Food security is a complex, global issue, in which we all play a part. In this free online course, you’ll join experts from the School of Agriculture, Policy and Development at the University of Reading, to investigate our relationship with agriculture and your own food habits.
Future Learn’s Our Hungry Planet: Agriculture, People and Food Security online course considers how the food we grow, buy, eat and throw away relates to the global issue of food security. This course is aimed at anyone with an interest in food, food security and food waste; farming and agriculture; or sustainability. You don’t need any previous experience or qualifications to join it.
Shale gas is seen by many as a cheap, clean and plentiful source of energy; a low-carbon ‘game changer’ helping us meet the world’s rapidly growing demands for energy and offering greater energy security. Its rapid rise has not been without controversy, however. Earth tremors, surface and groundwater contamination, and the effects of fracking on human and animal health are all high profile concerns.
New professional learning resources have been produced around the area of Shale Gas and Fracking.
Future Learn are running a four week course, Shale Gas and Fracking: the Politics and Science. You’ll be able to hear from all sides of the fracking debate with this free online course. Understand what shale gas is and why it divides opinion.
Published in December 2014, Public engagement with shale gas and oil is a report on findings from public dialogue workshops published on the UK government website. This report summarises findings from a public dialogue which explored participant’s views on how to engage the public on shale gas and oil and coal bed methane. The dialogue, which was co-funded by Sciencewise, was designed to inform the Office of Unconventional Gas and Oil’s (OUGO) public engagement policy, inform industry’s development of a community benefits package and help stakeholders (from government and industry) to develop appropriate plans for local engagement.
Rising resource risks and the growing recognition of the economic value being lost in waste have raised business interest in the circular economy. These trends are feeding a more interventionist approach to resource policy in countries as diverse as the US, China, Germany, Japan and Korea. This analysis shows how Scotland could help to make its economy more circular, by assessing potential opportunities in three exemplar sectors; oil and gas, food and drink, and finance. These sectors all have a reliance on STEM skills and attributes.
The report explains that a circular economy restores old products, parts and materials back to their original use in a way that uses the least resources to deliver the same function. It outlines Scotland’s opportunities and challenges, derived from its particular political climate, policies, institutions and scale. The report considers the wider lessons on how Scotland might capture the biggest circular economy opportunities. It suggests that Scotland is well positioned to capitalise on its high social connectedness and policy leadership on low carbon technology to develop and pilot more innovative, valuable, and ambitious circular economy business models and technologies. The report concludes that Scotland needs a targeted, challenge-led innovation strategy run by institutions empowered to drive technically risky, but potential big win circular economy pilot projects. It suggests that this strategy will be more likely to succeed if targeted towards innovations that will help Scotland’s key sectors adapt to a more resource constrained world.
Looking for a weekly summary of both new chemistry research and studies that have been in the news? ComPound Interest is a blog by Andy Brunning, a chemistry teacher in the UK, creating graphics looking at the chemistry and chemical reactions we come across on a day-to-day basis. This week’s summary features a nanoparticle drug that prevents the spread of cancer in mice, the discovery of polymeric organic material on comet 67-P, and more.
The Infographics he creates can be used as corridor and classroom displays and cover Elements, Food chemistry, Colour chemistry, Organic Chemistry and many more. You can subscribe to receive new content posted on the site automatically via email.
The Society of Biology launched a project (June 2014 – March 2015) named “Biology: Changing the World”, funded by BBSRC and the National Lottery to promote and celebrate the lives and contribution of famous biologists to the way we live now.
The project utilises heritage plaques present on buildings nationwide to highlight famous biologists in local areas. A tablet based App (freely downloaded from App’s store) has been developed which locates plaques closest to the user giving information about the scientist, such as their life stories and their contribution to biology. Interviews with contemporary biologists are also included.
For schools, and in particular for children aged 7-10 years, there is a teachers booklet and poster available (free of cost) to explain the project with suggestions for workshops and lessons.
British Science Week (BSW, formerly National Science & Engineering Week (NSEW)) is a ten-day programme of science, technology, engineering and maths events and activities across the UK aimed at people of all ages.
Anyone can organise an event or activity, and the British Science Association helps organisers plan by providing free activity and support resources. It welcomes and supports any type of organiser, from schools to community groups and from parents to large organisations. The resulting programme of events is a hugely varied and eclectic mix.
Get lots of information about how to plan your events for British Science Week and find events you can attend near you.
For further information and details regarding registration click on the link below:
In schools people are busy creating amazing stuff that they think;
– only for my classes in my way;
– its not good enough to share;
– not sure what the copyright rules are
So they don’t share.
What if we built stuff together? What if we co-created materials?
Ian Stuart is hosting a Hack day at Microsoft Scotland’s Office in Edinburgh.
He is looking for teachers to come together and start developing multimedia textbooks based on OneNote. This day is aimed at National Courses as this is an immediate pressure point for lots of teachers.
On Saturday 31st January, he is looking to welcome people from 9 am with a kick off time at 9.30 with the space available till 4.30. Ideally he wants people to work together to form groups and set targets for themselves. Ian hopes these groups will continue to develop the Notebooks.
Ian is also looking to arrange more of these hackdays in different parts of the country.
The Ri and the Causeway Foundation are offering UK schools grants of up to £500 to host a show, talk, workshop, debate, challenge or other STEM activity to supplement their students’ classroom activities.
Grants of up to £500 are being offered to eligible state-funded schools, academies and FE colleges in the UK to take part in an Enrichment and Enhancement (E&E) STEM activity from the STEM Directories before July 2015. This is an exciting opportunity for students to take part in a mathematics activity and help integrate mathematics enrichment in school practice.
The Scheme is now open and the deadline for applications is 9th February 2015 at 5pm.
For more information and to apply, visit the STEM Directories website. Priority will be given to schools meeting certain criteria; please see the grant terms for more details.
If you have any questions relating to the grant scheme or the STEM Directories, please contact info@stemdirectories.org.uk.
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) is the Government department for economic growth.
It works with further and higher education providers to give students the skills they need to compete in a global employment market and supports the UK’s science and research industry, which is important to economic growth.
The organisation has produced Project STEM, Book of Insights 2014 which details young people’s attitudes, beliefs, motivations and behaviours that affect their decisions on subject choice and career paths to add depth to the current understanding of how they perceive STEM careers.
The book brings together four phases of research activity with young people; qualitative, social listening, co-creation and quantitative research activities that ran between February and March 2014.
To complement the qualitative research, the researchers listened to young people’s social media conversations to understand their sentiment towards STEM careers and subjects.
Following the publication of its 3-18 Curriculum Impact Report for Sciences in September 2012, Education Scotland organised a series of conversation days where priorities for action to secure improvements in science education nationally were identified.
Key aspects for development emerged, which included primary and early years practitioners requiring guidance on and exemplifications for assessment in the sciences.
To address this aspect the sciences team will be hosting the second of three Glow Meets, complimented again by a series of professional learning twilight sessions.
The Education Scotland assessment support documentation will be explored, using exemplifications from the NAR, addressing particular science Significant Aspects of Learning.
The second Glow meet Assessment in the Sciences will take place on Tuesday 13th January 3.45-4.30pm
