Planet Earth II – The revenge of the surf.

It’s impossible not to be impressed by Sir David Attenborough hot-air ballooning two miles above the planet to open the second series of Planet Earth. I fell in love with the first series, from the Sigur Ros anthem to the outstanding aerial photography (the vast herds filmed from far above the surface using the latest stabilised camera technology of the time but mounted on a helicopter). This new one starts in impressive fashion with barnstorming music and a very effective juxtaposition of two mating island-dwellers: the lethargic swimming and tree-climbing prowess of the pygmy sloth with the ferocious and bloody battles of the dragons of Komodo.

Graceful and sedate. Swimming technique is much like mine. (BBC)

[Spoilers :)] We then move via a never stopping camera past the lemurs of Madagascar to the Galapagon Islands of TERROR. My heart has only just calmed down. I was enjoying the beautiful shots of the turtles and the marine iguanas snorting salt water from their nostrils when all of a sudden the fastest knot of racer snakes appears from nowhere. These constrictors appear to defy the laws of physics as they burst across the gravelly sand to make meals of equally fast hatchling iguana. Incredible filming and timing make this the first outstanding scene of the series.

But the truly terrible scenes are the ones where island species are finding it impossible to adapt to sudden changes brought on by human intervention (for example the ant invaders destroying the red crab natives of Christmas Island). Attenborough reminds us that isolation for islanders means new challenges make it much more likely for these species to become extinct.

The programme finishes with epic vistas of an almost untouched (by humans) Antarctic volcanic island and the one and a half million penguins that live, thrive and survive upon it.

A brilliant first episode, that includes the obligatory video diary at the end, which documents the “penguin paradise” including the ethical dilemma of leaving the penguins to tackle the southern battering ocean without help despite the pain of seeing the bloodied wounded hobble past them

***** (especially as the trailer for next week’s episode had the strains of Hoppibolla playing over it).

Science TV and Radio 2016: StarGazing Live

Almost 4 weeks ago a Soyuz rocket launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. This flight was special to those of us in the UK as it was carrying the first British Astronaut to visit the International Space Station, Tim Peake. My computer science class were invited to stay in with me during break to watch the launch; they all did.

There was a special pair of episodes of StarGazing Live on the 15th to accompany the launch, hosted by Brian Cox and Dara O’Briain from the Science Museum.

Over the holidays were the brilliant Christmas lectures about How to survive in space, which picked up Tim Peake’s story, hosted by Dr Kevin Fong. Please watch and encourage your students to – they were really very good and included contributions from Helen Sharman, the first British astronaut as well as other astronauts who have been to the ISS.

Continuing on this week there are going to be 4 episodes of Star Gazing Live – Tuesday to Friday at 9pm on BBC Two, with Dara, Brian and Tim O’Brien from Jodrell Bank. The Friday episode is a late addition to the schedules as Tim Peake is due to be doing a space walk so the programme is going to be reporting on that.

I hope you encourage your students to watch these programmes this week as they are reporting on a significant event in UK science.

In other news – I am building back up to supplying the TV and Radio guide. It’s been tough juggling family, teaching and other commitments but I do know it’s a very appreciated resource and I’m sorry you’ve had a term without it.

I’ll not commit to doing one next week – but if I can, I will.

Happy New Year.

P.S. If you want news of ISS flyovers in the UK @VirtualAstro is the account to follow on twitter. See also www.meteorwatch.org/

Science TV and Radio: week commencing 2nd November 2015

Hi,

I’m feeling glum that I’ve not been able to provide you with the guide on a regular basis so far this term. Not enough hours in the day and family and work commitments mean this has had to take a back seat. I’m trying to streamline the process to make it less onerous a task and intend to produce a guide again next week.

One thing that will change is the QR codes – I will post the links to the programme online on this blog (as I did a few weeks ago) and there will be one QR code that links to that post. This will speed up the process.

With that in mind: here are some programmes I think will interest you and your students this week –

• New Natural History programme The Hunt on BBC One – Sunday 1st November and next episode on the 8th.
• Autumnwatch is on this Monday to Thursday at 20:00 on BBC Two
• Essay on Radio 3 is a repeat of The Meaning Of Trees – 22:45 BBC Radio 3 Monday-Friday
• Digital Human – Aleks Krotoski explores the Mind – Monday 16:30 BBC Radio 4
• A repeat of The Truth About Exercise on BBC Four – Monday 2nd 23:30
• In The Life Scientific Jim Al-Khalili interviews Patrick Vallance, head of research and development at GlaxoSmithKline. Tuesday 9:00 and 21:30 BBC Radio 4
• A new series presented by Helen Czerski – Colour: The Spectrum of Science on BBC Four Wednesday 21:00
• Followed by a repeat of Wild Weather with Richard Hammond  BBC Four Wednesday 22:00
• In Our Time – Discussing P v NP problems in computer science – Thursday BBC Radio 4 9:00 or 21:30
• Inside Science on Thursday 16:30 and 21:30 BBC Radio 4
• Click on Saturday at various times on the BBC News Channel
• The Naked Scientists at 5:00am Saturday Morning on Radio 5 Live
• On Sunday at 22:00 The Sky at Night asks if we’re any closer to finding a second Earth

Science TV and Radio: week commencing 12th October 2015

Unfortunately I have run out of time to post the guide tonight. It will be posted Monday evening. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Here’s the list of programmes to be included.
The Secret Life of Ice http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b016fpyy is on Monday at 8pm
The Magic of Mushrooms http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b041m6fh
The Life Scientific http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06gqx6d
The Life and Death of A Smartphone http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06gq3q4
Click http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p034h09c
Costing the Earth http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06grjmx
Genius http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008h5bx
Inside Science http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06gwcpf
Science in Action http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p034n5sy
The Science Hour http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p034vd9y
Naked Scientists http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p0345jrp
A Horizon guide to ageing http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01kxxys
The Great British Year: Spring http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01dfksf
Monkey Cage http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p034cf9b
Digital Human http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06gqjpt
Click in Japan http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06jtr8h
The Natural World – Galapagos http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b055kldq
The Sky at Night http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06jcjp6
The Natural World – Prairie Dogs http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00qm7bf

Science TV and Radio: week commencing 5th October 2015

A quick post – a reminder that the PDF is designed to be printed out onto A3 and that the QR codes take you to the relevant page where you can watch online or via catchup TV if the service allows.

I’ve added some colour coding to the programmes to indicate which subject area they are most aligned with.

My picks of the week are The Sky at Night, and Planet Oil. Also @MrsDrSarah pointed me towards the Channel 5 programme Body Donors. I haven’t watched last week’s but Sarah recommends it.

Here is the guide: Science TV and Radio Guide_20151005.

Science TV and Radio: week commencing 28th September 2015

I almost forgot to post this tonight – luckily I’m off school next week, so have stayed up to make sure it’s available.

Very biology heavy this week, and lots of programmes about natural history science and scientists.

Pick of the Week is Oak Tree: Nature’s Greatest Survivor on BBC 4 this Thursday.

Enjoy.

Science TV and Radio Guide_20150928.pdf

Science TV and Radio: week commencing 21st September 2015

Hello, and welcome back to the Teachers Guide to the Airwaves, a wholly remarkable PDF, brought to you by the great publishing house on Ursa Minor Beta… ok perhaps not.

But I’m back. And the guide has changed. I and my partner in crime @MrsDrSarah are unable to dedicate the time required to produce the guide in its previous form. So I’m going to be giving you the top 15 (ish) programmes of the week in a handy one page sheet.

The QR codes are still there, and I hope that this format is slightly more appealing to you and your students. As ever comments are more than welcome. I am also going to be including more computer science programmes whenever they show up as that reflects the subjects that I am involved with in my school.

The main focus of this and the last few weeks at the BBC has been on coding and computing and so there are a few programmes to catch up with, including Computing Britain and Girls Can Code. Also at the end of the week Radio 3 are doing a themed weekend called #whymusic, which will include a few programmes looking at the link between music and the brain.

Anyway, without further ado, your new guide. Enjoy.

Science TV and Radio Guide_20150921.pdf

Starting up the Video Library

Today I was reminded once again of the original purpose of this blog – to collate content to support the teaching of science. Originally it was to be books, and science videos. But then it became the home of the TV and Radio guide and the original purpose was slightly lost as the guide is a time consuming job.

Alex Quigley (@HuntingEnglish) tweeted

@HuntingEnglish @alomshaha @DrDav @ViciaScience yes, no not really. What Alom said. So much out there.

— Alex Weatherall (@A_Weatherall) September 18, 2015

So here’s my more helpful reply #shirtbuddy…

Here are the videos that I collate as playlists on my youtube channel.

• AS Physics
• A2 Physics
• GCSE Physics
• GCSE Chemistry
• BTEC L3 Applied Science
• BTEC L2 Principles of Applied Science, BTEC L2 Science
• Computer Science, Computer Science
• IB Physics
• General Science for school

And other playlists from channels I subscribe to:

• Crash course: Big History
• Crash course: Astronomy
• Crash course: Biology
• Crash course: Chemistry
• Crash course: Ecology
• National Science Learning Centre: Effective Science Practicals
• David Butler: How far away is it?
• David Butler: How small is it?
• In a Nutshell (Kurzgesagt): Universe and Space Stuff
• In a Nutshell (Kurzgesagt): Putting things into perspective
• In a Nutshell (Kurzgesagt): Nuclear Energy
• In a Nutshell (Kurzgesagt): Science and Stuff
• In a Nutshell (Kurzgesagt): The Human Immune System
• Neil Monteiro: Science Mysteries
• Nested: High School Computer Science: Algorithms
• Nested: High School Computer Science: Human Computer Interaction
• Philip Moriarty: Frontiers in Physics 
• National Stem Centre (with @AlomShaha)
• Physics Girl: Space and the Universe
• Physics Girl: Everyday Physics
• Physics Girl: Experiments you can try
• Bozeman Science: Playlists – great examples of teaching videos
• Veritasium: Favourites (one of my favourite channels)
• Smarter Every Day: Playlists (another of my favourite channels)
• Alom Shaha’s channel
• Fully Charged: playlists (I made a very popular National Grid TED:ED lesson from one of Roberts’ videos)
• MinutePhysics: playlists – brilliant animated videos explaining physics ideas quickly.
• MinuteEarth – Henry from MinutePhysics branches out into biology and ecology.

Brady Haran’s selection of channels are excellent

• Objectivity – Scientific Objects of importance
• Deep Sky Videos – Space
• Periodic Videos – Chemistry (see also this TED:ED set of lessons: the Periodic Table of videos)
• Sixty Symbols – Physics
• Numberphile – Mathematics
• Computerphile – Computer Science

Some more random channels

• Applied Science
• Wired
• It’s OK to be Smart
• The Big History Project
• Steve Mould from FOTSN – great videos including the famous self syphoning beads)

And more random videos I’ve just seen on Twitter:

via @DrDav Rutherford’s Gold Leaf apparatus rebuilt

This is just a part of my youtube collection – there are also permanently available iPlayer videos and clips as well as Vimeo (e.g. this gem of a video about a scale model of the solar system and this one where we travel from the surface of the sun out across the solar system at the speed of light– 40 mins and we just get past Jupiter) and other sources.

I will expand this resource to make it more useful – i.e. more specific videos and uses in the classroom when I have the inclination 🙂

Let me know of any other gems in the comments. ( e.g. there’s Alom Shaha’s Demo Films) 

I told you there were a lot Alex Q.

Rebooting the TV and Radio guide

As the new academic year gets underway, the time was come to start up the guide again for your students to use to access STEM focused TV and radio programmes. I am planning a few design changes this year to take into account of the fact that l have a role leading computer science in my new school.
If anyone has any suggestions on how to make the information more accessible for our students please leave a comment .

I am aiming to pubIish the first guide for the week commencing 13th September.

Thanks
@A_Weatherall (and @Mrsdrsarah)

Science TV and Radio for the week commencing 29th June 2015

Hello,

The posts are quick at the moment as there is too much else going on. But here’s next week’s guide ready to share with your students. Thanks to Sarah for collating the programmes.

Science TV and Radio Guide_20150629.pdf

The pick of the week is The Life Scientific – Jim Al-Khalili talking to Henry Marsh about his work in the field of neuroscience.