Invisible Boundaries

EXPLAIN                                                                                                     

There are three points that I have taken from this week's module:

I appreciated the TD resource Compare and Contrast Warm and Cold Fronts and I also viewed the Cloud Types interactive resource.  My ability to observe clouds and "read' the weather is limited.  I feel that I missed weather instruction somewhere in my education.  Or perhaps it was that I primarily observed nimbostratus my entire childhood and if I predicted rain, I was most likely going to be right!  I learned the meaning of the terms that describe clouds and that will help me remember the type of clouds and the type of weather the clouds are associated with!

"Pollution is a transnational issue.  Everybody lives downstream from somebody else."

We have developed borders that designate areas that belong to countries and groups of people.  However, air and water do not know boundaries and when air is polluted, the pollution crosses the boundaries as well.  We are all connected and the activities of people thousands of miles away directly impacted the lives of those who live in the arctic and live off the land.  The quote, taken from the TD video Arctic Haze, emphasizes that pollution is everybody's problem and addressing pollution goes beyond our  invisible borders.  I don't think that there is a better way to demonstrate that we are all connected and the status of Earth is the result of all people and the responsibility of all people.  

Lastly, I was interested in learning more about the recommendations about women breast feeding in the arctic.  I found some information but I also learned about the CDC's Arctic Investigations Program.

"AIP mission is prevention of infectious diseases in peoples of the Arctic and Subarctic with special emphasis on diseases of high incidence and concern among Alaska Natives and American Indians."

 The program is housed in the Alaska Native Hospital in Anchorage and receives data from numerous hospitals and clinics around the state. 

 EXTEND

Many of the TD resources presented this week would be great in the classroom to help students understand and visualize very abstract concepts.  Likewise, I am a big fan of the interactive simulations on the PhET website.  The image to the left is a snapshot of the States of Matter simulation.  Students are able to control the pressure, temperature, the type of molecule, and run experiments to see how these variables influence the states of matter and phase changes.  

Another website I have used for resources in the past is Science NetLinks.  On this website there is a lesson plan titled Air Masses, which I believe would complement this content by having the students learn how to identify air masses on weather maps.  

EVALUATE

There are many occupations that greatly benefit from the hybridization of the western and traditional ways of knowing.  We saw that last week when we met the fish biologist from Sitka.  The benefits of both continues to be emphasized through the introduction to Alaska Native bush pilots.  Maybe it is because flying a plane in Alaska can be such a risky occupation and that the passengers are truly in the hands of the pilot, but the importance of traditional knowledge is emphasized in aviation.  A pilot that has grown up in the area already uses the weather and minute predictors to guage hunts, travel, and other daily life routines, and this pilot has a huge advantage to a pilot that is an outsider.  A pilot with traditional knowledge also knows the land; what the land looks like in different seasons and how the landforms can change throughout the different seasons.  THe TD video Alaska Native Pilots was very effective at demonstrating the cross between western and traditional.  A pilot must be able to use technology to fly and likewise a pilot must be able to fly without technology.