Shelley 'upset as Union J bandmate makes move on Ella'
X Factor contestant George Shelley is said to be heartbroken after his Union J bandmate Josh Cuthbert flirted with and grew close to fellow act Ella Henderson.
Shelley and Henderson were rumoured to be an item after they were spotted holding hands last month, but Henderson dismissed reports by saying the pair were just good friends. She has since been spotted arm in arm with Cuthbert outside the contestants' hotel.  ? Rex Features / Beretta/Sims/Rex Features According to The Mirror, Rylan Clark was seen comforting Shelley after Cuthbert and Henderson spent time together during a group trip to Disneyland Paris. Henderson later posted a picture of Cuthbert on her Twitter page and called him a "teddy bear". "Ella and Josh have always been good friends," said a show insider. "They get on really well and the first signs of romance started to show when they went to Disneyland ?early in the week. "They were ?hanging out all the time and George was left by himself. On Tuesday ?morning George ?realised what was going on as they were all staying at the Disneyland hotel ?together. "Ella hadn't spent much time with George and was ?getting on really well with Josh. "When George found out about the situation Rylan had to calm him down as he was on the verge of tears." The source continued: "Neither Ella or Josh seemed to really care about how their ?actions or feelings towards each other were affecting George... [They] didn't seem to mind who saw them together. "Josh is quite protective around her and had his arm round Ella as they entered the back door of the hotel. They seem like two little ?lovebirds when they are ?together." In the past, Henderson has spoken about her desire to fall in love - even if it ends in heartbreak - because it means she will be able to draw on different emotions when songwriting. "I haven't been in a proper relationship," she explained. "It sounds weird but I can't wait to fall in love and be ?heartbroken ?because I know I write the best songs when feeling strong emotions." The X Factor continues tonight (November 18) at 8pm on ITV1. Photo gallery - The X Factor Guilty Pleasures week:  The X Factor Week 7: The Judges. 1 of 9 Copyright: Ken McKay/Thames/Rex Features For more breaking entertainment and tech coverage follow Digital Spy on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook. leprosy tampa bay buccaneers birdman whip it gabby giffords gabby giffords geithner Friday, 16 November 2012South Africa labor strikes, unrest expand to farmsRUSTENBURG, South Africa (AP) ? Down a two-lane road, where slag heaps tower and miners' shack homes crowd against each other, the labor unrest now gripping South Africa first caught fire. Mining companies here outside of Rustenburg, a city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) northwest of Johannesburg, saw workers walk off the job and continue to demand higher wages, even after violence during six weeks of strikes and a mass police shooting at one mine killed 46 people. The strikes recently spread to agriculture, South Africa's other major economic engine, as day laborers burned farms and fought with police Wednesday in violence that left at least one person dead and five others injured. The unrest has shaken South Africa, a nation now free from apartheid-era laws, but not of its legacy of economic disparities between whites and blacks. And though the grip of the strikes appear to have loosened, the damage done to South Africa's anemic economy could last even longer. "Even if I can take you to my house, my fridge is empty," said Gaddafi Mdoda, a labor organizer outside a shuttered mine shaft owned by Anglo American Platinum Ltd. "It's hard to survive." The unrest began in August at the Lonmin PLC Marikana platinum mine, only a few miles down the road from Anglo American Platinum. Violence between miners and guards killed 12 people, while police later opened fire on miners and killed 34 of them. An investigation into that shooting continues. The nation recoiled at the killings, while Lonmin ultimately gave workers raises of up to 22 percent. Those raises, as well as shock at the killings, caused other workers at mines down this road to walk off the job. Mining drives the economy of South Africa, which remains one of the world's dominant producers of platinum, gold and chromium. Since the strikes began, world platinum prices have risen about $200 an ounce to almost $1,600 as of Wednesday trading. In September, President Jacob Zuma said the strikes already had cost the nation about 4.5 billion rand (nearly $563 million). Yet black miners long have faced low salaries and poor living conditions in shantytowns often beset by alcoholism, drug abuse and prostitution. The same goes for salaries of day laborers working in agriculture in South Africa, another major part of the nation's economy. The minimum wage for a farm worker is just about 70 rand ($8) and the top wage typically earned is just slightly more than that. Over the last few days, workers have said they want the minimum wage to rise to 150 rand ($17) a day. Wednesday, their protest turned violent as workers set fire to some farms, overturned a police truck and confronted officers in riot gear in the country's Western Cape. The police fired tear gas to drive away protesters, as the sounds of gunshots could be heard in local television footage. One man was killed in the violence "as a result of police action," police Lt. Col. Andre Traut told the South African Press Association. At least five other people were injured. Traut declined to discuss casualty figures when reached Wednesday night by The Associated Press. "Police officers are deployed to affected areas to maintain law and order," he said. Government and union officials later said that a deal had been put before farm laborers, but it was unclear if they accepted. Most of the laborers work in vineyards supporting South Africa's wine industry, the world's eighth largest overall producer. Unrest also has continued at the mines. Police said they arrested 37 mineworkers Tuesday near an Xstrata PLC mine after miners threw stones at cars and burned tires. Authorities also said they found the body Tuesday of a miner from Mozambique killed near the Anglo American Platinum mines. At Anglo American Platinum, also known as Amplats, workers began their strike more than eight weeks ago. The company fired 12,000 workers and then reinstated them, though the miners still have not returned to work. In a statement Wednesday to investors, the world's largest platinum producer said its year-end earnings "will decrease by more than 20 percent" compared to last year. It blamed the strikes in part for the losses. The unrest has, however, showed signs of easing in recent days. AngloGold Ashanti Ltd., the world's third largest gold bullion producer, said in a statement Wednesday that its Mponeng mine in South Africa had returned to normal operations after earlier violence there. Striking workers at Amplats faced a deadline Wednesday to return to work, but shafts remained empty. Workers gathered under umbrellas early that morning near two mine shafts to listen to their leaders describe a wage offer involving a one-time 4,500 rand ($500) payment, as well as either a monthly pretax allowance of 600 rand ($70) or a pretax salary increase of 400 rand ($45). Workers had asked for 16,000 rand (about $1,800) in monthly pay. It remained unclear if the deal would be accepted, though many acknowledged that the weeks of striking had begun to take a toll. "We'll look for the percentage of the majority," Mdoda, the labor organizer, said. "If the other shafts, maybe the four of them they are saying we are taking the offer, the three must withdraw and join the others just because if you can't beat them you must join them." ___ Online: AngloGold Ashanti Ltd.: www.anglogold.com Anglo American Platinum Ltd.: www.angloplatinum.com Lonmin PLC: www.lonmin.com Xstrata PLC: www.xstrata.com ___ Jon Gambrell can be reached at www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP . Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-labor-strikes-unrest-expand-farms-173540403.html guernsey nit colcannon dystonia tourettes gonzaga rosie o donnell Sunday, 11 November 2012NE OBLIVISCARIS Portal of I music review by CCVP Next big thing in progressive metal? Maybe in the future, but definitively not for nowFrom time to time, a band arises in the progressive rock (and metal) community that claiming the position of possible big guysin the scene and, in 2012, Ne Obliviscaris has taken that place. Obviously, for being in such position, their debut album was for many times discussed and talked about by the community, so I had to see (or hear) for myself if all what was being said did in fact made sense. Also, I feel that it is necessary to mention that, however big the amount of positive feedback, there were people bashing the guys for not being original and claiming they were mere copiers of Opeth and generic symphonic black metal bands. Even though the band had previously released a demo EP some years back, Portal of I is my first contact with this Australian progressive black metal group. Since the beginning, from the very first song, you can see that, to some degree, the people that praise this album does indeed have some reason in doing so. The compositions in general are indeed impressive and they evolve gradually, they are carefully crafted and well developed, denoting that the guys from the world's largest island did take their time writing and sharpening the material they had for Portal of I. Also, there is the impressive violin and solo guitar parts that, together, amount for the best elements in the whole album; indeed, they are truly awe inspiring, specially the violin parts. Another quite interesting part of the band's opus are the lyrics which, in spite of not making much sense themselves (if taken literally), are quite beautiful in the way they sound and how you need to twist and turn them to get their true meaning. However, this album does not comes without flaws. starting with the compositions, the strongest element in this album, even though they are very well crafted, the band allowed their influences to be too much in our face, instead of letting them to subtly guide themselves. The most obvious ones are Opeth, which guides most of the album's light - dark, forte - piano, growling vocals - clean vocals aesthetics (these are the whole musical concepts of Portal of I); and Borknagard, whose influence can be felt in how the band portrays their melodic black metal lines, much in the same vein as the Norwegian band does themselves. Another issue I have myself with this album is with the mixing and mastering. Starting with the former, I feel that whoever mixed this album cared mostly for the base part of Portal of I's sound, because the drums and the bass are way too high. They are so loud that at points they drown mostly every other thing, besides the violin and the highest notes from the solo guitar. Everything else gets inaudible, the music turns into a mass of blast beats, repetitive bass lines and some indistinguishable noise which consist in all other instruments and the vocals. As for the mastering, there are also some problems with the music's loudness; instead of just keeping how the instruments were, the person responsible for the album's mastering decided to make everything louder, making the music get clipped at times, further worsening the problems of the bad mixing. Rating and Final Thoughts Having addressed both strong and weak points in the band's output, I must say that both sides on the prog music community are right in their claims to some extent. The guys from Ne Obliviscaris do have a strong chance to impress us in the future whenever they choose to release another album (or when they decide to re-record or re-release Portal of I without so many flaws regarding the mixing and mastering and making their influences less apparent). For now, however, I feel that, in spite of releasing an album with strong compositions, Portal of I is so fundamentally flawed in such important instances that for some moments the album's qualities are unimportant. Everything considered, I think that the three stars rating is the most appropriate for this particular album. CCVP | 3/5 | Share this NE OBLIVISCARIS review Review related links Source: http://www.progarchives.com/Review.asp?id=855438 charlotte bobcats new york rangers nfl mock draft 2012 norfolk island Saturday, 3 November 2012Mountain meadows dwindling in Pacific Northwest, U.S. due to climate change, study suggestsScienceDaily (Nov. 2, 2012) ? Some high mountain meadows in the Pacific Northwest are declining rapidly due to climate change, a study suggests, as reduced snowpacks, longer growing seasons and other factors allow trees to invade these unique ecosystems that once were carpeted with grasses, shrubs and wildflowers. The process appears to have been going on for decades, but was highlighted in one recent analysis of Jefferson Park, a subalpine meadow complex in the central Oregon Cascade Range, in which tree occupation rose from 8 percent in 1950 to 35 percent in 2007. The findings of that research, which was funded by the Pacific Northwest Research Station of the USDA Forest Service, were published in the journal Landscape Ecology. The changes in Jefferson Park are representative of a larger force that is affecting not only this beautiful meadow at the base of Mount Jefferson, scientists say, but many areas of the American West. "We worry a lot about the loss of old-growth forests, but have overlooked declines in our meadows, which are also areas of conservation concern," said Harold Zald, a research associate in the College of Forestry at Oregon State University and lead author of this study. "The first awareness of declining meadows dates back to the 1970s, and we've seen meadow reduction at both high and low elevations," Zald said. "Between climate change, fire suppression and invasive species, these meadows and all of the plant, animal and insect life that depend on them are being threatened. "Once trees become fully established, they tend to persist, and seed banks of native grass species disappear fairly quickly," he said. "The meadows form an important part of forest biodiversity, and when they are gone, they may be gone forever." The meadow decline takes place over several decades, like the melting of glaciers. This also provides a way to gauge long-term climate change, Zald said, since the forces at work persist through seasonal, annual and longer patterns that are variably more wet, dry, hot or cold than average. "It takes a long time to melt a glacier or fill in a meadow," he said. "It's a useful barometer of climate change over decadal time periods." In this study, it appears that snowpack was a bigger factor than temperature in allowing mountain hemlock tree invasion of Jefferson Park, a 333-acre meadow which sits at the northern base of Mount Jefferson, a towering 10,497-foot volcano northwest of Bend, Ore. Seedlings that can be buried by snow many months every year need only a few more weeks or months of growing season to hugely increase their chance of survival. The study also found surprising variability of tree invasion even within the meadow, based on minor dips, debris flows or bumps in the terrain that caused changes in snowpack and also left some soils wetter or drier in ways that facilitated tree seedling survival. "The process of tree invasion is usually slow and uneven," Zald said. "But if you get all the conditions just right, some tree species can invade these meadows quite rapidly." There's some suggestion that alpine meadows may simply move higher up on the mountain in the face of a changing climate, Zald said, but in many cases slopes become too steep, and poor-quality, unstable soils are unable to harbor much plant life. In other research in recent years, Zald said, he looked at meadows on lower-elevation mountains in the Oregon Coast Range -- what are called "grass balds" on the tops of some of the higher peaks, such as Mary's Peak, the highest point in that range west of Corvallis, Ore. In a study of five Coast Range sites, Zald found that these "bald spots" had declined by an average of 50 percent between 1950 and 2000. Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google: Other social bookmarking and sharing tools: Story Source:
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In October 2012, 183 million U.S. Internet users watched more than 37 billion online content videos, while video ad views reached nearly 11 billion. (comScore) YouTube was responsible for a large portion of those views, but not all of them. Online video is growing all across the internet and on mobile and it can be a money-maker for small business.