Something Deeply Hidden

Cheery Friday Greetings to our Learning How to Learners!

Book of the Week

Something Deeply Hidden: Quantum Worlds and the Emergence of Spacetime, by Sean Carroll. We have to admit, we know nothing about quantum physics. (Well, at least Barb, who is writing this review, knew nothing about quantum physics. Terry, on the other hand, studied relativity with John Wheeler at Princeton, so he can dish on quanta when he feels like it.) Sean Carroll is a magnificent writer—understandably, this book became an instant New York Times best seller.  Just take a gander at this paragraph: “Note the subtle difference between Planck’s suggestion and Einstein’s. Planck says that light of a fixed frequency is emitted in certain energy amounts, while Einstein says that’s because light literally is discrete particles. It’s the difference between saying that a certain coffee machine makes exactly one cup at a time, and saying that coffee only exists in the form of one-cup-size amounts. That might make sense when we’re talking about matter particles like electrons and protons, but just a few decades earlier Maxwell had triumphantly explained that light was a wave, not a particle. Einstein’s proposal was threatening to undo that triumph. Planck himself was reluctant to accept this wild new idea, but it did explain the data. In a wild new idea’s search for acceptance, that’s a powerful advantage to have.”

Barb can’t say she emerged from Something Deeply Hidden having a good grasp of quantum physics, (although maybe another version of her in a different world does), but she now has a much greater appreciation for some of the discipline’s oddly beautiful ideas. Also, it’s interesting to know that Schrödinger didn’t like cats. 

Enjoy!

ASEE Presents: Barb’s Synchronous Master Class On Effective Teaching

Barb will be doing the first live webinar presenting practical insights and ideas from her upcoming book Uncommon Sense Teaching, (Barb Oakley, Beth Rogowsky, and Terrence Sejnowski, to be published by Penguin Random House on June 15, 2021). This workshop, on the afternoons of January 6, 7, and 8th, gives an unprecedented look at new insights from neuroscience that give you practical tools that can help your students learn more effectively.  Whether you are teaching at a university or in K-12, you will find this workshop provides  a common framework, terminology, and practical exercises to develop your teaching on a soundly neuroscientific basis. Although intended for STEM, instructors from any discipline can benefit from these insights. Space is limited, so reserve your seat now. 

Tired of Looking Gray and Boring When Teaching Online?

Here’s the interesting tech journey of a law professor who decided to spice up his online teaching by adding different cameras and using a teleprompter to allow him to gaze directly into the camera while still seeing what he’s presenting. Another approach, if you want to superimpose yourself into a PowerPoint, is to use Vidblaster—which we plan to experiment more with.

A Productivity System for Developers on Listenable

Our friend James Bowen, a Java developer and DevOps engineer working at Australia Post, has developed a productivity system for developers on Listenable. You may wish to check it out. (James’s blog is here.)

Virtual Workshop: “La Ciencia del Aprendizaje,” accredited by Universidad Antonio Nariño (Colombia) 

On 24th and 31th October, the co-instructor and lead of the Spanish version of our MOOC “Aprendiendo a Aprender,“ Orlando Trejo, will be teaching a virtual workshop to Spanish speakers, where he will revisit in an interactive format the strategies presented at Learning How to Learn and Mindshift. 

This workshop will be officially accredited by Universidad Antonio Nariño (Colombia), which will grant a certificate to participants. The cost of participation is ($30); here is more information about the program and registration.

 And stay tuned for more free opportunities, resources, virtual meetings and workshops for Ibero-American students, which will be announced at the Spanish version.

Entrepreneurship Is Skyrocketing During the Pandemic

This upbeat article in FEE provides an inspiring exploration of the opportunities that are arising for new ways of meeting people’s needs as a consequence of the pandemic. It appears this is nowhere more obvious than in education.  “Many students started this school year with remote learning only, as district schools, especially in urban areas, remain indefinitely closed for full-time, in-person instruction. Michael Strong, a longtime educator, author, and successful entrepreneur, quickly recognized that parents are dissatisfied with their children’s remote district schooling and want a high-quality, affordable alternative. “There is such immense demand… Once parents get regular school piped into their homes, they see that school isn’t always a great fit. They take on significantly more ownership of their child’s education and look for more options.” Strong recently launched Expanse, a virtual school that provides high-touch, project-based, live remote learning to middle schoolers throughout the US. [Hat tip, Pat Peterson.]

Találkozzon Barbara Oakley-val! (A workshop for Hungarians) 

Szeretettel várjuk a Szegedi Tudományegyetemen, ahol Barbara Oakley 2020. október 24-én tart webináriumokat.

Az online, interaktív előadások programja:

2020. október 24.

13:00 A tanulás tanulása

14:30 Ássunk mélyebbre a tanulás tudományában

16:00 Az online oktatás tanulságai világjárvány idején

 A részvétel ingyenes, ám regisztrációhoz kötött. A regisztráció határideje október 18. További információ itt található.

Sorry for the bad link last week…Neuro Learning Hacks

Here’s the right quick learning hack from TikTok [Hat tip Jeffery Parent], which, as we’d mentioned, articulates key ideas that this far longer but deeply informative discussion between Joe Rogan and neuroscientist Andrew Huberman.

That’s all for this week. Have a happy week in Learning How to Learn!

Barb, Terry, and the entire Learning How to Learn team

• Get the course recommended text, A Mind for Numbers!
• And Learning How to Learn, a book for kids and parents.