NBCLearns+Newsletter

=  Welcome New York City Department of Education Educators! = //“Hope smiles from the threshold of the year to come, Whispering 'it will be happier'..//// - Alfred Tennyson //
 * = == **//This Month's Featured Teaching and Learning Resources from NBC Learn//** == ||= [[image:http://static.nbclearn.com/files/nbcarchives/email/2013/June/fb.jpg link="@https://www.facebook.com/nbclearn"]][[image:http://static.nbclearn.com/files/nbcarchives/email/2013/June/twitter.jpg link="@https://twitter.com/nbclearn"]][[image:http://static.nbclearn.com/files/nbcarchives/email/2013/June/edmodo.jpg link="@http://www.edmodo.com/publisher/NBCLearn"]] ||

 The first ** Winter Olympic Games ** were held 90 years ago this month — from January 25 to February 5, 1924 — in Chamonix, France. Count down to the February 7 Opening Ceremonies of the Winter Games in Sochi, Russia with ** //Science and Engineering of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games// ** — the latest in the Emmy Award-winning ** “Science of Sports” series ** produced by ** NBC Learn ** and the ** National Science Foundation (NSF) **. __In this first NBC Learn Newsletter of 2014__:


 * Links to **January “anniversary” stories** and resources from the NBC News Archives — including coverage of the first color TV broadcasts 60 years ago; the first Surgeon General’s report on health impacts of cigarette smoking and the ratification of the 24th Amendment 50 years ago — and the Northridge earthquake in L.A. 20 years ago. Also: links to the newest featured videos in our **Campus Perspectives** collection of videos, produced by some of the nation’s best colleges and universities.

May hope have smiled broadly as you crossed the threshold into 2014, and continue to do so as you move into this fresh new year (as measured by the Gregorian calendar). Happy International Year of Small Island Developing States, International Year of Crystallography, and International Year of Family Farming (as declared by The United Nations).
 * This month’s **NBC Learn Subscriber Spotlights** introduces you to a **first-grade teacher in Texas** who uses NBC Learn videos as **primary sources for primary students**.

Access to NBC Learn is easy! Login to **http://ilearnnyc.net** with your NYCDOE credentials. Navigate to a course shell, select Content, and NBC Learn to gain access. All of the resources are searchable by topic, grade, and State and Common Core Standards.

The NBC Learn Team //Have ideas for the Newsletter? Write to us at **newsletter@nbclearn.com**. Have you missed a newsletter?// The Newsletters from 2012 and 2013 are now archived for easy reference//. Click on the Monthly Newsletter section of the Home page on **NBC Learn K12** .//

=**Science and Engineering of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games** =



Tap into global focus on the 2014 Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, with **//Science and Engineering of the 2014 Olympic Winter Games// **– 10 original NBC Learn videos that explain the **physics, engineering, chemistry and mathematics ** **of the most popular Winter Olympic sports **.

These videos, narrated by NBC Sports anchor Liam McHugh, feature some of the world’s top Olympic athletes, and the research of leading NSF-supported scientists. Each episode is available cost-free to teachers, students and the public at <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0188cf; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**NBC Learn K-12** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">along with engineering-focused lesson plans for middle- and high-school teachers developed by the National Science Teachers Association.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">New videos in this series include:


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">SHAUN WHITE & ENGINEERING THE HALF PIPE **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> — What gives Olympian snowboarder **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Shaun White **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> enough speed to propel him high into the air for his spectacular, gravity-defying tricks? The engineering and design of the half-pipe.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">PHYSICS OF FIGURE SKATING **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">— Olympic figure skaters **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Evan Lysacek, Gracie Gold, **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> and **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Ashley Wagner, **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and ice dancers **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Meryl Davis, **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Charlie White **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> show how ice skating is physics set to music.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">SCIENCE OF ICE **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">— Speed skating, figure skating, curling, hockey – all take place on the unique surface of ice. Olympic speed skaters **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">J.R. Celski **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Britanny Bowe **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and figure skater **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Gracie Gold **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> help explain what makes ice hard, yet slippery on the surface.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">SCIENCE OF SNOW **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">— Alpine, skiing, snowboarding and Nordic events in the Winter Games are all held on snow. Olympic alpine racer **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Ted Ligety **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and freestyle moguls skier **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Heather McPhie **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">help explain how snow is formed and how it reacts.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">NICK GOEPPER & THE PHYSICS OF SLOPESTYLE SKIING **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> — See how the laws of physics and rotational motion factor into this debut Winter Olympic event, and efforts by 2013 World Champion slopestyle skier **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Nick Goepper **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> to win gold.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">STABILITY & VIBRATION DAMPING IN ALPINE SKIING **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">— U.S. Olympic alpine skier **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Julia Mancuso **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and Paralympic alpine skiing champion **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Heath Calhoun **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> show how the engineering and design of their skis control the vibrations that impact speed and performance.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">BUILDING FASTER & SAFER BOBSLEDS **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">— Olympic bobsledders **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Steve Langton **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">and **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Steve Holcomb **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">help explain and demonstrate the advances in design and engineering that are making bobsleds faster and tracks safer.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">SHANI DAVIS & ENGINEERING COMPETITION SUITS **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> — At the 2014 Winter Games, long track speed skater and repeat Olympic Gold Medalist **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Shani Davis **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> will be wearing one of the most advanced competition suits ever engineered.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">INJURY & RECOVERY **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">— While on course to defend her downhill gold medal, alpine skiing champion **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Lindsey Vonn **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> suffered a devastating knee injury, tearing her ACL. Pioneering research in tissue regeneration could engineer L-C ligaments, get athletes like Vonn back into competition faster, and reduce recovery time for all those with ACL injuries.


 * <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">OLYMPIC MOVEMENT & ROBOTIC DESIGN **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">— No robot yet built can equal the flexibility, fluidity, balance and movement of Olympic athletes such as ice dancers **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Meryl Davis **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> and **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Charlie White **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">, hockey player **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Julie Chu **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">, and alpine ski racer **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Ted Ligety **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> — but researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology are working to develop bio-inspired “robo-athletes.”

//<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">See other Emmy Award-winning video series produced in partnership with NSF: **Science of the Winter Olympics**, **Science of the Summer Olympics** , **Science of NFL Football** , **Science of NHL Hockey** , **Science Behind The News** , **Changing Planet** , **Sustainability: Water** , and **Chemistry Now**. //



<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Capitalize on student interest in the 2014 Sochi Olympics by joining the **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5;">“SochiSnowflake” **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> campaign on NBCOlympics.com. __<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5;">Starting on January 20 __<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">, students and teachers across the United States are encouraged to send “good luck” messages to members of Team USA by following these four steps:

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">1. **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Cut out a paper snowflake **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. Use a stencil or get creative and cut out your own pattern. Creativity and variety are encouraged.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">2. **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Write a “good luck” message **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> to Team USA or to a specific athlete on the snowflake.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">3. **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Take a photo **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> of the snowflake.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">4. **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Upload the snowflake photo **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> to Twitter or Instagram **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">using the hashtag #SochiSnowflake **<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. Your snowflakes may be featured on NBCOlympics.com.

=<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #0188cf; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Featured NBC Learn CueCards in January** = <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**60 yrs ago this month — January, 1954** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">**__1st coast to coast color TV broadcast in the U.S.__** <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">On January 1, 1954, Americans with television sets were able to see a broadcast in color for the first time: the Tournament of Roses Parade. It would be more than four years before color broadcasts were common. On May 22, 1958, at a live televised ceremony in Washington marking a “broadcasting milestone,” then-NBC News President Robert Sarnoff pressed a button, turning the transmission from black-and-white to color, and making President Dwight D. Eisenhower the first American president to appear in color on television with “such true fidelity that millions of Americans will see this ceremony as though it were being enacted at that time.” Watch the entire telecast here: **K-12** || <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;"> 50 years ago this month — January, 1964 <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; text-align: center;">__ Ratification of 24th Amendment __ <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 1.5;">On January 23, 1964, the 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution was ratified, prohibiting Congress and the states from denying citizens the right to vote in federal elections if they had failed to pay poll taxes.
 * = [[image:https://static.nbclearn.com/files/icue/govt_politics/presidency/important_speeches/1323380_640x480.jpg width="177" height="128" align="center" link="@http://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse?cuecard=53076"]]
 * President Eisenhower Becomes First U.S. President Broadcast in Color on Television**

**K-12** ||
 * = [[image:https://static.nbclearn.com/files/icue/decision_08/ask_nbc_news/232594_640x480.jpg width="177" height="128" align="center" link="@http://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse?cuecard=5966"]]
 * Is the Requirement for a Photo ID the Same as a Poll Tax?**

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">On January 11, 1964, then-U.S. Surgeon General Luther L. Terry published the first official U.S. Government report on the health issues of smoking, concluding that cigarette smoking caused lung cancer and chronic bronchitis. That evening, NBC News broadcast an hour-long Special News Report, “Smoking and Health” — which has been digitized and posted on NBC Learn. Watch the report in its entirety. **Special Report: Smoking and Health** **K-12** ||
 * <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">50 years ago this month — January, 1964 <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">__1st Government Link of Cigarettes and Lung Cancer__

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Since the 1964 Surgeon General’s report on cigarette smoking and health, there have been more than 30 Surgeon General’s reports on the direct health consequences of smoking or chewing tobacco; the effects of second-hand/involuntary exposure to tobacco smoke; and the health benefits in smokers who quit smoking.
 * <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">**//__Cigarette Smoking and Health__//** __-- Related Study and Research Questions__

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">//See **http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/reports/** for links to all reports.//

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**//* Compare the findings and conclusions of Surgeon Generals’ reports on smoking and health over time//** — from report to report; at 5-year or 10-year intervals; or earliest and most recent. What changes are there in evidence and studies cited? What corrections or revisions are made from report to report? How do conclusions and recommendations change?

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">* **//Compare news coverage of Surgeon Generals’ reports on smoking and health since 1964.//** Which reports were most widely or extensively covered by the news media? Which reports were on newspaper front-pages, newsmagazine covers, or in the lead or opening section of national television newscasts?

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">* **//Chart tobacco-related legislation//** //— nationally or in your state or city —// **//on a timeline of Surgeon Generals’ reports//****//on smoking and health since 1964//**. Are there other events that correlate to tobacco-related legislation? (For example: news documentaries or investigative reports; Congressional investigations and testimony; deaths from lung cancer of prominent people who were smokers or former smokers?

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**//* Chart changes and trends in overall cigarette smoking and tobacco use in the U.S. since 1964.//** How do these changes and trends correlate to Surgeon Generals’ reports, tobacco-related legislation, restrictions on cigarette advertising, or other factors?

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**//* Chart changes and trends in cigarette smoking and tobacco use by subsection of the population (gender, age, race, etc.) over time//****//.//** What theories can be tested on the basis of available evidence to explain these changes and trends? || <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">**20 years ago this month — January, 1994** <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">**__Northridge Earthquake in LA__** <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">On January 17, 1994, an earthquake in Los Angeles, California measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale killed 62, injured almost 12,000, and caused $40 billion in damages — at the time, the most costly natural disaster in U.S. history. **K-12** ||
 * = [[image:https://static.nbclearn.com/files/icue/science/earth_sciences/planet_earth/224464_640x480.jpg width="177" height="128" link="@http://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse?cuecard=5647"]]
 * Lessons Learned from the Northridge Earthquake**

<span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">**10 years ago this month — January, 2004** <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">__NASA’s Rovers Land on Mars__ <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">On January 4, 2004, NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover //Spirit// lands on Mars, and begins transmitting images of the surface of the Red Planet. The //Spirit// twin Rover, //Opportunity,// lands on the Martian surface on January 25th. **K-12** ||=
 * <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">**//__The Costs of Natural Disasters__//** __-- Related Study and Research Questions__
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">What are the 10 “costliest” natural disasters __in the U.S__., as determined by government sources? Science or research institutions? Insurance sources?
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">What are the 10 “costliest” natural disasters __worldwide__, as determined by international science organizations, research institutions, the United Nations, or other sources?
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">How are the costs of natural disasters calculated — Lives lost? Injuries? Property damages? Recovery and rebuilding? Longer-term economic impact — unemployment, lost production, loss of tax base?
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">What categories of natural disasters — hurricanes, earthquakes, floods, tsunamis — are most costly in terms of each of these categories?
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Chart the Richter scale measurements of the last 10 earthquakes in the United States and/or the last 10 earthquakes worldwide. What theories might be tested on the basis of these measurements over time?
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Chart the frequency of major earthquakes in the U.S. and/or worldwide over the past 20 years on a timeline. What theories might be tested on the basis of earthquake frequency over time?
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Chart the frequency of major hurricanes in the U.S. over the past 20 years on a timeline. What theories might be tested on the basis of hurricane frequency over time?
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Map natural disasters by type on a global map. Where do most natural disasters occur? What are some probable or possible reasons?
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Research the amount of warning time before natural disasters of the same kind and comparable size. Is amount of warning time related to number of deaths and injuries? Are some kinds of natural disasters more easily and accurately predicted than others? What theories might be tested to explain why?
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">How are relative costs of natural disasters compared over time? How does the value of currency change over time? ||
 * ||= [[image:https://static.nbclearn.com/files/icue/science/astronomy_and_space/solar_system/1082206_640x480.jpg width="177" height="128" link="@http://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse?cuecard=43097"]]
 * Martian Signals: Spirit Rover Lands On Mars, Starts Transmitting**
 * Spirit Rover Sending Images, Signals, from Surface of Mars**

**K-12** || **K-12** ||=
 * ||= [[image:https://static.nbclearn.com/files/icue/science/astronomy_and_space/solar_system/222076_640x480.jpg width="177" height="128" link="@http://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse?cuecard=5526"]]
 * The Rovers Have Landed: NASA Scientist Steven Squyers on the Mars Rover Mission**
 * Opportunity Rover Lands on Mars, Sends Back Images of Bedrock**

**K-12** ||  ||


 * =**<span style="color: #0188cf; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> “Campus Perspectives” Videos **=

|| <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Campus Perspectives**, a pilot program on NBC Learn, is a collection of short videos, __produced by a select number of American colleges and universities from across the U.S__. to showcase what their students are studying and experiencing, and what their faculty members are researching and developing.

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"> Note: To distinguish **Campus Perspectives** videos from NBC Learn videos, all Campus Perspectives videos are identified with a “graduation cap” icon, and the name of the college or university that produced the video appears at the top of every Campus Perspectives video CueCard, directly beneath the video title. <span style="color: #0188cf; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Featured Campus Perspectives videos this month:** > > > **K-12** > > NBC Learn K-12: **Campus Perspectives**
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Video produced by University of Notre Dame on efforts by a Notre Dame chemistry professor to develop an injectable compound that might repair brain cells in those who suffer traumatic brain injuries.
 * Fighting to Protect Athletes**
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Video produced by University of Southern Mississippi on research into adolescent reactions to status updates and postings by peers and others on social media.
 * Does Social Media Affect Teens’ Self Esteem? **
 * **K-12**

Amy Kerney teaches around one-hundred students in her fifth and sixth grade science classes at Evansville Christian Academy. Kerney started using NBC Learn nearly two years ago when the Indiana Department of Education Office of eLearning spread the resource to schools. Kerney says, “One of the things I love is that I can search by Indiana state standards and whatever standard I’m trying to teach it will give me a list of the videos that will match up. NBC Learn has such a big selection that it is easy for me to reinforce my content.” Kerney uses an interactive whiteboard and embeds her NBC Learn videos into the curriculum for seamless integration. Kerney says that since she has started using the resource she has seen an impact on her students. “For visual learners it really enhances the content for them,” she says. After students have taken their notes for the day, Kerney likes to show a video, and then open a discussion. She knows the material is sticking with her students because class discussions are being continued with parents at home. “We were studying invasive species and the lionfish in Florida. One of the little girls came in a week later after the video and shared how she and her dad had a discussion about it at dinner. She clearly retained the information because she remembered enough about the discussion to recall it at home a week later.” The student’s father works at an aquarium and plans to bring a real lionfish into the classroom. <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Kerney says her students love the Science of the Winter Olympics Collection and the Sochi 2014 collection has just launched and can be found <span style="color: #0188cf; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**here** <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">. Kerney keeps her class up to date on Current Events and shows them the latest in space discoveries, such as images from the Hubble Telescope or the Mars Rover. “They always want to see more! If I show one they’ll say, “Can we see another?’ They always want to see more than one.” ||= ||
 * ===<span style="color: #0188cf; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**NBC Learn Subscriber Spotlight K-12: Students always wants more NBC Learn** ===

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Kerney uses the playlist feature to separate videos she uses for her sixth and fifth grade classes. Her playlists can be found below. <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">__5th Grade Playlist__ <span style="color: #333333; display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;">__6th Grade Playlist__
 * <span style="color: #0188cf; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Lionfish Devour Native Species as Population Explodes**
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Science of Golf: Volume, Displacement, & Buoyancy **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Science of Innovation: Bionic Limbs **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** NASA’s GRAIL Mission Captures New Images of Lunar Surface **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Born Without Legs, but Not Without Olympic Dreams **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Do American Flags Remain on the Moon? **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Maximizing the Long Jump of Bryan Clay **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Science of NHL Hockey: Mass, Volume, & Density **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Fabricating Fabric: Profile of Nylon **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Illinois Takes a Stand Against Asian Carp **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Lionfish Invade, Destroy Atlantic Ocean Marine Habitats **
 * <span style="color: #0188cf; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Science of Innovation: Self-Driving Cars**
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** The Curiosity over Mars **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Solar Eclipse Darkens Northern Australia **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Solar Flare to Bring Northern Lights **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Snake Ban Hopes to Protect Everglades **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Curiosity for Martian Life Launches New NASA Mission **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** NASA Messenger Puts Mercury into Focus **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** The Chemistry of Green: Chlorophyll **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** The Chemistry of Chocolate **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** A Look at the Rare Lunar Eclipse **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** The Science of Snowboarding **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Science Friction: Curling **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Total Solar Eclipse Seen Across Asia; Next One Not Until 2132 **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Cold Faithful: Geysers Found on Saturn’s Moon Enceladus **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** First Look at Surface of Titan, Saturn’s Moon **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Growing Snakehead Fish Population Worries Biologists, Fishermen **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** What Happens During a Lunar Eclipse **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Cosmic Photo Album: The Hubble Space Telescope’s Greatest Images **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** 25th Anniversary of the Moon Landing **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** Neptune’s Complete Ring is Confirmed **

**A Farewell to J.D. Salinger** **K-12** ||  ||= **Isaac Asimov** January 2, 1920 **Asimov on His 200th Book** **K-12** ||  ||= **Virginia Woolf** January 25, 1882 **Virginia Woolf** **K-12** ||  ||   ||
 * =<span style="color: #0188cf; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Writers with January Birthdays** = || **J.D. Salinger**January 1, 1919

||
 * =**<span style="color: #0188cf; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Announcing Completion of NBC Learn Video CueCard Mobile Integration **=

<span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Using both **Apple and Android mobile devices**, NBC Learn subscribers can now: <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">In other news, we have enhanced our My Big Campus plug-in with a fully embeddable — and mobile — CueCard. See the announcement and early Comments on the My Big Campus website: <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">** @https://www.mybigcampus.com/blog/bob-campuss-blog/golden-nugget-streamlined-nbc-learn-access---261420 **
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Open** NBC Learn video CueCards
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Play** them (with or without **Closed Captioning**)
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Access **Transcripts**
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Save** them to playlists
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Add **Notes**
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Share**
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">Search **State and Common Core Standards** (on NBC Learn K-12)
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Flip** CueCards for source and bibliographic info, and hyperlinked keywords
 * <span style="color: #333333; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12px;">**Play embedded videos** from inside Blackboard and other learning management systems
 * [[image:http://static.nbclearn.com/files/nbcarchives/email/2014/January/mbc_logo.jpg align="center" caption="#sochisnowflake" link="@https://www.mybigcampus.com/blog/bob-campuss-blog/golden-nugget-streamlined-nbc-learn-access---261420"]] ||

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