Free Online Course on EU

So excited to be working with the EU Center of Excellence at UNC and LEARN NC and getting ready to teach my four-week online course for North Carolina teachers! The fun begins November 28.  Read more about it here and register now! 

The European Union: An Introduction for Teachers is designed to introduce teachers to the history and function of the EU, and to support them in choosing among the EU's very useful online resources for teaching and learning. 

I developed the course to help teachers connect their knowledge of Europe (which is usually very deep) with an understanding of the EU (which most teachers would like to deepen) through online resources, including video, and discussion with peers.  The goal is to improve and increase instruction about the EU in our classrooms, especially through use of digital resources.  What's your final project?  A standards-based, technology-rich lesson plan on the EU for your classroom. 

It's free, offers 2 CEUs upon completion, and begins November 28.  Registration is open now.  If you've not yet taken an online course, please realize that I've designed it to be very user friendly.  I've developed and taught online courses before.  I really enjoy it, and want students to enjoy it, too. 

Ready to register? Go to LEARN NC's enrollment page here.  You can also contact me at reginaUNDERSCOREhigginsATuncDOTedu 

 

Re-Orienting the Veil Conference

“Re-Orienting the Veil”

Feb. 22-23, 2013

Fed Ex Global Education Center

Chapel Hill, NC

Free, registration required

Presented by the Carolina Center for the Study of the Middle East and Muslim Civilizations and the Duke-UNC Consortium for Middle East Studies

“Re-Orienting the Veil” is a conference featuring an interdisciplinary, cultural, religious, historical and political discussion of the meaning of the Islamic headscarf.  It will include presentations on veiling by visiting scholars and faculty, photographs from the Esse Quam Videri project, and a hands-on session with a selection of veils from different cultures.  

NC scholarly communities,  students,  NC K-12 and community college educators, and the general public are all invited to attend free of charge.  Registration is required.  

*NC K-12 teachers are eligible to earn one CEU through attendance and completion of pre- and post-conference activities.* 

For more information and to register for the conference, contact Outreach Director Dr. Regina Higgins, reginaUNDERSCOREhigginsATunc.edu

Nobel Prize in Economics

The 2012 Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel was divided equally between Alvin E. Roth and Lloyd S. Shapley "for the theory of stable allocations and the practice of market design".

Put in the kind of language most of us can understand, Roth and Shapley won the joint Nobel for their work on the role of game theory and math in predicting stable economies. It all comes from the Gale-Shapley algorithm and its theoretical and practical applications. (That's why I'm including "math" among the labels here. Math teachers, this Nobel's for you!)

And that's it for Nobel Week. Quite a global experience, with plenty of ideas and people to research!

EU Wins Nobel Peace Prize

The 2012 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the European Union (EU) "for over six decades contributed to the advancement of peace and reconciliation, democracy and human rights in Europe".

The EU is an exciting and controversial selection for the Peace Prize. For a thoughtful explanation of the decision, go to the Nobel Prize site here.  (And think about using this text as a very up-to-date primary source to analyze.)

Explore the EU site, EUROPA, for background, history, latest news, and some very addictive games to expand your knowledge of the newest Laureate. Make the most of the moment and learn how to teach the EU, and use EUROPA in your classroom.

Nobel Laureate Mo Yan

Today the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Mo Yan, a Chinese novelist, "who with hallucinatory realism merges folk tales, history and the contemporary".  More information about his life and writing here. 

A note on the Laureate's name--it's a pseudonym.  His real name is Guan Moye. Mo Yan means (with nice irony) "don't speak."

Nobel Prize Week--So Far

Three days, six Laureates:

Monday: John B. Gurdon and Shinya Yamanaka jointly won the prize in Physiology or Medicine "for the discovery that mature cells can be reprogrammed to become pluripotent".  In other words, cell development isn't necessarily irreversible. Mature cells can return to a stem cell state and develop differently.  Explanation and some very promising medical uses here.

Tuesday: The 2012 Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded jointly to Serge Haroche and David J. Wineland "for ground-breaking experimental methods that enable measuring and manipulation of individual quantum systems". That's to say they developed ways to work with individual particles without damaging them.  (And this one has the best chance for a mention on The Big Bang Theory.) More information here.

Wednesday: The 2012 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded jointly to Robert J. Lefkowitz and Brian K. Kobilka "for studies of G-protein-coupled receptors".  A giant step in understanding how our cells can sense and react to our environment.  Read more about it here.

It's been a big week for shared Nobel Prizes.  But next up is the Literature Prize.  Whoever gets it will almost certainly have it all to him/herself.  We'll see who it is tomorrow!

Teaching Turkey Curriculum Grant

I know, I know, it's Nobel Prize Week, which is a big deal. But curriculum grants take precedence even over news of Nobel Laureates. 

Here's a great opportunity to introduce Turkey into your classroom.  Curriculum grant up to $2,500. Deadline Nov. 30.  Apply!

 

From the American Turkish Society:

The American Turkish Society's Education Program is pleased to announce the availability of Curriculum Development Grants for 2013. The program, which was initiated by The Society in the spring of 2010, offers funds to elementary and secondary school teachers in the U.S. to develop innovative curricula, projects and other classroom activities about Turkey.

Call for Proposals Spring 2013 Curriculum Development Grants