With special contributions by Betty Bayer, Henry Grob, Sara Rasmussen, Dinesh Rathi, Stephanie Shallcross, and Vandana Singh.

Digital technologies old and new are not objects that can be packed inside a box. They are a seamless, indivisible combination of people, organizations, policies, economies, histories, cultures, knowledge, and material things that are continuously shaped and reshaped. Every one of us innovates-in-use our everyday technologies, we just do not always know it. Not only are we shaped by the networked information tools in our midst, but we shape them and thereby shape others. For us to advance individual agency across diverse community knowledge and cultural wealth within the fabric of communities, we need to nurture our cognitive, socio-emotional, information, and progressive community engagement skills along with, and sometimes in advance of, our technical skills which then serve as just-in-time in-fill learning. This is the call placed by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – to rapidly shift from a ‘thing-oriented’ society to a ‘person-oriented’ society.

In support of this shift, each session of the book begins first with a social chapter with background knowledge probe, conceptual introductions, and a lesson plan for the session. A technical chapter follows with technical introductions and hands-on activities, and a concluding wrap up and comprehension check. The technical of the Orange Unit especially focuses on electronics and physical computer components; the Blue Unit highlights software through a series of introductory programming activities, with possibilities for alternate pathways for those who bring in some existing programming experience; the Rainbow Unit then brings the hardware and software together into networked systems, concluding with a final design adventure.

Join Scripps Institutions' John Orcutt as he describes how cutting edge technology will allow Scripps to establish a permanent presence in the oceans in support of scientific research. (46 minutes)

Join Scripps archivist Deborah Day as she takes us back to the great days of seagoing oceanography before World War II. Through an exceptional collection of photos, letters and logbook entries, Ms. Day will recount the early struggles of Scripps Institution, the technology and culture of ocean science a century ago, and the traditions engendered by that culture that endure at Scripps today. (44 minutes)

Scripps is home to the largest academic research fleet in the nation. Learn more about this incredibly valuable resource from Associate Director Dr. Robert Knox, head of Scripps marine operations and technical support. (58 minutes)

Modern oceanography has been built on a legacy of centuries of seagoing dating back to ancient times. Join distinguished Scripps Emeritus Professor Joe Reid as he describes what the earliest sailors knew about the oceans and how technical achievements through the ages have allowed ocean explorers to venture to the far reaches of the globe. (51 minutes)

This course is a seminar on the philosophical analysis of film art, with an emphasis on the ways in which it creates meaning through techniques that define a formal structure. There is a particular focus on aesthetic problems about appearance and reality, literary and visual effects, communication and alienation through film technology.

This video reviews how photovoltaic (PV) cells work, noting that technological innovations are decreasing costs and allowing PV use to expand.

Physical Chemistry is the application of physical principles and measurements to understand the properties of matter, as well as for the development of new technologies for the environment, energy and medicine. Advanced Physical Chemistry topics include different spectroscopic methods (Raman, ultrafast and mass spectroscopy, nuclear magnetic and electron paramagnetic resonance, x-ray absorption and atomic force microscopy) as well as theoretical and computational tools to provide atomic-level understanding for applications such as: nanodevices for bio-detection and receptors, interfacial chemistry of catalysis and implants, electron and proton transfer, protein function, photosynthesis and airborne particles in the atmosphere.

The activity consists of a story and two experiments demonstrating how push and pull can make objects move.

This activity is a hands on investigation in which students will construct, and launch a trebuchet.

Students learn about pixels in this Moveable Museum unit, in which they decode a simple digital image from a string of numbers. The eight-page PDF guide includes suggested general background readings for educators, activity notes, step-by-step directions, and activity handouts. There are two versions of the activity, one for Grades K-3 and one for Grades 4-8 Version.

Student groups use a "real" 3D coordinate system to plot points in space. Made from balsa wood or wooden dowels, the system has three axes at right angles and a plane (the XY plane) that can slide up and down the Z axis. Students are given several coordinates and asked to find these points in space. Then they find the coordinates of the eight corners of a box/cube with given dimensions.

In this media-rich, self-paced lesson, students explore the industries that produce and rely on advanced technology and assess how their goals and interests may make them well suited for a career in this cutting-edge sector.

This course explores policy and planning for sustainable development. It critically examines concept of sustainability as a process of social, organizational, and political development drawing on cases from the U.S. and Europe. It also explores pathways to sustainability through debates on ecological modernization; sustainable technology development, international and intergenerational fairness, and democratic governance.

What do plants eat? This unit explores plants and how they make food.

The students will play a classic game from a popular show. Through this they will see the probabilty that the ball will land each of the numbers with more accurate results coming from repeated testing.

In this activity, learners work in groups to determine the mass and volume of four samples: glass marbles, steel washers or nuts, pieces of pine wood, and pieces of PVC pipe. Learners then plot the data points on a large class graph of mass vs. volume to discover that data points for a particular material form a straight line, the slope of which gives the density of the material.

This article provides an overview of podcasts and suggestions for using podcasts in the elementary classroom.

In this learning activity, students compare changes in insolation with changes in surface temperature in the polar regions using scientific visualizations of global data sets. Links to readings related to the shrinking ice cap and albedo are included. This is part 1 of a four-part activity on polar science. Extension activities examining air and sea surface temperature in relation to changing Earth albedo are included. This activity is one of several learning activities connected with the 2007 GLOBE Earth system poster.