- Oct 2016
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cnx.org cnx.orgOpenStax CNX19
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the ratio of carbon to hydrogen to oxygen is 1:2:1 in carbohydrate molecules
In a pinch, if you can't identify a molecule, knowing these ratios will help you make a decision.
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For instance, carbohydrates are broken down by amylase, sucrase, lactase, or maltase. Proteins are broken down by the enzymes pepsin and peptidase, and by hydrochloric acid. Lipids are broken down by lipases
Enzymes all end in -ase. The root of the name is usually derived from the molecule it acts on. For instance, amylase digests amylose. Knowing your suffixes will help you identify the class of molecule and its function.
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Each macromolecule is broken down by a specific enzyme.
The structure of the enzyme allows it to act on a specific macromolecule. Structure and function!
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In a dehydration synthesis reaction (Figure), the hydrogen of one monomer combines with the hydroxyl group of another monomer, releasing a molecule of water.
Make sure you know your major organic functional groups
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Biological macromolecules are organic, meaning they contain carbon
All organic molecules contain chains of carbon. As you'll see, their configuration leads to different classes of molecules with different properties and functions in living systems.
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When a protein loses its three-dimensional shape, it may no longer be functional.
A protein may also function incorrectly. An example of proteins-gone-wrong are prions. They're malformed proteins that can cause some terrifying diseases. Mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) is caused by a prion that attacks the nervous system of cattle. It can be passed to other organisms if they consume contaminated beef. Usually, when mad cow is detected in a herd, the entire herd is destroyed.
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Only recently was it found that often they receive assistance in the folding process from protein helpers known as chaperones (or chaperonins) that associate with the target protein during the folding process.
That's right - proteins whose sole function is to help other proteins. Crazy.
Think of these like scaffolding on a building. They're there to help support as the bonds and linkages are made to stabilize the whole structure. Once it is complete and functional, they disassociate and move on to the next protein being built.
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Not all proteins are denatured at high temperatures; for instance, bacteria that survive in hot springs have proteins that function at temperatures close to boiling. The stomach is also very acidic, has a low pH, and denatures proteins as part of the digestion process; however, the digestive enzymes of the stomach retain their activity under these conditions.
Each protein has a specific active range. While one protein may be denatured by low pH (highly acidic), another might not function at a higher pH at all.
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Tertiary Structure
Hopefully, you felt the frustration and deep confusion that follows tertiary structure. In a chain of hundreds of amino acids, there are potentially thousands of interactions that can influence shape. Everything leading up to this point - the sequence and secondary structure - give rise to a functioning protein.
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The local folding
These are isolated areas of helices or sheets. The main cause of secondary structure is hydrogen bonding.
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The molecule, therefore, has about 600 amino acids. The structural difference between a normal hemoglobin molecule and a sickle cell molecule—which dramatically decreases life expectancy—is a single amino acid of the 600. What is even more remarkable is that those 600 amino acids are encoded by three nucleotides each, and the mutation is caused by a single base change (point mutation), 1 in 1800 bases.
Let this sink in. Our bodies and cells are extremely complex, yet extremely accurate and organized to help prevent these kinds of mistakes.
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If this active site is altered because of local changes or changes in overall protein structure, the enzyme may be unable to bind to the substrate.
These changes show up because of anything from an incorrect transcription from the RNA to high heat or high acid concentration. This is called denaturation, is permanent, and usually renders the protein non-functional.
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While the terms polypeptide and protein are sometimes used interchangeably, a polypeptide is technically a polymer of amino acids, whereas the term protein is used for a polypeptide or polypeptides that have combined together, often have bound non-peptide prosthetic groups, have a distinct shape, and have a unique function.
Being a protein is more than just having a chain of amino acids. It has to be functional!
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The carboxyl group of one amino acid and the amino group of the incoming amino acid combine, releasing a molecule of water
We'll look at this in more detail, but this bonding pattern is unique to proteins and it can help you identify a molecule on the exam. Learn the patterns!
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Amino acids such as valine, methionine, and alanine are nonpolar or hydrophobic in nature, while amino acids such as serine, threonine, and cysteine are polar and have hydrophilic side chains.
You need to be able to connect polarity to the acid's behavior in water.
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Protein shape is critical to its function, and this shape is maintained by many different types of chemical bonds
The structure of a molecule determines its function.
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and are usually complex or conjugated proteins
They rely on a correct quaternary structure - separate polypeptide chains are linked together to form a larger, more complex molecule.
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They are all, however, polymers of amino acids, arranged in a linear sequence.
Amino acids are the monomers.
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Atoms, Isotopes, Ions, and Molecules: The Building Blocks
This is meant to be a review of the basics of chemistry. If you already understand how atoms, ions, etc, work, skim it for review rather than do a deep read. Use your time effectively!
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cndls.georgetown.edu cndls.georgetown.edu
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is only one example of the possibilities for a more student-centered approach to analytics.
The conversation around "analytics" conjures graphs, quantitative data, and analysis. It can include anything - not limited to user interaction in the LMS.
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the concept of putting analytics in the hands of students doesn’t seem to make an appearance in any of the top-hit articles on analytics
Indicative that "learning" analytics is a misnomer. It's useage analytics.
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So an alternative to the existing intervention-centric approach to learning analytics might involve the student as a co-interpreter of his own data—and perhaps even as a participant in the identification and gathering of that data.
Reflective data or identifying which types of data are collected could lead to more right metacognition about the processes a student is using to learn.
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The approach to learning analytics on LMSs generally ignores activity outside these systems, with the result that only a small portion of a student’s learning and engagement is being captured.
Locking analytics into a system makes for easy reporting, but it also makes for erroneous reporting.
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if a “learning diagnosis” is based on faulty evidence, then the efforts to treat the diagnosed condition or failure will be misdirected, perhaps leading to inefficiency, resentment, and demotivation.
Being literate in interpreting the strengths and weaknesses of any data set is key.
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Analytics implementations seem to be primarily concerned with students poised to fail. This constant language of “intervention” perpetuates an institutional culture of students as passive subjects—the targets of a flow of information—rather than as self-reflective learners given the cogni-tive tools to evaluate their own learning processes.
RTI, tracking, targeting - all used in K12 which scripts the student path from A to B with "helping" as the goal.
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lisahistory.net lisahistory.net
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but what about links people might have made to my Fall course content? I won’t be updating the Fall course anymore (I’ll be updating the Spring course)
The "persistent" nature of the course is only for the teacher, not for the world to take part in.
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Scary stuff. Apart from the questionable ethics, it actually disempowers students by removing their agency in the learning process.
This nails it.
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they don’t even know that their “learning pathway” is being manipluated via machine learning.
Learning analytics is only beneficial if students are aware of its use and potential benefit to their learning.
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and pruning the content we could access easily.
Much of this done to keep users (students) "safe."
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branching
Is the response to this particular portion of the critique so-called "adaptive learning?"
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The implication is that any depth must exist within the instructional materials accessed through the system.
The linear nature of Modules and learning tasks because of systematic constraints on organization communicates linearity in learning, even if it's not on purpose.
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Canvas’ defaults encourage a simplistic, linear course with step-by-step navigation for all tasks.
This is true of any LMS, not just Canvas.
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- Sep 2016
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cnx.org cnx.org
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This accelerating pattern of increasing population size is called exponential growth.
Remember, this can also be called "intrinsic growth" because it represents how a population will grow without any external limiting factors.
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Energy is required by all living organisms for their growth, maintenance, and reproduction; at the same time, energy is often a major limiting factor in determining an organism’s survival.
Life is an open system! Available (free) energy is used to maintain life processes.
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These types of species usually have small numbers of offspring at one time, and they give a high amount of parental care to them to ensure their survival.
Which reproductive strategy is this?
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These are known as uniform, random, and clumped dispersion patterns, respectively
How can their reproductive strategies tie into the dispersion observed?
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Multiple quadrat samples are performed throughout the habitat at several random locations.
Randomness and frequent samples can help describe large areas accurately.
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mrdrscienceteacher.wordpress.com mrdrscienceteacher.wordpress.com
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Research hypotheses force scientists to be very clear to themselves and their colleagues about exactly what the explanation is that they are testing, the general method they are using to test it, and the prediction they can make if their explanation is reasonable. The research hypothesis follows the form: If X is a valid hypothesis (explanation), and I perform Y methods (experiment), then I can predict Z as a specific measurable outcome.
Why might this step be important in a research setting?
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The ecologist may explain this observed pattern with the hypothesis that the birds and their food resources, usually insects, are responding to the same environmental cues (warm spring temperatures). The ecologist could then predict that regardless of how early spring comes, the birds and their insect prey will always be somewhat synchronized in time.
Note the differences and relationship between these two statements.
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This post focuses on science that is driven by explanatory hypotheses and aims to help teachers understand what an explanatory hypothesis is in science and how the hypothesis is different from the prediction.
The hypothesis is not a "best guess." It generalizes or explains a pattern observed. The prediction - the application of a potentially true hypothesis is the "best guess."
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tentative, testable, and falsifiable statement that explains some observed phenomenon in nature
Write this down.
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Other scientific methodology involves testing models.
Our evolution models and our population growth models are good examples of how science can be done without a specified hypothesis. But, like Paul mentions, you can create hypotheses to test with those models.
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Scientific methodologies are also not always hypothesis-driven.
This is very important. The hypothesis is always presented as the driving force in science. Not so.
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mrdrscienceteacher.wordpress.com mrdrscienceteacher.wordpress.com
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In the Science Classroom, most of what our students do is the testing of patterns, in other words, the testing of generalizing hypotheses.
How does your proposed hypothesis match up with this this explanation? Do you need to make any adjustments?
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They also make the statement tentative: “may.” However, words like “may” aren’t required of hypothesis statements. Indeed, being tentative is implied by the fact that a hypothesis statement is falsifiable.
Remember, the entire goal of a scientific study is to find evidence against the hypothesis.
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where one variable may be associated with another variable but neither causes the other
You'll also see this called a "confounding factor."
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However, Leaf and Rauch had not proven that the pattern was true, they had simply shown experimental support for the pattern.
Media does this all the time. Whenever you hear, "a new report shows that..." you need to start thinking like a scientist. What is it really showing?
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I was unfortunately not trained as a scientist, let alone to think like one.
What does it mean to "think like [a scientist]?" How can we train ourselves to think through that lens?
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- Aug 2016
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hackeducation.com hackeducation.com
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we have moved to a “post-ownership society.” It’s all still heavily privatized, but now you own nothing. You just rent. You just borrow. You just subscribe. You just share. You owe, not own. You work, but part-time. You work, but freelance. Everything is contingent; all aspects of life, now precarious. But you’re free… You’re free from owning.
And the most insane part, to me, is that this is all sold and marketed to people as, "We're here to make your life easy."
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What data and/or content can you take with you when you finish a class or when you graduate? And what can you, as Maha frames it, pass along to your heirs when you die?
My school district has started the adoption process for Canvas and I'm taking specific steps to make sure any creative work students do is not submitted through the LMS because of this.
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hybridpedagogy.org hybridpedagogy.org
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I think the Web hit us at a critical moment in higher education where we were already struggling with doing our work less like schools and more like businesses, and the tech industry and its vendors had already begun to infiltrate us with promises of how technology could help us achieve this goal. We had already bought into student information systems (which eventually became everything information systems), and with the promise of those systems came the promise of lots of data which would allow us to become more efficient and streamlined.
This describes the current state of K12. Instead of a 25 year history to work on, K12 has really only embraced the web in the last 10 years, and even then, a highly sterilized and watered-down version in which students are "protected."
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if our institutions of higher learning ignore the calls for critical digital pedagogy a vast number of K-12 educators will continue to look for shiny tools to cover up education’s most difficult problems.
K12 culture relies on this shift as well. It isn't solely the role of higher education institutions to instill this line of thoughtfulness.
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Who pays for it? Who has access? Who controls our information?
I find it interesting that Snapchat is used as the example here. The company relies on user data to continue to function. If our students are creating on these platforms, are we not asking them to, as a result, sell themselves? Or is it a non-issue because they're on the platform already? What of the content that's created?
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I scanned my graduate school syllabus to find when we planned to cover such controversial material. Nothing. I wondered why my students were so much more critical and reflective than the faculty at the university.
Is this often left uncovered because there is no way to "cover" the topic in a traditional graduate school experience?
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cnx.org cnx.org
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Researchers have shown that 385 plant species in Great Britain are flowering 4.5 days sooner than was recorded earlier during the previous 40 years.
In 2012 in our region (Indiana and Michigan) there was a warm break in March. Temperatures were in the 60's and 70's leading to many fruit trees to bud and flower too soon. The cold returned and killed off a large portion of the region's fruit crop that year. If you rely on predictable weather patterns for your livlihood, how does climate change affect you now?
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(the density of water is related to its temperature
Recall chemistry (or physics): Why does ice float?
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This geologic time period was one of the three warmest periods in Earth’s geologic history. Scientists estimate that approximately 70 percent of the terrestrial plant and animal species and 84 percent of marine species became extinct, vanishing forever near the end of the Permian period
Evolution can be driven by major events where population sizes swing wildly. What kinds of founders would have been left over after an extinction event like this one?
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When heat energy from the sun strikes the Earth, gases known as greenhouse gases trap the heat in the atmosphere, as do the glass panes of a greenhouse keep heat from escaping.
Think back to your physics classes: heat is infrared radiation. Infrared waves cannot pass through glass, which is why greenhouses (and your car on hot days) heat up. Greenhouse gases, like carbon dioxide (among others) have a similar effect on infrared radiation when it enters Earth's atmosphere.
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Viewing the ice cores is like traveling backwards through time; the deeper the sample, the earlier the time period.
This is similar to trees adding growth rings each season. In the Antarctic, ice layers as the south pole moves from its warm season to its cold season. These layers of ice can be analyzed for various chemical components, including carbon dioxide.
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Review Questions
These review questions are good checks for understanding of your reading. Remember, we don't cover everything in class. Use what resources you have available to solidify your understanding. These can also help you determine what questions you should be asking me in class.
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Researchers interested in ecosystem ecology could ask questions about the importance of limited resources and the movement of resources, such as nutrients, though the biotic and abiotic portions of the ecosystem.
A major portion of this section is looking at how energy is shared between different organisms and how we can track it's flow through a particular ecosystem. As energy availability ebbs and flows, what changes would you expect in the populations living in that region?
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biochemistry, physiology, evolution, biodiversity, molecular biology, geology, and climatology.
This unit is similar to evolution - there are a lot of tie-ins that we haven't specifically discussed yet. We'll look at some of the big ideas and continue to loop back to ecology as we cover those other topics.
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especially when acquired and tested by the scientific method
Remember, a question must be investigatable in order to fall under the scientific method. Direct observations are necessary!
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- Jul 2016
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elkhart.instructure.com elkhart.instructure.com
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Hypothes.is
This is what an annotation in Hypothes.is looks like.
You have to be signed in to make annotations, but not to read them if the app is installed.
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cnx.org cnx.org
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qualitative or quantitative
"Qualitative" - observations without quantities associated (color, shape, etc)
"Quantitative" - descriptions of quantity or specific measurements (10 ducks, 15cm in length, etc)
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The steps of the scientific method will be examined in detail later, but one of the most important aspects of this method is the testing of hypotheses by means of repeatable experiments.
It's important to remember that the scientific method is much more complex than the question -> hypothesis -> experiment process you've learned.
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- Jun 2016
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www.snapchat.com www.snapchat.com
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Snapchat does not currently respond to do-not-track signals that may be sent from your device.
Protecting yourself with do-not-track requests doesn't matter - it isn't listened to.
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Revoking Permissions. If you change your mind about our ongoing ability to collect information from certain sources that you have already consented to, such as your phonebook, camera, photos, or location services, you can simply revoke your consent by changing the settings on your device if your device offers those options.
What happens to the data already shared if permission is revoked?
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we cannot promise that deletion will occur within a specific timeframe. And we may also retain certain information in backup for a limited period of time or as required by law.
"Deletion" is a term used loosely in this case.
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f you submit content to one of our inherently public features, such as Live, Local, or any other crowd-sourced service, we may retain the content indefinitely.
Is there a clear distinction in the flow of the app for the common user that there is a significant difference between the methods of sharing images or video?
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With third parties as part of a merger or acquisition.
Another identifier that the data collected by Snapchat is an asset, not used for the benefit of the users.
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With our affiliates. We may share information with entities within the Snapchat family of companies.
What is the "Snapchat family of companies?"
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Provide you with an amazing set of products and services that we relentlessly improve.
The value proposition tries to hide the functioning of the organization. Note that the real reason (ads, data collection, and tracking) are buried in the list below.
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enhance the safety and security of our products and services
Collecting more information about users makes the service less secure. A breach, however small, can release PII because of the variety of metrics collected. Less data = more security.
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For example, if another user allows us to collect information from their device phonebook—and you’re one of that user’s contacts—we may combine the information we collect from that user’s phonebook with other information we have collected about you.
I may choose not to allow my phone number to be shared, but a friend allows Snapchat to access their phonebook. My once-private information is now shared with a company without my consent.
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Information We Get When You Use Our Services
It's important to remember that all of the following falls under "data which is necessary to provide a service."
The quantity of information gathered here is enormous. Most of it seems innocuous, but it's all very personal and, implicit in their use of data for advertising, stored on Snapchat's servers with no time for deletion noted.
This section outlines how Snapchat will continue to stay in business - by farming the information of its users and selling it for advertising.
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Of course, you’ll also provide us whatever information you send through the services,
How many people forget that Snapchat actually sees everything sent? Is this explicitly shared with students when we're teaching?
We cannot assume they're aware of the transfer of data that takes place when that data is sent through an app or website.
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www.snapchat.com www.snapchat.com
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Waiver of Class or Consolidated Actions. ALL CLAIMS AND DISPUTES WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT MUST BE ARBITRATED OR LITIGATED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT ON A CLASS BASIS. CLAIMS OF MORE THAN ONE CUSTOMER OR USER CANNOT BE ARBITRATED OR LITIGATED JOINTLY OR CONSOLIDATED WITH THOSE OF ANY OTHER CUSTOMER OR USER.
Snapchat had already breached the photos of nearly 5 million users. Those users affected cannot take legal action at the class level, even though it may be warranted.
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Waiver of Jury Trial. YOU AND SNAPCHAT WAIVE ANY CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY RIGHTS TO GO TO COURT AND HAVE A TRIAL IN FRONT OF A JUDGE OR A JURY. You and Snapchat are instead electing to have claims and disputes resolved by arbitration. Arbitration procedures are typically more limited, more efficient, and less costly than rules applicable in court and are subject to very limited review by a court. In any litigation between you and Snapchat over whether to vacate or enforce an arbitration award, YOU AND SNAPCHAT WAIVE ALL RIGHTS TO A JURY TRIAL, and elect instead to have the dispute be resolved by a judge.
This seems like a minor issue, but as more and more cases of abuse and attack via social media arise, this is a significant right to waive in the event that a criminal investigation should be necessary.
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Subject to any applicable additional terms and conditions, all purchases are final and non-refundable. And because our performance begins once you tap buy and we give you immediate access to your purchase, you waive any right you may have under EU or other local law to cancel your purchase once it's completed or to get a refund. BY ACCEPTING THESE TERMS, YOU AGREE THAT SNAPCHAT IS NOT REQUIRED TO PROVIDE A REFUND FOR ANY REASON.
...and they don't have to refund your purchase.
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You don't own these Virtual Products; instead you buy a limited revocable license to use them.
You can pay for things to use, which looks like owning those things, but they're really licenses that can be revoked at any time.
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by using our Services, you agree that Snapchat can collect, use, and transfer your information consistent with that policy
Data is kept somewhere in order to transfer it.
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In addition to the rights you grant us in connection with other Services, you also grant us a perpetual license to create derivative works from, promote, exhibit, broadcast, syndicate, publicly perform, and publicly display content submitted to Live, Local, or any other crowd-sourced Services in any form and in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed). To the extent it's necessary, you also grant Snapchat and our business partners the unrestricted, worldwide, perpetual right and license to use your name, likeness, and voice solely in Live, Local, or other crowd-sourced content that you appear in, create, upload, post, or send.
All live streamed content is stored in perpetuity, also stored and used by business partners for their work.
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YOU AND SNAPCHAT AGREE THAT DISPUTES BETWEEN US WILL BE RESOLVED BY MANDATORY BINDING ARBITRATION, AND YOU AND SNAPCHAT WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT OR CLASS-WIDE ARBITRATION.
Snapchat cannot be taken to court.
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If you are using the Services on behalf of a business or some other entity, you state that you are authorized to grant all licenses set forth in these Terms and to agree to these Terms on behalf of the business or entity.
Creating a school or class account makes the organization - and you - liable for that data and use.
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cft.vanderbilt.edu cft.vanderbilt.edu
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The term “testing” evokes a certain response from most of us: the person being tested is being evaluated on his or her knowledge or understanding of a particular area, and will be judged right or wrong, adequate or inadequate based on the performance given. This implicit definition does not reflect the settings in which the benefits of “test-enhanced learning” have been established.
Testing as a demonstration of learning progress.
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Setting aside the last few minutes of a class to ask students to recall, articulate, and organize their memory of the content of the day’s class may provide significant benefits to their later memory of these topics.
Formalizing the exit slip procedure in the BILL would be a good way to do this.
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This theory posits that memory has two components: storage strength and retrieval strength. Retrieval events improve storage strength, enhancing overall memory, and the effects are most pronounced at the point of forgetting—that is, retrieval at the point of forgetting has a greater impact on memory than repeated retrieval when retrieval strength is high.
This meshes well with cognitive load theories about learning.
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hackeducation.com hackeducation.com
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Speaking of commercial services and commercial interests then, standardized testing was already a big business by the 1920s. Enrollment in public schools was growing rapidly at this time, and these sorts of assessments were seen as more “objective” and more “scientific” than the insights that classrooms teachers – mostly women, of course – could provide.
Jenn Binis goes over the development of assessment through the lens of the NYS Regents exam on EdHistory 101. Efficiency was an obsession run by male observers and testing was a portion of their efficiency drive.
https://edhistory101.com/2016/04/16/episode-3-the-new-york-state-regents/
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We’re the first to experience the world this way; we’re the first to try to devise solutions.
Pushed by marketing. It's sexier to rewrite the stories as our culture being the one that "fixed it."
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Testing and assessment remain the primary reason why schools buy computers; these are also the primary purposes for which teachers say they use new technologies in their classrooms.
How much of this is because of the efficacy of using computers in testing vs schools trying to meet state mandates for paperless testing in schools?
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googleguacamole.wordpress.com googleguacamole.wordpress.com
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my #IndieEdTech is not about personal APIs
The personal API is interesting, but I agree: it's often out of reach of the larger audience looking to do things differently. Intentional interaction with any tool is the key.
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The establishment tends to pour its resources into refining or improving what it already knows. MPPC focused on the short film format. The aging studios made spectacular flops. The ed tech establishment sells next generation learning management systems and publishes on learning analytics
This is an incredibly interesting analogy to me. So much SaaS companies are just bloating their products more and more and it's difficult for teachers and schools to choose which to use because of "feature" overload.
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- May 2016
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kris.shaffermusic.com kris.shaffermusic.com
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My initial goal is to write a program
Another avenue for a first pass may be to do this in Google Apps Script. It supports GET and POST requests and you can put the returned content right into a spreadsheet or doc for review later.
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kris.shaffermusic.com kris.shaffermusic.com
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This means that scholars and students working in public can share the online resources they’ve found valuable, as well as their reactions to it
What a great example for students, too. My students have caught on that I post frequently to Twitter, but it isn't always scholarly. Modeling the process of learning through a specific, open tool, can be a very powerful example for students to follow.
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