March 2nd, 2009 by 
Scott Merrick
At the request of my wonderful Center for Science Outreach Director Dr. Virginia Shepherd and with the blessing of School for Science and Math Director Dr. Glenn McCombs, a dozen or so staff and faculty from both institutions gathered for an hour in the School’s classroom on the Vanderbilt University campus to witness my best shot at explaining why I think Second Life (and by extension Virtual Worlds) have a great deal to offer for teaching and learning.
I started off by welcoming the assembled and introducing a guest, Digital Collections Archivist at the Vanderbilt University Library, and archivist for its DiscoverArchive.
Then I proceeded a bit unconventionally (no, not moi!) by viewing most of the ten minute ISTE in Second Life video that describes how that 85,000 member International Society for Technology in Education built a virtual community (of over 4,000 members, at current count) inside the 3D platform of Second Life, after which I launched into my Powerpoint presentation. True to Murphy’s Law, I failed to hit record on my little Olympus voice recorder until we were discussing the Peggy Sheehy slide, so I will append this dialog to the beginning of my very first “Slidecast” at Slideshare.net. This’ll be a long ‘un, so take from it what you will, and my hope is that it remains as a resource for innovative educators for a good while to come.
NEW! Here’s the Slidecast RIGHT HERE!
I’ll also be glad to travel with this show or one like it, upon delivery of a suitcase full of hundred dollar bills (just kidding).
Okay, if you want the full experience, visit the link to the ISTE video in the Episode 80 blog post at blogs.vanderbilt.edu/s4theb and watch it, then pop on into the slidecast. Settle back with a bowl of popcorn and let the ‘cast cast it’s spell.
THE LOST NARRATION
I believe that there are two kinds of people: 1) the kind who say there are two kinds of people, and 2) the others. I hope I am in set number 2. That said, I have in recent years noticed a clear dichotomy in the world between people who readily latch onto the value and potentials of online Virtual Worlds and those who pretty much refuse to entertain the possiblilty. There is also, thankfully, a broad spectrum in between those two camps. Hopefully, sharing this with you will help you sort things out for yourself and your school or business.
There is more text in this presentation than I would like there to be, but I include it because it’s important. Feel free to multitask as you will by reading as I’m blabbering.
TechTipTidbit comes to you via the COMPUTER TIP OF THE WEEK from Dr T — RTemlak4dds@aol.com, in turn by permission from the CompletelyFreeSoftware online newsletter.
Finally, the lovely music that plays you out of the episode is from master guitarist David Modica, courtesy of Magnatune.com (”We are not evil!”) and just one of the absorbing tracks on his beautiful CD, available at Magnatune, “Acoustic Earth, Electric Sky.” Thanks, David!
Download S4theB! episode 80 here!
Posted in Environment, Outreach, Second Life, 3Di, Technology, Science, School for Science and Math, Professional Development, Teaching, Learning, Web2.0, Education | 
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November 10th, 2008 by Scott Merrick
Hey, ya’ll,
Welcome to episode number 75 of Snacks4theBrain! The featured snack this episode is audio from a talk I gave to Vanderbilt University faculty and staff by invitation from the “Digital VU” series from the Vanderbilt News and Media department. The title of the offering was “Engaging Podcast Content” and it featured a sideshow I put up at slideshare, so if you’re of a mind you can visit blogs.vanderbilt.edu/s4theb and follow along whilst you listen. Oh heck, let’s embed it below 
The music this episode is a treat, at least for me; and I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. It’s two songs delivered recently from a dear friend who recorded them in December of 1975 at a venue called the “Bread Factory.” Geoff Feiler, my good good friend, sat out front with a boombox and what you hear is what he heard, two guys with aggressive acoustic guitar styles and darned decent, well-practiced harmonies. You’ll also hear folks chatting over dinner in the small vegetarian restaurant that was the Bread Factory. It was a very hot spot in Anchorage, and I had been playing every Wednesday night for 75 dollars and tips. When Scott Miller came up to be with his betrothed, who was the owner of the restaurant, we hooked up and started rehearsing for fun. We liked what we made together, and we had a good run for a while performing for the folk music-loving denizens of 1975 Anchorage. Years later, when I was in Juneau (where Scott and Debbie had moved to open the “Fiddlehead Fern” restaurant there, Scott and I had a blast opening a church-venue show for Elizabeth Cotton, the 93 year-old creator of the folk classic “Freight Train,” which she played for us that night, finger-picking her classic holding her guitar upside-down and backwards, the way she’d taught herself decades earlier. Scott H. Miller, by the way, has a fabulous CD for sale at CDBaby!
The podcast’s songs are from Aztec Two Step and John Prine. I don’t know the first folks, but I do know John and I sincerely hope he’ll forgive my cover of his Rocky Mountain Time. I like the way I sing “saxophone.” Here it is.
I follow up the podcasting session with “Scott and Scott’s” cover of “Highway Song,” by Aztec Two-Step, Rex Fowler and Neal Shulman. This great duo took their name from an Lawrence Ferlinghetti poem and we definitely found much inspiration from their tight harmonies and beautiful thought-provoking lyrics. If you like the song, please visit aztectwostep.com and buy some of their music. Unlike “Scott and Scott,” they’re still going strong with their music. I’ll not say goodbye after, just get you on your way from this, episode number 75, of Snacks4theBrain!
Download episode 75 here!
Links:
Notice about the session on the Vanderbilt website
My blogpost that contains the slideshare slideshow
The slideshare slideshow
Scott H. Miller’s fantastic CD, “Letters to Myself”
Posted in Outreach, independent music, Science, Web2.0, Professional Development, Education | No Comments »
September 29th, 2008 by Scott Merrick
Greetings, Snacks listeners!
It’s been too long: For that, my apologies. Your long wait for a new episode of Snacks4theBrain! will, however, prove well worth the patience. For this episode, I share portions of my friend Peggy Sheehy’s presentation at the Second Life Education Community Conference in Tampa, Florida, just a couple weeks ago in mid September! Download episode number 74 right here!
The innovative educational work in 3 dimensional virtual environments is being led by some great teachers, among whom Peggy is globally recognized as a pioneer, if not the pioneer. I met Peggy at her presentation at NECC2007 in Atlanta and was terrifically impressed with everything she had to say, and I’ve watched over the months since as she refined her practices more, made further strides in the technology, and honed her message so that it can now be understood by even the most technology-resistant educator. More and more research is coming in to help support her basic message: Immersive Environments and their creative challenges WORK for students. Guided experiences in these environments work magic for students who might not raise a hand or a voice in the traditional classroom; guided experiences in these environments give students opportunities to experience (and build) relationships with fellow students who may not give them the time or day in a traditional school setting; and guided experiences in these environments can be made secure, fun, and pedagogically sound, with solid (if novel) assessment tools and strong underlying collatoral learning.
All that said, dig into S4theB! 74 right here, embracing the change. It’s coming, whether you embrace it or not. Its benefits are too great to miss the chance to enjoy them!
I’m hearkening back to the Podsafe Music Network this episode for a couple new tunes, one to open the show and one to close it. So before we get to Peggy, listen up to Matthew Ebel, and indie-pop singer-songwriter from none other than our very own Nashville, Tennessee. Both songs on this episode are his, and since the topic is Second Life, the second one is one he recorded in Second Life while performing live. I like both tunes and I hope you will, too!
and
Links:
More information about SLEDCC at the SLEDCC wiki
Peggy Sheehy’s Ramapo Islands blog
and finally, here’s the (grainy but viewable) video, with Peggy’s crystal clear powerpoint embedded right beneath! It’s almost like you’re there!
Live Streaming by Ustream.TV
Posted in Biology, Chemistry, Health Care, Outreach, School for Science and Math, Science, High School | 1 Comment »
July 15th, 2008 by Scott Merrick
On July 10, 2008, ten School for Science and Math seniors and 19 Research Internship Program (RIP) students presented their summer research at two poster sessions in the north lobby of the Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Light Hall. Snacks4theBrain was there, amidst the bustling parents, teachers, and medical professionals who came to hear what these immensely talented students had to say.
Because it was so well attended, and because each student was talking at once in the great lobby of the newly renovated Light Hall, there’s a great deal of background noise. This can be experienced by you, the listener, as either really really annoying or really really exciting. I prefer the latter, as I share with you three talented high school students explaining how they spent the last month and a half of their working lives. The human brain wants to make sense of what it senses. Let yours register the joy and excitement of this very impressive morning of results from some of the most innovative science outreach in the nation!
First up? A few words from Tiffany Ellis-Farmer, Summer Research Coordinator for the RIP program. Then you’ll hear, in order of appearance, Hana Erhu, from the Nashville School of the Arts (and the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt), Tagbo Obi from Father Ryan High School, and Loi Hoang from the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt.
Innovative indie rock from Magnatune.com, Texas rocker Arthur Yoria, rounds out the podcast. BTW, I redid the opening welcome. What do you think? Comment here!
Download Episode number 72 of Snacks4theBrain! right here, or click “Links” in the sidebar and listen in our very own Podcast Pickle Player!
There’s also a little slideshow of pics I took at the session. Check them out:
Cheers!
Posted in Water Quality, Environment, Health Care, Biology, Chemistry, Outreach, Science, Education, High School, Teaching, Learning, School for Science and Math, HIV/AIDS | No Comments »
April 15th, 2008 by Scott Merrick
The Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach recently commissioned a brief video to share out the work being done at the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt, and I’m pleased to share it with you, right here, right now.
The video was the painstaking work of a talented videographer from Atlanta, Georgia named Amy Cornett (Heartsong Productions), and I’d like to thank her. Download the podcast, Snacks4theBrain! episode 70, here, or click on the “Links” link in the navigation menu to open up your very own Podcast Pickle Player to listen.
Last episode I broke out the friend-music with a song from edgy Alternative rock meister Ross Falzone, a dear friend who drove the establishment of a High School level podcasting class at my school, University School of Nashville. I also shared out a song from friend Rocky Alvey’s new “Blackberry Jam (with other Fresh Ingredients)” CD on his new recording label “Muddy Sunshine.” I share another one each from each of these talented guys this week, Ross’s “Low-Fat Blues” and Rocky’s “It’s Just Me.” I know you’ll like ‘em!
And (drumroll please) watch the video!
Posted in Learning, Outreach, Teaching, Education, High School, Snack | No Comments »
March 18th, 2008 by Scott Merrick
The 69th episode of S4theB! features a brief interview with Vanderbilt Center for Science Outreach Program Manager Jennifer Ufnar, a talented, energetic environmental microbiologist who oversees grant-writing projects at the CSO and helps manage all kinds of things for this tight-knit, dedicated staff. Dr. Ufnar is chatting today about the Summer Science Institute offered this coming July at the Vanderbilt CSO. From the CSO website at scienceoutreach.org:
The Research Tools for Secondary Science Educators workshop invites secondary science teachers into Vanderbilt science laboratories for four one-week sessions. These interconnected workshops, funded by Tennessee’s Improving Teacher Quality program, will focus on science and technology content and tools for the classroom. Each of the first three weeks will focus on a different scientific discipline, one each on physics, chemistry, biology, with the fourth week covering technology tools. Each of the first three workshops are open to 25 teachers, while the technology workshop will be open to only 15 teachers.
In episode 69, Dr. Ufnar charmingly outlines some interesting details about the four weeks. They are intriguingly interwoven with leading edge content and each one promises invaluable learning, as well as a teacher stipend, for gosh sakes! Heck, I usually have to pay to take workshops! These experiences pay the attendees!
One of those workshops is mine, and you can get a glimmer of how that’ll go by my description in the podcast, and also by visiting my own little wiki-based site at ScottWeb2.0. It’ll be fun, and it’s limited to only 15 teachers, so drop on into the CSO website, download an application and get signed up! If you are thinking about hosting my week long workshop at your own school or district, contact me at scottgardnermerrick@gmail.com. There’s still time, but hurry!
Music this show is from two of my very good friends, alt-rocker Ross Falzone and Americana-folk newcomer Rocky Alvey. Some fab hammered dulcimer work from Snacks favorite Jamie Janover underscores some of the show’s narrative, courtesy of Magnatune.com. Support creativity outside the traditional box: Go visit these sites and buy independent creations!
Upload Snacks4theBrain! episode 69 here, or simply click the “Links” link up top and listen in your browser via the Podcast Pickle Player!
See you at the Research Tools Summer Institute!
Cheerio!
Dr. Ufnar’s picture courtesy of the University of Mississippi’s faculty profile page at
http://www.usm.edu/biology/faculty/Faculty_Profile_Jennifer_A_Ufnar.htm
Posted in Environment, Outreach, Research, Lasers, Chemistry, Biology, Science, School, Middle School, News, High School, Education, Teaching, Professional Development, Snack | No Comments »
January 2nd, 2008 by Scott Merrick
Happy New Year Snacks4theBrain! listeners, and here’s our all-music-show gift for you, toward wishing you the best year ever. May we on this glorious third planet from the sun get it together more and more this year, and may you find, or hold onto what you’ve already found, whatever it is that helps you contribute to our collective well-being and peace.
Episode 66 of S4theB! is pure indie music from the Podsafe Music Network at music.podshow.com, all discovered by searching that site for “New Year” and all purchasable at that website for a mere 99cents a pop. Picking up new tunes at the Podsafe Music Network will help support the creativity and dedication that its independent musicians bring to the world, not a small contribution to our aforementioned peace and well-being.
The five song set starts out with New Year’s Resolution by Palmetto, Florida indie singer/songwriter Bill deRome. Next up, a wonderful folk song by Chris Ayer that shares only its title with deRome’s song, “New Years Resolution.” We move over into the realm of power electronica with UK’s Emissary, a Web-only project that is so well-produced I have to listen to “New Year” over and over. A Wisconsin duo, No Kiss for New Years, offers “Ghosts of People We Were,” and Colie Brice, “left-handed blues player” takes us into the new year with “Happy New Year.”
Snacks4the Brain leans heavily on the Podsafe Music Network and our other fave, Magnatune, for music with which to lace our message(s). Support creativity by supporting the folks who are exercising it, ya’ll. Really…
Cheers, and we’ll see you in the new year with episode number 67, which will be an interview you (if you’re a teacher or a student or a human interested in learning) simply will not be able to do without!
Thanks, from all of us to all of you. Pick up S4theB! 66 here or click “Links” and use the Podcast Pickle Player to listen!
Other Links:
Band Websites:
Bill deRome
Chris Ayer
Emissary
Colie Brice
Posted in independent music, music, Outreach, Snack | No Comments »
October 29th, 2007 by Scott Merrick
On Monday October 23, the freshman class at the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt, settled in their chairs at the lab tables for a chat with with Mark Twickler, director of the National Ice Core Laboratory, to learn about how ice cores are collected and used in scientific research to reveal information about life and climate in past eras. This episode of Snacks4theBrain! will share out from that interaction, in which yours truly also learned some interesting new things, like about the lakes in Antarctica! Think you might be interested in participating in a research trip to the frozen south? Listen to what he says about the selection process…
Thanks to Mark Twickler and to the faculty and students of the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt, for this tasty morsel of a snack. Music for episode 63 hails from Magnatune.com’s Sun Palace, led by the capable and beautiful vocals of Andriette Redmann.
Download Snacks4theBrain! 63 right here, or click “Links” above to listen with the Podcast Pickle player!
Bonus links:
Polar Planet Palooza, podcasts from the poles.
Water, Water, Everywhere–blogpost by Amanda Dixon
Posted in Environment, Outreach, Water Quality, Research, ice core, Math, School, Education, High School, Teaching, Learning, School for Science and Math, Snack | No Comments »
October 11th, 2007 by Scott Merrick
On Monday, October 1st, the freshman class at the School for Science and Math at Vanderbilt visited the Harpeth River, at a beautiful stretch of its snakelike path through Davidson County and Middle Tennessee. The yellow Metro Nashville Public School bus pulled into picnic shelter number 11 at the beautiful Edwin Warner Park, located just a few miles from the School’s lab at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s Light Hall.
The students were out for a field trip with the intention of gathering data to assess the health of the stream. They were learning to use all manner of field instruments–digital levels, digital pH probes, GPS devices, and scientific magnifier lenses–and how to record and interpret the readings and observations from those instruments in meaningful ways. They also used their hands and their feet, “kick seining,” stirring up the stream to capture macroinvertebrates and capturing downstream-bound critters in a fine mesh sein, or net. The collected debris from these efforts was transferred into glass petrie dishes, where careful observation would identify the inhabitants of this watery evirons–would they be only the sort of creatures that could survive in polluted environments, or would they find more sensitive, delicate species that would indicate the river is satisfactorily healthy? Well, final interpretation of findings would have to wait until later, when all the data would be compiled back at the lab. For this episode of S4theB! you’re out here on the river with the students, listening in on the process.
The voices you hear will be those of students, their talented teachers, and the occasional crow, along with that of Pat Holiday, retired USGS ranger and geologist (and also Brittainy’s grandfather!). You’ll also be treated to two very nice bites of wonderful music, “The River,” and “Fire Dance,” from Jesse Manno. You can pick up these songs or the entire album, “Sea Spirits,” for a song at Magnatune.com! Alrighty, stalwart listeners, listen up right here or click “Links” up top to use the Podcast Pickle player at the site!!!
And BONUS!!! here’s a slideshow of pictures from the river visit:
Posted in Math, School, School for Science and Math, Outreach, Environment, Research, Water Quality, Learning, Teaching, Brain, News, Level, High School, Professional Development, Education, Snack | No Comments »
Welcome! For S4theB! 71 we’re featuring a portion of a fascinating talk by Fisk University Physics Professor Kent Wallace, and educator completely fired up (sorry) over model rocketry. Dr. Wallace is a prime mover (a faculty sponsor, to be exact) behind the Fisk Altitude Adjustment Missle Team (