eLearning News: July 2013

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Teens put finishing touches on Science of Skateboarding

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- San Francisco's new Exploratorium opened last spring, but it's designed to keep changing and evolving into the future. One new concept is to build portable exhibits that can travel away from the museum. A case in point is the science of skateboarding developed with some expert, but underage advisors.

Whether you are a sidewalk surfer or an X Games superstar, if you skateboard, you also do physics. The Exploratorium has been using skateboarding to teach scientific principles for more than a decade. They even have a video lesson online, exploring concepts such as gravity, inertia and torque. And now exhibit developers are taking the idea even further, with a traveling exhibit for a wider audience. It is not just hands-on, it's feet-on too, with all kinds of skateboard activities.

You can learn about the trucks that turn the wheels as you shift your weight, or why different types of materials are better for different types of skateboarding or how to find the center of gravity by balancing a board on your fingers.

The scientific know-how for display came from The Exploratorium staff. But the exhibit is actually aimed at teenagers, so they were brought in to help design it.

Ramses Roman Cerda, 12, told us he thinks "It's cool The Exploratorium wants to know more about skateboarding." The staff worked with San Francisco middle schoolers from a skate club run by the Jamestown Community Center. The kids helped brainstorm ideas to make the concept come alive. A few months ago they painted murals they designed for the outside of the exhibit.

Eric Dimond is with the Exploratorium. He says, "The kids are starting to refer to this as their project. It's our project together. And when I heard that, that was like the most gratifying thing, that they are really taking ownership."

MetLife funded the collaboration with a grant, but the teens supplied the energy. Noah McManus of the Jamestown Community Center says, "It's hard to kind of get them to focus on anything. And you can see today, all of a sudden, 30 kids were focused on one thing. And it's exciting to see that, to see them care."

When the exhibit was unveiled outside the Exploratorium, the skate club came to check out their work. The activities were a hit, but the artwork is what really made them proud. They looked for the parts they had painted, and speculated they might be famous now.

You can visit the exhibit for free in front of the Exploratorium at Pier 15 now, and expect to see it popping up in other spots around the Bay Area soon. It's a good lesson in physics and fun.

Written and produced by Jennifer Olney

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Saturday, July 6, 2013

Roots Of Peace helps honor landmine victim's request

MARIN COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- A Marin County humanitarian organization has made a historic mission to the Middle East to honor a little boy's request. That child lost a leg to a landmine in Israel and his wish to free the world from landmines started a movement. It ended, with Israelis and Palestinians working together in the fields of Bethlehem.

A little boy skipping along a path through a field doesn't realize just how dangerous the path is. He takes a shortcut through an old minefield in his village in the fields of Bethlehem.

Daniel Yuval is a young boy who started a campaign to get rid of landmines. He won the attention of a California mother who runs a non-profit to remove landmines. What happened is making history. Israelis and Palestinians are working together to remove old landmines, turning a deadly field into a land filled with opportunities.

Mines killed nearly half a dozen children at that location and many adults. However, the Marin County humanitarian organization Roots Of Peace stepped in to get rid of the mines.

The founder of Roots Of Peace, Heidi Kuhn, delicately negotiated a historic partnership between Israelis and Palestinians. She said that partnership "allowed us, Roots Of Peace, to be the first ever humanitarian demining organization in the Middle East, helping bring forth food security and jobs."

"As we remove these landmines from the earth, we pray the children may walk safely and shepherds may tend to their sheep," said Kuhn.

The villagers are extremely grateful to Kuhn -- a California mother of four who answered the call of young Yuval.

Yuval's right leg was blown off by a landmine in Israel's Golan Heights in February 2010. He was playing in the snow with his brothers and sisters. They didn't know it was a minefield. He was only 11.

Jennings: "What did he say to you?"
Kuhn: "He asked me, as a mother, if I could help him create a mine-free world."
Jennings: "How many years did it take you?"
Kuhn: "It took three years."

San Francisco Israeli consul general Dr. Andy David provided immense support.

"It's just the proof that Israelis and Palestinians can work together, can bring peace together," said David.

Yuval and his family came with Kuhn to visit ABC7 News just a few months after he convinced Israel's government to pass a bill to ban landmines that aren't needed for defense. Daniel partnered with Kuhn and Nobel Peace Prize winner Jerry White in that effort. White also lost a leg to a landmine near the same area as Yuval.

The money for the project came from Napa Valley vintners Paul and Shirley Dean who donated $500,000.

Kuhn flew between California and Israel more than half a dozen times. She met with top leaders including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian authority president Mahmoud Abbas and religious leaders. She persuaded a retired Israeli army colonel and a Palestinian mother of four to team up for this project.

"We look to see the Israeli children and Palestinian children playing in the lands without mines," said Fadwa Abu-Laban from Roots of Peace West Bank.

And Kuhn met with the leader of the Catholic church in Jerusalem, who gave her the first-ever Peace Medal in the church's history to honor her life-saving work, in the name of a young hero -- Yuval.

"This little boy helped change the face, not only of his nation, but across borders all over the world. And we are well on track to helping him achieve his dream for a mine free world," said Kuhn.

The next Roots Of Peace project is aimed at removing landmines near the Jordan River, near the baptismal site of Jesus. There are several churches near a popular tourist path which are filled with booby traps and landmines. This is a $20 million project.

How you can help: rootsofpeace.org

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CHP removes protester from Caltrans construction site

WILLITS, Calif. (KGO) -- A protester who has been living 50 feet high in a piece of Caltrans equipment is down on the ground and in jail.

Will Parrish climbed up on the equipment to stop work on a controversial freeway project in Willits in Mendocino Country. Parrish locked himself to a tower used to install drains in a wetlands area. He was up there for 12 days, but today the California Highway Patrol moved in. It took officers an hour to cut him loose. Parrish and another protester who said she was there to observe were arrested.

Caltrans wants to build a 4-lane freeway bypass on Highway 101 around Willits. Critics want a smaller, cheaper road that would have less environmental impact on wetlands in the area known as Little Lake Valley.

Caltrans spokesman Phil Frisbie said Parrish was removed from the tower because he "has put himself and others at risk and delayed construction by trespassing and with ongoing hot weather forecasted, we are also concerned about his health and safety."

Caltrans also began driving piles in another part of the bypass construction area on Monday.

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Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Famous gator gets a check-up

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- How do you give an alligator a physical? Very carefully. ABC7 News was the only news crew on hand when a featured attraction at the Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park got his annual check-up.

Claude the albino American alligator is a star. Not just because he's rare, but he also one of the most popular attractions in Golden Gate Park. Keeping him in tip-top shape takes dozens of people at the California Academy of Sciences.

"It's quite a production to get him out," said Jarrod Willis, a Senior Biologist at the Academy. He explained how they do get Claude out of his swamp.

It starts with a crane and a giant tube.

"There is a giant tube that is his transport, we have to lower it in through the top of the exhibit, and then we have to sort of get him into that tube," said Willis.

Then a team of daring biologists climbs into Claude's home and gently coaxes him into the tube.

"We are working on different ways to do it. Today we basically were trying to guide him in using some voice commands and also some tools to try to get him into that tube," said Willis. "He definitely responds to voices. In general, he seems to move toward them when his trainers are there. Because this is more of a stressful situation, he's not responding as well."

It takes a couple of tries and a little prodding but eventually Claude swims right into the tube. The tube is sealed and then lifted out of the exhibit. It takes a team of biologists to get him out.

Claude thrashes as the team tries to wrangle him. They tape his mouth shut to avoid injuries to Academy staff and place a towel over his eyes keeps him calm.

Biologist measured Claude to see how much he's grown since his check-up last July. He's a foot longer now, coming in at 9.5 feet.

Academy veterinarian Freeland Dunker steps in to do a check-up.

"Basically what we look for is just any, you know abnormalities. The eyes are checked, the teeth, the limbs, the underbelly. Just looking at the animal to see overall health," he said.

When he's done the tape comes off and Claude goes back into the tube so that he can be weighed. He checked in at 222 pounds.

"His last weight was about 190 pounds. Today, he's looks a little bit on the chubby side so we might decrease his alligator chow a little bit," said Dunker.

Claude is held overnight for observation before being put back into his swamp. But the academy team says it was another successful check-up.

"It's not one of the easiest things we do around here but we work really well together and it came out really well," said Willis.

Written and produced by Ken Miguel.

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Exploratorium celebrates opening with light show

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The brand new Exploratorium opens on Wednesday on San Francisco's waterfront. ABC7 News is the hands-on science museum's official TV partner and we got a behind-the-scenes look at the spectacular free light show planned for the next two nights.

The Exploratorium is moving to Pier 15 and on Wednesday and Thursday night the historic facade of the building will be transformed by a huge high-tech light show.

ABC7 News saw a digital rendering of the display that shows just one part of the wild visual adventure being created by a company called Obscura Digital.

They also shot video of the experiments used to build the show. The company made10 small replicas of the fa?ade, one so small it was on a microscope slide. Then they used all kinds of natural phenomena to create effects that will be projected onto the Exploratorium.

"We are actually taking into account the geometry and the architecture of the building to wrap the light around the building," said Garth Williams the creative director.

The new Exploratorium is directly across the Embarcadero from the ABC7 News Broadcast Center, so the master control for the light show is actually mounted on our roof. The show uses 11 super high power projectors. They're coordinated to create a continuous image the company says will look like its woven into the skin of the building.

The light show will go on from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. both Wednesday and Thursday nights. It's free to the public.

Written and produced by Jennifer Olney

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Intel & Lenovo Award “Top Teacher” on LIVE with Kelly & Michael

During the week of April 29th, the popular TV Show, LIVE with Kelly and Michael, celebrated the efforts of some of the “Top Teachers” from across America. Lenovo and Intel were excited to be part of this event by highlighting the educational excellence of Rick Zano of Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia as a “Top Teacher”. Mr. Zano was selected based on his creative, innovative and entertaining approach to teaching.

To reward his dedication, Mr. Zano and his school were awarded 30 Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 tablets. These innovative devices will help drive the EdTech initiatives at Princess Anne High School, and provide the platform for more creativity in education.

When deploying new technology, such as ThinkPad Tablet 2, into educational environments to enable teachers to creatively connect with students in a 1:1 learning environment. One of the most important issues for creative educators that are using technology in new and attractive approaches is to insure that the new solutions can be “team players” in the current IT environment (so they don’t stress the EdTech staff and create new problems that will demand scarce budget resources). One of the benefits of the tablets that were awarded by Kelly & Michael is that they are Windows-based, and can work seamlessly within the current infrastructure. This enables the creativity of the educator to be used more quickly and effectively by the students.

Teacher creativity is a highly desirable commodity and one that can be hard to find. This makes leveraging this creativity more important than ever. And technology can assist this in a couple of important ways.

First, using the internet and the common sharing tools, the creativity of one teacher can be shared in real time across many classes or districts simply and easily. Further, the ability to “self-publish” new and innovative approaches so that they are easily found by other educators creates even more leverage for the creativity of a single individual.

The second way that technology can empower teaching creativity is to enhance the information flow and content that drives the courseware. For example, the newest and latest information or trends can be worked into courseware so that today’s classes come to life using the current events and news that floods the airwaves. Adding this immediacy, often not possible in a traditional textbook-based class will often engage students, and today’s highly connected EdTech environment can provide the input stream that results in raised levels of classroom creativity and applicability.

The value of sponsorship that provides visibility and a platform for recognizing creative teaching and improvement of the education process is quite high. Sharing “best practices” has been a hallmark of successful business organizations, and bringing that same approach to education has many benefits. Clearly Mr. Zano’s approach will expand the thinking of education professionals, and the recognition of this will undoubtedly server other students in other districts very well as we learn from his example!

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Update on injured, orphaned animals near Lake Tahoe

NEVADA COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- We want to bring you up to date on several injured and orphaned animals that we've been telling you about over the last few months and it is all good news.

These bear cubs were confiscated last June from a suspected poacher. They ended up at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care where they spent the summer eating and growing, then went into hibernation.

In January, ABC7 News went along as a state fish and wildlife crew placed the cubs in a den in a remote spot called the Sagehen Forest. The team put up motion activated cameras so they could find out what happened when the bears woke up.

Now almost three months later, photos show the cubs are healthy wild bears. They hibernated through February and you can even see them playing when they visited the den last month.

We also introduced you to an injured bald eagle in rehab at the wildlife center since December. Volunteers took video of him on a practice flight as he learned to use his wings again. Then last week they photographed his spectacular release at Carson Pass.

And one more animal you may remember -- "Chips" the bobcat was rescued after a forest fire in Plumas County last August. Chips got intensive medical treatment at Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care. Then she was transferred to Sierra Wildlife Rescue to learn to be a wild cat. A photo of her was taken last week, just before she was successfully released with another rescued bobcat in Humboldt County.

All these rescues take thousands of volunteer hours and thousands of dollars.

Links to organizations that helped with the rescue and care of wild animals in the successful releases featured in our story:
#1 Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care Phone: (530) 577-2273

#2 Bear League Phone: (530) 525-PAWS (7297)

#3 Sierra Wildlife Rescue Phone: (530) 647-1089

#4 Sagehen Experimental Forest

Update: Sierra Wildlife Rescue has corrected their original report to indicate "Chips" the bobcat and her companion were released in the Lassen-Plumas Wilderness Area, not Humboldt County.

Written and produced by Jennifer Olney

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Elite university aims to solve world's problems

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (KGO) -- There is an elite university in Silicon Valley that the best and brightest are fighting to get into. It isn't an accredited university, but many believe it will be the birthplace of future innovations.

Robots that take your place at meetings? Plants that can light up a room? Leather grown in a laboratory? These are all ideas created by students at Singularity University, a school with one goal&to improve the lives of a billion people.

The school is the brain child of Google executive and best-selling author Ray Kurzweil, and X-Prize founder Peter Diamandis.

"We've actually created an institution we're extraordinarily proud about where a level of conversation is taking place unlike any other place in the world," said Diamandis.

Kurzweil added, "When our brains evolved thousands of years ago things were linear - we didn't have technology, so people's intuition about what is possible is really governed by a linear expectation and there is a profound difference 40 steps linearly is 40, 40 steps exponentially is a trillion. "

Singularity University was created in 2009 based on Kurzweil's theory of "technological singularity." He believes that emerging technologies like nanotechnology and biotechnology will massively increase human intelligence over the next two decades and fundamentally reshape the future of humanity.

The school is at the NASA Ames base near Mountain View.

"Today we have about 1,300 hundred alumni in 85 countries, the best and brightest today can be found anywhere on the planet, so we actually cast a wide net," said Rob Nail, CEO and Associate founder of Singularity University.

Singularity University hosts an executive training program like this one to help corporate leaders understand how quick changes in technology will impact tomorrow's businesses. It cost $12,000 a person - it always sells out.

The university uses that money to hosts a 10 week graduate studies program in the summer. Three-thousand people applied this year. Eighty were accepted.

"That program is targeting the next generation of leaders in the world. These are post graduate students, the average age is around 31 - the range has been 18-58, so it's incredibly diverse," said Nail.

Francesco Mosconi went to SU. He said, "You wake up 8, you study or take classes and activities from 9-7, and a little gap for dinner, and then you are back in activities until very, very late at night."

"It really shaped the way I view the world , it really created my world view and going to class there was a multiple paradigm shift," said another Monica Ebert, another Singularity University alumni.

The students who attend the graduate program work together to form real companies. Twenty companies are currently up and running and another 10 are about to launch.

East Bay native Ann Rogan also went to SU after working around the globe. She said, "you are learning first about technology that is moving, very, very fast and that's very cutting edge, and then you are learning to take that and apply it to solving health care in developing countries, or how to think about energy and environmental issues around the world, whether it is the us or elsewhere."

The next class of Singularity University students will arrive next month.

Written and Produced by Ken Miguel

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Moocs are the clever way to keep up to date

308,000 students from 167 different countries signed up to the first UK moocs last year. Photograph: Gary Chapman/Getty Images

The world of distance learning has changed beyond recognition since the first correspondence courses dropped onto doormats more than 40 years ago. Classes of thousands from around the world can now join interactive lectures for free. This is the world of moocs – massive open online courses – which have blazed a trail in the US. This autumn, 21 UK universities – including Bristol, Leeds and Southampton – are preparing to launch their own moocs in partnership with the Open University.

While moocs mostly don't set entry requirements, they are pitched between "taster" and postgraduate level – short chunks of learning that will enable students to dip their toe into a subject – science or arts – or keep up to speed with changing career needs.

Early analysis of mooc students shows most of them to be mature learners who already hold one or two degrees; this is the experience of the University of Edinburgh, which announced the first UK moocs in July last year and saw 308,000 students from 167 different countries sign up to a handful of subjects, from an introduction to philosophy to the more advanced artificial intelligence planning. While completion rates on nearly all moocs are low – somewhere below 10% – this doesn't matter, says Jeff Haywood, professor of education and technology. Some 12% of students completed Edinburgh's first batch of moocs. Many sign up to "window shop" or dip in and out, which is no bad thing, he says. Edinburgh's students came mostly from the US and UK and those who responded to the survey said the courses met or exceeded expectations.

Those in the know are hotly anticipating FutureLearn's forthcoming courses – because they draw on impressive UK pedigree – many Russell Group universities, the British Library, the British Council and the Open University, with years of experience in distance learning.

This new batch of UK moocs will be typically about eight weeks or less and subjects offered will play to universities' individual strengths. Southampton for instance is considering oceanography, web science and mechanical engineering.

Key to a good mooc is the right mix of intuitive, efficient technology combined with well-designed content and effective peer insights.

"This is the beginning of something – moocs are innovative and evolving," says Alan Greenberg, director of education at video learning platform MediaCore, "Good moocs will be successful; the less good will fail miserably."

Game theory applied to PR

Katy Swainston, 26, completed a six-week mooc in gamification (the application of digital game design techniques to non-game problems) offered by the University of Pennsylvania in partnership with Coursera. She works in PR in London and has an MA in museum studies.

I was really interested in further learning outside my job. This course jumped out at me – it seemed pitched at the right level. About 63,000 signed up. I've spent about four to five hours a week on it – it's a mix of video lectures, live chats with the tutor who was inspirational. I was slightly concerned before the peer assessment (students mark each other's written work) but we were given such good guidelines and it was helpful to get different perspectives. (Online) discussions were useful for ironing out specific questions and communicating with others.

It's been really well-received at work – we have such a culture of knowledge sharing. This mooc was well thought out and engaging and learning was reinforced all the way along so the knowledge stays with you. And it didn't finish with a big exam so there wasn't that sort of pressure but we were learning quite complicated things toward the end. And it was free.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Everything's an exhibit at San Francisco's new Exploratorium

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Exploratorium reopens next week at its new home on the San Francisco waterfront. ABC7 News is the hands-on science museum's television partner and in this Assignment 7 report, I got an exclusive first look at some of the exhibits that are now in the works.

At night, one gallery there looks like science fiction, but by day, it's all about understanding science facts.

"This is the area of the new Exploratorium where we focus on biology," said Kristina Yu, the living systems director.

You can examine huge forms of life like a 330-year-old Douglas fir that blew down in a wind storm.

"Right around the year 1670 is when that little pinecone popped open and that little seed sprouted and became that large, large tree," said Michael Brown, an artist and exhibition designer.

Or check out the tiny creatures that live in a single drop of salt water, magnified to give you a good look.

"This is really the heart of the living systems gallery. This is where we grow or maintain or culture most of the critters that actually wind up in the exhibits," said Yu as she was showing us around.

Yu: "We like to think of it as kind of the open kitchen for biology."
Ashley: "The open kitchen. In other words, you'll be able to see the scientists at work doing what they do."
Yu: "Exactly."

Many of the new art and science exhibits here focus on water to complement their location right above the San Francisco Bay.

"When you put one of these lenses on [this surface], it shows you the distribution of the plankton at that spot in the ocean," said Isaac Liao, Ph.D., from UC Davis.

Ashley: "This is a piece of modern sculpture, right?"
Yu: "This is an algae chandelier."
Ashley: "Wait a minute, there's actually algae living in there?"
Yu: "Yes, probably trillions."
Ashley: "Trillions of algae, green algae and brown algae."
Yu: "So the color comes from the algae themselves. They are pretty concentrated right now, but over time the color will become more saturated as the population gets more dense."

This new gallery has also given an old favorite fancy new digs. You don't want to miss the cow eye dissection. When you stroll around the rest of the building, expect some surprises. One special mirror was originally made for a flight simulator in Germany.

"It makes a three dimensional image. The secret is the curved mirror. So every point of light on your body is reassembled into a new point, but it just happens to be upside down and switched side to side," said Paul Doherty, an Exploratorium physicist.

Just about anything you see here could actually be an exhibit. Sound developer David Torgersen is playing musical lockers. It doesn't take long to get the hang of it.

As you can see, there's a lot of cool stuff happening at the new Exploratorium. It's really a remarkable place.

This Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7 News, you can get a preview when we present the special: "More to Explore, The Making of the New Exploratorium." I'll be hosting the half-hour special with an exclusive inside look at San Francisco's newest treasure.

Opening Day is April 17, 2013.

Written and produced by Jennifer Olney

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Advent of Google means we must rethink our approach to education

Educationalist Sugata Mitra with pupils at a primary school in Gateshead. Photograph: Mark Pinder for the Observer

Would a person with good handwriting, spelling and grammar and instant recall of multiplication tables be considered a better candidate for a job than, say, one who knows how to configure a peer-to-peer network of devices, set up an organisation-wide Google calendar and find out where the most reliable sources of venture capital are, I wonder? The former set of skills are taught in schools, the latter are not.

We have a romantic attachment to skills from the past. Longhand multiplication of numbers using paper and pencil is considered a worthy intellectual achievement. Using a mobile phone to multiply is not. But to the people who invented it, longhand multiplication was just a convenient technology. I don't think they attached any other emotions to it. We do, and it is still taught as a celebration of the human intellect. The algorithms that make Google possible are not taught to children. Instead, they are told: "Google is full of junk."

In school examinations, learners must reproduce facts from memory, solve problems using their minds and paper alone. They must not talk to anyone or look at anyone else's work. They must not use any educational resources, certainly not the internet. When they complete their schooling and start a job, they are told to solve problems in groups, through meetings, using every resource they can think of. They are rewarded for solving problems this way – for not using the methods they were taught in school.

The curriculum lists things that children must learn. There is no list stating why these things are important. A child being taught the history of Vikings in England says to me: "We could have found out all that in five minutes if we ever needed to."

One of the teachers who works with me said to her class of nine-year-olds: "There is something called electromagnetic radiation that we can't see, can you figure out what it is?" The children huddle around a few computers, talking, running around and looking for clues. In about 40 minutes, they figure out the basics of electromagnetism and start relating it to mobile signals. This is called a self-organised learning environment, a Sole. In a Sole, children work in self-organised groups of four or five clustered around an internet connected computer. They can talk, change group, move around, look at other groups' work and so on.

One of them says: "Aren't we going to do any work?"

"What do you think you were doing?" asks the teacher.

"Learning about electromagnetism."

"What's work, then?"

"Work is when you say things to us and we write them down."

Methods from centuries ago may seem romantic, but they do get obsolete and need to be replaced. The brain remembers good things from the past and creates a pleasant memory of the "good old days". It forgets the rest. It is dangerous to build a present using vague memories of the good old days.

Any standard room in a Holiday Inn is better than the best facilities in an emperor's room in the 15th century. Air conditioning, hot and cold running water, toilets that flush, TV and the internet. The middle class lives better today than any emperor ever did. Going back to horse-drawn vehicles is not the solution to our traffic problems and pollution. Beating children into submission will not solve the problem of educational disengagement.

If examinations challenge learners to solve problems the way they are solved in real life today, the educational system will change for ever. It is a small policy change that is required. Allow the use of the internet and collaboration during an examination.

If we did that to exams, the curriculum would have to be different. We would not need to emphasise facts or figures or dates. The curriculum would have to become questions that have strange and interesting answers. "Where did language come from?", "Why were the pyramids built?", "Is life on Earth sustainable?", "What is the purpose of theatre?"

Questions that engage learners in a world of unknowns. Questions that will occupy their minds through their waking hours and sometimes their dreams.

Teaching in an environment where the internet and discussion are allowed in exams would be different. The ability to find things out quickly and accurately would become the predominant skill. The ability to discriminate between alternatives, then put facts together to solve problems would be critical. AThat's a skill that future employers would admire immensely.

In this kind of self-organised learning, we don't need the same teachers all the time. Any teacher can cause any kind of learning to emerge. A teacher does not need to be physically present, she could be a projected, life-sized image on the wall. A "Granny Cloud" of such volunteer teachers have been operating out of the UK and a few other countries into schools in India and South America for more than five years, using a combination of the internet and admiration to provide a meaningful education for children. We don't need to improve schools. We need to reinvent them for our times, our requirements and our future. We don't need efficient clerks to fuel an administrative machine that is no longer needed. Machines will do that for us. We need people who can think divergently, across outdated "disciplines", connecting ideas across the entire mass of humanity. We need people who can think like children.

Sugata Mitra is professor of educational technology at Newcastle University, and the winner of the $1m TED Prize 2013. He devised the Hole in the Wall experiment, where a computer was embedded in a wall in a slum in Delhi for children to use freely. He aimed to prove young people could be taught computers easily without formal training.

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No support given to local exoneree

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- From time to time we do stories about people who have been wrongfully convicted of crimes, who served time, and then were released. Inevitably, they are largely happy stories. But what happens next? ABC7 News follows up on one such story, with bitter sweet ending.

One man's version of heaven on Earth is fresh air, the trust of a stepchild as she learns how to ride a bike, the love of a fiancé who is five months pregnant. They all contribute to Maurice Caldwell's relative bliss. He has a lot to live for.

"Second chance right now is a new life," said Caldwell.

It's a long way from where he's been and further still from the convicted killer that society made him out to be.

"That was me. Maurice Antoine Caldwell," said Caldwell as he looked at his mugshot.

A drug deal went bad and led to a brutal murder in San Francisco's Alemany Projects back in 1990. An eyewitness behind a window identified Caldwell as the man with holding the shotgun. That sent him to prison for 27 years to life, even as he defended his innocence.

"All I could think about every day was how was I going to get myself out. The fight I was going to fight to come home," said Caldwell.

So maybe, now you remember the day, two years ago, when Caldwell walked free after 22 years in prison. A judge had ordered a second trial due to an incomplete defense, a technicality. But that retrial never happened because of lost evidence and because that eyewitness had died.

"I got out that day with hope and excitement," said Caldwell.

And now?

"Now? I'm just... my life, I just hope it gets better," said Caldwell.

The world Caldwell returned to as a 44-year-old had changed from the one he knew at 22. He emerged from prison with no modern skills and a back injury that keeps him from working. As an exoneree, he had become more adapted to life behind bars than life in society.

"I'm not angry. I'm like devastated," said Caldwell.

His lawyer, Paige Kaneb, works such cases for the Northern California Innocence Protect. She has heard such complaints time and again.

"Exonerees don't get anything when they get out," said Kaneb.

"I don't get nothing. Man they haven't given me nothing," said Caldwell.

"They don't get counseling, they don't get housing," said Kaneb.

"Not a bus card, not a phone number, not a direction, nothing," said Caldwell. When asked if he got an apology, he said, "No. You don't get no apology. You don't get nothing."

The state of California does give money to people who have been wrongfully imprisoned, as much as one $100. A day for Caldwell, after all his time behind bars, that could total more than $700,000. But here is a catch -- the process takes years. He must appear before a state board and prove his innocence. The problem is the judge who released Caldwell never dealt with that.

"It is unfair for so many reasons. It's unfair because he's already been so wronged. It's unfair because the state has already conceded that they cannot prove him guilty," said Kaneb.

However, system as it stands does have defenders. Among them, Caldwell's original prosecutor, Al Giannini, who still believes Caldwell committed the crime, even though another man has confessed.

"I think he ought to count himself lucky that he got the break that he did. And I really don't think the taxpayers need to give him a bunch of money on top of it," said Giannini.

"...That's a game. The DA will never admit that they did wrong, when they know they were wrong," said Caldwell.

Two years out of prison and this is Caldwell's post-script. A man with responsibilities, on welfare, in limbo, and yet, still relishing every simple pleasure such as a microwave. He is a guy who spends a lot of time on the couch, watching crime dramas, and living his own aftermath.

"We never had this in prison," said Caldwell as he ate a microwave burrito.

View the original article here

Faire hopes to attract more women

SAN MATEO, Calif. (KGO) -- This weekend the hugely popular Maker Faire in San Mateo is expected to attract tens of thousands of people. The faire is a wild gathering of intensely creative, do it yourselfers. But most of them are men. That's not really a big surprise when you consider very few women choose engineering as a career. That's why educators are trying to get young girls interested in the field early.

There is a climbing wall inside a San Jose garage. Computer engineers Laura Kassovic and Matt Baker built it, and use a computer to control LED lights that plot out which path to follow.

Kassovic says, "It's really something that came down to lack of space and us being engineers."

Kassovic and Baker are part of the "Maker Movement," a growing fascination with building things yourself. They'll show off their climbing wall at the annual Maker Faire in San Mateo. The Maker Faire attracted 100,000 people last year. At this year's event, Kassovic will stand out for more than just her climbing wall.

"I wish there were more female engineers," she said.

The Maker Faire is just one example of the gender divide in engineering. The Society of Women engineers said fewer than 18 percent of graduating engineers are women. Even fewer actually end up working in the field, just 13-percent. The creator of the Maker Faire wants to change that statistic.

Dale Doughtery is the CEO Maker Media. He says, "My goal is that people really crossover and try new things. We want to make everything kind of accessible so that you are not saying these are things that women do, these are things that men do. You want to get away from that and say, 'This is something that I like to do, so why not?'"

Research shows getting girls interested in science, technology, engineering and math while they are in middle school is key.

At the Castilleja School for girls in Palo Alto, six graders are building boxes and learning to use power tools.

"It's not about boxes and drills. It's about getting them to think spatially, and getting them to solve problems," said engineer Angi Chau, Ph.D. Chau heads up the Bourn Idea Lab.

"There's actually a lot of intricate problems you have to solve like, 'Wait, where should the hinge go? What side should it fit in? Which side of the box should open? How do all these pieces fit together?' And the more practice we give them, the more advantage these girls will gain," said Chau.

Teachers agree. Laura Thornburg brought her History class into the lab. "If they begin to think of themselves as capable, especially in an environment that's been traditionally male dominated, that they just feel more sure of themselves and more flexible thinkers across the board," she said.

For these girls, it's about thinking "outside" the box.

One student said, "It's really cool to have a hands-on project like this, where you are trying to build something with your hands."

Another added, "I think that this is showing that we have the same skills that men do, and this is in an opportunity for young women to learn, and do things that they are not expected to do."

Castilleja students will be at the Maker Faire showing off some of their other projects. The family friendly event is this Saturday.

Written and produced by Ken Miguel

View the original article here

Using Services to Stretch the EdTech IT Budget

It’s not news that EdTech budgets are under constant pressure and often face cuts or reductions as tax receipts drop in some areas. While at the same time there are new and increasing needs for EdTech solutions within schools to meet the demands of 21st century education.

It seems to be an impossible situation, doing more with less. Especially when you consider that the cost of staff, hardware, and many products just seem to go up every year. As with most IT operations, the largest part of the EdTech budget is allocated to staff costs. This means that any leverage of these staff resources brings substantial benefit to the budget. This is where the judicious use of Service Providers can be a great strategy.

One of the great truisms about Information Technology is that 70-80% of resources are focused on just “keeping the lights on” or more accurately, managing and administering current systems. This is one aspect of operations that is ripe for outsourcing or dropping on a service provider. The reason for this isn’t just to lower costs, but more importantly, to free up staff resources to work on the new projects that are unique to your district. It could be a network upgrade or new security solutions.

The corollary to this is to use a service provider to do the work on the new project and to have them handle on-going operations. This has been a common approach as the cost of the service provider becomes part and parcel of the new project and put into the overall budget request. The only issue here is that it leaves district staff a bit removed from the new project, and farther from being able to really add value to the district’s IT strategy.

One of the single best ways to stretch the IT budget in a district is to stop paying for things you don’t use, or use sparingly, but buy all of. This is approach of “paying by the drink” is a hallmark of cloud services. You only pay for what you use. This may be why using cloud service providers can actually save you money.

Let’s use Office 365 for example. Rather than buying an Office license for every administrative system, you might find that not all users need this software and that having end users sign up and register as needed for this cloud based version of Office, your costs could actually drop. In addition, as a monthly fee, you don’t have the one-time charge for a license purchase. This is one example, and you may find many others.

Services may become an essential tactic in dealing with tight budgets and limited resources. They can be attractive as staff extensions, but also, look at the pricing models for services as the movement to a “pay as you go” pricing model could be very beneficial to your budget.

View the original article here

NOAA and The Exploratorium team up for climate research

The Exploratorium launched an ambitious project on Monday to help the public understand how climate change is affecting the ocean and San Francisco Bay.

The high-tech buoy is on loan from NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. On Monday the buoy was lowered into the bay right next to the Exploratorium's new building on Pier 17.

The buoy holds instruments to measure the amount of carbon dioxide in the water. Then it transmits the data by satellite to NOAA. That data will be part of worldwide research on how the ocean is becoming more acidic.

"It affects really diverse things like fish behavior, larvae development, all kinds of things, even down to plankton. It's affecting plankton which is the base of the marine food chain. So scientists are really concerned about it," said Mary Miller from the Exploratorium.

The buoy will be anchored by the Exploratorium for six months. Once the system is up and running, it will be part of a museum exhibit that monitors air and water conditions around the bay.

ABC7 News is the Exploratorium's exclusive TV partner.

Written and produced by Jennifer Olney

View the original article here

Bird pandemonium on the peninsula

LOS ALTOS HILLS, Calif. (KGO) -- Tucked away in the Los Altos Hills, there is a bird sanctuary that few people know about. Inside they are trying to bring back endangered birds to release to the wild. It's not open to the public often, but ABC7 News has your ticket in.

Walking into Pandemonium Aviaries, visitors are greeted by a chorus of cackles, screeches, whoops, and coos. The majestic birds are surrounded by whimsy in the Los Altos Hills. But, this isn't just a bird sanctuary... it is also Michele Raffin's home.

"We have two versions of how we got our name," explained Raffin. "Our first is our official version, which is pandemonium is the flock name for parrots. But the real version is that we had the name before we had parrots, and we knew it was the flock name for parrots."

Raffin started her flock in 1997 when she stopped on Lawrence Expressway to rescue an injured dove.

"I didn't want to see just lie there waiting to be run over again by a car, so I picked it up and took it to a vet," said Raffin.

Word quickly spread that Raffin was willing to help out injured or abandoned birds.

"One by one, then 10 by 10, and then hundreds started coming," added Raffin.

Raffin's countless rescues led to Pandemonium Aviaries, a non-profit organization. Now, volunteers help take care of the animals and maintain the facilities.

"This is the last aviary," described Raffin. "It's called the last aviary because every time I build and aviary, I tell my husband, 'This is the last aviary.' Problem is that it got confusing because we kept moving it. So we retired it at number 9, and we now have 64 aviaries."

Though Pandemonium Aviaries still cares for the sick and injured animals they initially took in, they no longer accept rescue birds.

"We breed endangered birds for release to the wild. We are a conservation organization," said Raffin.

Today, Pandemonium Aviaries is one of the largest bird sanctuaries in the United States. The facility is home to more than 360 birds and 70 endangered species.

"What we have here is the green-naped pheasant pigeons and Pandemonium has more of these than any other conservation organization in the entire world," said Raffin.

Pandemonium Aviaries is currently actively engaged in breeding several of their endangered species including the blue crown and Victoria crowned pigeons.

"In terms of the crown pigeons, they are the modern day dodo bird. The dodo bird was the world's largest pigeon, now these are the largest pigeons," explained Raffin.

Maintaining the aviaries and caring for these beautiful birds is expensive.

Raffin added that, "Unless we get supported by the public, there will be no Pandemonium. We won't be able to save these birds."

So how can you help keep this very special going and see these rare and exotic birds? Pandemonium Aviaries is opening their doors for a very special Mother's Day event this weekend. The proceeds will go to continuing the program.

Written and Produced by Ken Miguel

Website: PandemoniumAviaries.org

Ticket Information:
PandemoniumAviaries.Eventbrite.com
Pandemonium Bird and Garden Tour
Pandemonium Aviaries
Saturday, May 11, 2013 at 10:00 a.m. - Sunday, May 12, 2013 at 4:00 p.m. (PT)
Los Altos Hills, CA

To purchase tickets:
Lance Lawson Lance@PandemoniumAviaries.org
Cell: 408-512-6911
Work: 650-948-7008

View the original article here

Members get first look at Exploratorium's new home

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- As we've been reporting, the new Exploratorium opens in San Francisco next week. The new location at Pier 15 on the Embarcadero it opens next Wednesday.

On Tuesday members of the Exploratorium and the media got their first look inside the new home of the hands-on science museum.

We got a tour, but soon broke away when we met an artist and exhibition designer Michael Brown. He was irrigating a blackberry bush growing on a 330-year-old tree stump in the east wing. Brown says he likes the new place.

"So much more space. A lot more opportunities to try things that on a larger scale," said Brown. "I would say we outgrew that [last location] about 10 years ago."

The new building on Pier 15 has three times the space as the old digs at the Palace of Fine Arts. New exhibits are now mixed with old favorite classics like the chaotic pendulum. Once it is started in motion, no one has been able to stop it in 30 years. We asked Exploratorium project director Claire Pillsbury about it.

Freedman: "Why won't it stop?"
Pillsbury: Because it has super bearings in there, frictionless bearings, so once you put any energy into it, it just keeps going and going and going."

The subtle attraction is science, or maybe we should say natural science. The goal is to open people's eyes and minds without intimidating them.

"We hope people will realize science is everywhere, that science is in our mind, it's in the world, it's in your own backyard," said Tom Rockwell, director of exhibits.

The Exploratorium had to make this move because the old location in the Palace of Fine Arts needed an earthquake retrofit. $300 million later, San Francisco has a new crown jewel on the waterfront and a world class attraction.

ABC7 News Exploratorium special:
This Sunday at 6:30 p.m. on ABC7 News, you can get a preview when we present the special: "More to Explore, The Making of the New Exploratorium." ABC7 News anchor Dan Ashley be hosting the half-hour special with an exclusive inside look at San Francisco's newest treasure.

Opening day for the Exploratorium is April 17, 2013.

View the original article here

Does the cloud provide an easier route to HIPAA compliance?

A lot of confusion has been raised regarding the compliance of cloud to the HIPAA. On the contrary, the healthcare community itself is not very sure of it and is looking at it as a double edged sword. The cloud presents you a shimmering picture of cost-effective option. It provides you a solution due to which analyzing massive data and the ability to store will become affordable. But the other side seems be bleaker as there are many who are yet to come to terms with this new rule-set of HIPAA, especially those that are now part of the recently published HIPPA omnibus rule. It is better to dig deeper on this to understand instead of merely speculating on the fringes whether to migrate or not to the cloud?

The omnibus rule that was put forth in the last month has further tightened the grip of HIPAA on those who are entrusted with responsibility of protecting the health information.The rule also has increased penalty on the business associates and covered entities, who fail to comply with the HIPAA. At present, there a lot of misconceptions as well as fear regarding use of the cloud. As a result many healthcare organizations and health service providers are shying away from switching over to the cloud. Not taking rescue under the in the latest cloud technology umbrella might result in loss a good deal in terms of both compliance and finances for organizations that wish to play safe.

Can Cloud Computing Really Rescue Health Care And Make It HIPAA Compliant?

Recent times has revealed to the health care sector the various weird and amazing ways in which data breaches can occur and do occur. Many times it occurs due to infrastructure loss, physical theft, or due to sheer negligence (when someone forgets a laptop or forgets to shutdown their PC).

The above scenario of data exploitation and data theft is easily manageable through use of cloud technology. Cloud computing can be more helpful in such cases because herein you can stop the breaches by using services of physical security policies such as the Amazon wherein all the things that can be carried out with the data can be published. Cloud technology is most certainly is far more efficient than what a single group running its infrastructure can accomplish after a lot of personal investment. Of course, reduction in the amount of health data breach is the first benefit of cloud computing.

Deft monitoring of security and the privacy of the infrastructure through automation is the second benefit of cloud. Basically, when the infrastructure program is being written, the infrastructure is coded and thousands of tests are conducted on various levels. Such through levels of tested programs provide a secure base that everything is done in order to automate the expected results and that the infrastructure automatically works the way in which you want it to. Hence, when things start showing changes in the infrastructure code you immediately smell smoke and try to find out the reason for it. Trying to search for the reason for changes in your infrastructure ultimately makes you provide more security to your data.

HIPAA omnibus rule has placed great emphasis on the factors that can risk the health data and the breach notifications. The cloud services developers provide you with the documentations that carry highly detailed processing systems due to which remaining HIPAA compliant as well as cost-efficient does not seem as uphill task. All the instructions that are part of the cloud computing program are written in plain and simple readable English which can be easily defined by anybody in the health business. This gives the HIPAA operators full knowledge about the compliance and non-compliance and related decision. It also helps even the non-technical staff to gain an insight into overall work pertaining to the HIPAA compliance owing to which the overall efficiency of an organization is certain to elevate.

Only six months are left for the covered entities and the partners to become HIPAA compliant and hence it is important that they take steps to understand these benefits of the new cloud computing.

Data breaches in health sector have been damaging the credibility of many health institutions and many times the culprits were left untracked as they were much smarter than the security system of the institutions. Shifting to the cloud is a major decision, which can be taken by the entities only when they thoroughly understand its contribution in lessening the burden of finance as well as maintaining to the strict rules of the HIPAA compliance.

One wonders, what is keeping these people at the fences when one way or the other they are not left with any other alternative than to migrate to the cloud!

About emPower
emPower is a leading provider of comprehensive Healthcare Compliance Solutions through Learning Management System (LMS). Its mission is to provide innovative security solutions to enable compliance with applicable laws and regulations and maximize business performance. empower provides range of courses to manage compliance required by regulatory bodies such as OSHA, HIPAA, Joint commission and Red Flag Rule etc. Apart from this emPower also offers custom demos and tutorials for your website, business process management and software implementation.

Its Learning Management system (LMS) allows students to retrieve all the courses 24/7/365 by accessing the portal. emPower e-learning training program is an interactive mode of learning that guides students to progress at their own pace.

For additional information, please visit
http://www.empowerbpo.com
.

Media Contact (emPower)
Jason Gaya
marketing@empowerbpo.com

View the original article here

7 Strategies to Improve Safety for Contingent Workers

Construction workers, farm laborers, warehousing employees and hotel workers are more likely to be employed on a contingent basis in the United States, which may make them vulnerable to occupational hazards. In a new white paper, the Center for Progressive Reform highlights the occupational safety and health concerns faced by contingent workers and shares strategies to improve their working conditions.

The white paper “At the Company’s Mercy: Protecting Contingent Workers from Unsafe Working Conditions,” by CPR member scholars Martha McCluskey, Thomas McGarity, Sidney Shapiro and Senior Policy Analyst Matthew Shudtz, highlights the occupational challenges facing contingent workers in the United States and suggests strategies to improve their working conditions.

“Their shared experience is one of little job security, low wages, minimal opportunities for advancement, and, all too often, hazardous working conditions,” the white paper says of workers whose employment is contingent upon short-term fluctuations in demand for employees. “When hazards lead to work-related injuries, the contingent nature of the employment relationship can exacerbate the negative consequences for the injured worker and society.”

Employers of contingent workers often do not pay for workers’ compensation or health insurance and can simply hire replacements when workers are injured – factors that give these employers little financial incentive to eliminate safety hazards or help injured workers return to work. Additionally, employers sometimes misclassify contingent workers as “independent contractors” in order to claim the workers will pay their own taxes and insurance – a practice that reduces the employer’s expenses while also removing the incentive to create a safe workplace, the paper states.

The white paper includes case studies on contingent workers in four industries: farming, construction, warehousing and hospitality. The construction industry, for example, employs a disproportionate number of contingent workers in the United States. Most of these workers are young men, and many are Hispanic or Latino, performing dangerous jobs that have a high risk for falls, nail-gun injuries, musculoskeletal injuries and more.

7 Ways to Protect Contingent Workers

The CPR white paper offered seven strategies to ensure the contingent work force is protected:

1. Empower workers with a stronger right-to-know. “Well-educated and well-trained workers are the most empowered – they know their rights, they know when they have been wronged, and they know the best way to correct a hazardous work environment,” the report states. “Contingent workers do not get enough education and training.”

2. Empower workers with a right-to-act.“Under current law, workers lack the power to commence legal action on their own accord against an employer that is breaking the law; instead, they must make a formal complaint to OSHA compliance and await the agency’s response …Workers need to be able to wield power that is proportionate to their huge stake in the game. That power should come in the form of an amendment the OSH Act that would create a legal vehicle for enforcing worker rights against employers,” the paper asserts.

3. Strengthen OSHA enforcement. The paper claim that “OSHA could make a significant impact on health and safety in contingent workers’ lives through modifications to existing enforcement policies … In addition, OSHA has the ability to test the new policies for effectiveness by implementing them in discrete geographical areas or selected industries.”

4. Create ergonomics standards. “Since ergonomic hazards pose significant risks in industries and occupations that employ many contingent workers, OSHA should establish regulations to eliminate those hazards,” the paper states. “…OSHA could issue a series of industry-specific ergonomics rules, geared toward particular hazards. Starting with industries that employ a significant number of contingent workers would lead to better protections for millions of workers without coming close to the alleged $4 trillion price tag that prompted the congressional veto of the broader standard in 2001.”

5. Reform voluntary and consultation programs. “As the contingent workforce grows, OSHA has an obligation to revisit existing programs to ensure that they meet the needs of contingent workers,” the paper asserts. “First, OSHA should revise the minimum criteria that companies must meet to be part of the Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) … Given the health and safety concerns raised by employer decisions to place contingent workers in new and high-hazard jobs, VPP entry criteria should be revised to require that VPP employers only use contingent workers in low-hazard occupations such as clerical work.”

6. Build a case to close statutory loopholes. “OSHA should also determine if there are data that support closing loopholes in the OSH Act that limit the statute’s applicability to domestic workers and farmworkers on small farms,” the white paper added.

7. Improve foreign-language capabilities. According to the white paper, “the high number of Hispanic workers in the contingent workforce suggests that language barriers can create challenges for education and training … In addition to hiring more bilingual inspectors, OSHA must increase the foreign-language capabilities of staff who develop education and training materials. The agency should establish a goal of making all of these materials available in multiple languages and formats, reflecting not only the spectrum of workers’ native languages, but also differences in culture and literacy.”

“As the contingent worker population grows, the occupational safety and health community will have to adapt,” the paper concluded. “OSHA Compliance Training can lead the way with new rules and better enforcement, but the agency will also need the help of other advocacy organizations, from union-affiliated campaigns to worker centers to faith-based groups. Because the contingent workforce is particularly vulnerable to unfair treatment and poor working conditions, empowering these workers to act will take the support of many advocates.”

View the original article here

7 Strategies to Improve Safety for Contingent Workers

The CPR white paper offered seven strategies to ensure the contingent work force is protected:

View the original article here

Exploratorium to debut outside fog exhibit

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The Exploratorium reopens on Wednesday in a brand new building on the San Francisco Waterfront. I'll be the Emcee for the opening ceremony that starts at 9 a.m. Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and Mayor Ed Lee will speak, followed by the ringing of a new bronze bell at 9:45. Doors open at 10 a.m. and close at 10 p.m.

ABC7 News is the Exploratorium's official television partner and we've already shown you a lot of the new exhibits planned for inside the building. Now, here's is an exclusive first look at some of what they're planning outside.

The Exploratorium spent its first 44 years at the Palace of Fine Arts, creating a reputation for cutting-edge science and art exhibits.

The new building at Pier 15 offers three times the space and a first for the Exploratorium, a permanent spot for outside exhibits. That space was created out of a giant parking lot on the north side of the building. It's now ready for new life as an outdoor oasis. For the first six months, that life will be filled with fog.

We watched a trial run of a fog sculpture created by Japanese artist Fujiko Nakaya, who's here to oversee the installation. When the work is finished, visitors on the bridge will be engulfed by fog.

"It's art that you can look at and observe, but you can also experience and be in. It's an immersive experience," said Eric Dimond, the assistant outdoor works curator.

And when you step off the bridge, the fog puts on a show. The fog will operate every half hour. When it clears, you'll be able to see artist Chris Bell's creation.

We watched Bell as he moved around in an inflatable boat testing little mirrors that will eventually create a light show with reflected sun on the rafters. Right now there are just a few, but the finished work will have 1,000.

Another exhibit in the works will allow you to dial up your own custom rain storm, adjusting the size, speed and frequency of the drops. This will be an outdoor exhibit, but it's being perfected inside under controlled conditions.

"The prototyping process is a very, very delicate one, where you are finding things out, you are getting excited about certain aspects of playing around with the prototype and then you're constantly thinking, 'How are we going to recreate what's happening for us for the visitor?'" said Shawn Lani, the outdoor works curator.

A musical metal bridge was dreamed up by Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart. He wanted to play music on a model of the Golden Gate Bridge. Exploratorium engineers made it happen.

After weeks of fine-tuning, Hart actually played the model at the anniversary celebration for the real bridge. Now the instrument is being rebuilt in a form that Exploratorium visitors can play.

Opening day for the Exploratorium is April 17, 2013.

written and produced by Jennifer Olney

View the original article here

Academy hatches penguin in Golden Gate Park

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Inside the African penguin exhibit at the California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park, there's a new face.

"This is the first chick we've hatched here in the new building at the Steinhart Aquarium," said Academy biologist Erin Jessup.

It has taken academy staff weeks to get him ready for his debut. While he's starting to look like the other penguins in his colony, he was just a puff of soft feathers when we checked in on him a couple weeks ago. Only ABC7 News was there when he got a check-up.

"It looks like the chick is in good body condition, being fed well by the parents. The feather coat looks good, good growth all the way around," said Academy veterinarian Freeland Dunker.

At just 36 days old. This yet-to-be-named male penguin got a clean bill of health.

"The bird passes with flying colors. We're in good shape," said Dunker.

The young penguin is already showing signs of growing up. He is starting to shed his soft down feathers for stiff, adult feathers. Jessup says, "Over the next few weeks, it will continue to grow those feathers."

Jessup has been keeping a close eye on this little guy since he hatched. She will be helping to wean him from his parents. "African penguins, these chicks, do leave their parents on their own," said Jessup.

We checked back in on him when he was 57 days old. His parents Robben and Ty were still feeding him.

"You can see that he still has a little bit of his down, but it's being replaced by his juvenile plumage. Once he's fully feathered, what we call fledged, with his juvenile plumage, he'll be fully water-proofed and fully able to swim." said Jessup.

But that didn't keep Jessup from giving the new penguin a swimming lesson. It's a strange new experience for a bird that'll soon be joining the other penguin on exhibit, diving into the water.

After testing out the water, he's eager to get back to the comfort of mom and dad. Last week, he was showing signs of being a little more independent. With a little help, he's now eating solid food. It's a good sign he'll start eating on his own, it also means he's ready to meet the other penguins in the colony.

Academy biologists are on hand just in case other penguin gang up on this newcomer. He'll be at the bottom of the pecking order. But this little guy is showing signs that he'll be OK. He's a confident swimmer, but a little timid around the colony. But with any luck it won't be long before the new guy has a chick of his own.

"African penguins are endangered in the wild. We want to do our best to have a healthy population. The way to do that is that we track the DNA and recommend and encourage breeding among pairs that are genetically diverse," said Jessup. "So that a hundred years from now, we still have a very healthy population."

So what will his name be? That's up to you. The California Academy of Sciences is holding a contest to name the new penguin. The winner will receive a painting created by the new penguin, with a little artistic direction from academy staff.

Name the Penguin Chick Contest:
The public can enter the Academy's Name the Penguin Chick Contest, which runs April 10 through April 30. Academy staff will select the top three names based on originality and connection to the Academy's mission to explore, explain and sustain life, including the African penguin SSP program. The final three names will be put out to public vote, and the winning name will be announced during a naming ceremony in May.

Visitors outside of the San Francisco Bay Area can view the new chick via the Academy's online Penguin Cam or by downloading the Pocket Penguins mobile app, where live feedings are broadcast daily at 10:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., PT.

Cal Academy Name the Penguin Chick Contest runs April 10 - April 30
Enter a name: Name the Penguin Chick Contest
**If you get a message saying this site is offline, try again on Wednesday. The contest starts on April 10, 2013.

Written and produced by Ken Miguel

View the original article here

East Bay lab searches for gas alternative

EMERYVILLE, Calif. (KGO) -- Today's higher gas prices can really pinch the monthly budget. But what if there was a cheaper alternative that could be produced on the scale of oil and be better for the environment? That's just what Joint BioEnergy Institute in Emeryville is working on.

Every day, hundreds of thousands of cars crowd Bay Area streets and highways. For every gallon of gas burned, nearly 20 pounds of carbon dioxide is released into the environment. Carbon dioxide is the biggest contributor to global warming.

"Our job here at JBEI is not to produce fuels, but to actually develop the science that companies will then license and turn into fuels," said Jay Keasling, the executive director of the Joint BioEnergy Institute in Emeryville.

JBEI is looking for a greener solution to fossil fuel. It is made up of six partner institutions led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. The group includes the UC campuses at Berkeley and Davis, the Lawrence Livermore and Sandia National Laboratories, and the Carnegie Institution of Science. ABC7 News first told you about the lab shortly after it opened in 2008. It was funded by five year, $134 million grant from Department of Energy and given five years to achieve measurable success.

Blake Simmons has been there since the start. He oversees some of the work at the institute.

"Compared to 2008 we are much closer to seeing these advanced bio fuels come to the marketplace," he said.

Simmons says scientists have found good alternatives to fossil fuels, including ways to maximize the amount of fuel they can get from plants.

"We've certainly developed techniques and we've patented them on how to do that," he said.

The lab has also found cheaper ways to break down green waste into the sugar that will ultimately become fuel.

"We're able to tear apart those plants and extract those sugars more readily. We've got microbes that will synthesize as fuels from those sugars, fuels that can be dropped in to gasoline, diesel or jet fuel," said Keasling.

But how do they make it on the scale of large refineries and make them it affordable?

"That is the one critical bottleneck that we are trying to address at JBEI," added Simmons.

One floor below the lab, scientists are hoping to find answers. They call it the Advance Biofuels Process Demonstration Unit. It is a miniature version of a massive refinery.

"What we do here is exactly what was done 150 years ago for oil," Lab Manager Julio Baez said.

Not only are they looking for ways to better process bio fuels, they are looking closely at the byproducts as well.

"When oil was discovered, we realized there are lot of very valuable compounds in oil that could be fractionated and recover," said Baez.

The processor opened in 2011, and was funded by a $20 million grant from the Department of Energy. While the processor perfects a method for refining bio-fuel scientists upstairs at JBEI are still working to make a more affordable fuel. Currently the lab can produce tank ready fuel for about the same price as a barrel of oil. The big difference? No greenhouse gases.

"There's still a lot of research to be done on making them more affordable and making plants be better bio energy crops but we've made a lot of progress," said Keasling.

The federal government apparently agrees. It has given the lab another five years and $125 million to continue their work.

Written and produced by Ken Miguel

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San Rafael rent control case could impact thousands

SAN RAFAEL, Calif. (KGO) -- Residents of a San Rafael mobile home park won a major victory Monday in a case that could affect hundreds of thousands of California mobile home residents. The multi-million dollar legal battle pits a company controlled by one of the richest men in America against the city of San Rafael and the Contempo Marin mobile home park.

At first glance, you might think life at Contempo Marin looks idyllic. But former resident Jacqui Garcia says that's an illusion. "I get very angry about what's happened to so many people that have had to walk away," she said.

Garcia lived at Contempo Marin for 30 years, in a home protected by rent control.

Former San Rafael City Councilman Greg Brockbank says mobile home parks are "one of our best examples of affordable housing." "It gives us the diversity we need to have a healthy community," he said. "It provides us with people that work in the community, that retire in the community."

But things at Contempo Marin changed 13 years ago when the park owner Equity LifeStyle Properties (ELS) sued to end rent control. Contempo Marin is like most mobile home communities; residents own their houses but rent the land under them. Despite their name, the homes are actually not very mobile.

About 100 California cities and counties have rent control laws to protect to the homeowners. The San Rafael case could affect them all.

Attorney Michael Von Loewenfeldt is representing the city of San Rafael. "Because (mobile home owners) don't own the land under their homes, they are really subject to abuses or potential abuses by the landowner," he said.

In 2008, ELS tried to raise rents from $700-$800 a month to almost $2,000 a month. A judge stopped that, but the legal battle is still going and it's taken an emotional toll on many residents.

ELS is the biggest mobile home park owner in the country. The chairman of the board is Sam Zell, estimated by Forbes to be worth $4 billion. Last month residents of ELS communities in seven states showed up outside a shareholder meeting in Chicago to accuse the company of excessive rent increases.

"Seniors are actually walking into the manager's office and turning in the key to their house and walking away, losing everything," Carla Burr, a mobile home resident from Virginia, said.

Residents at Contempo Marin say that's happening at their park too. They are caught in legal limbo. Five years ago, a federal judge ruled San Rafael's rent control law was unconstitutional. Then, last April the appeals court reversed that decision.

But the president of the homeowners association, Keith Meloney, says it's too soon to celebrate. He told residents, "While there is a time for our victory dance, it is not yet today."

ELS is fighting the court ruling. For now, if any one moves out of their home, rent control on that space goes away and ELS can raise the rent as high as it wants. That's already happened on more than 60 of about 400 spaces at the park.

In court papers filed last week, residents claim ELS is trying to drive them out.

Gordon Atkinson is the attorney for Contempo Marin residents. He feels so strongly about the case he is doing it for free. Atkinson says the court documents include statements from residents who say they are being harassed. "They say that the park owner is not taking care of the park, that conditions are deteriorating, that they are selectively enforcing rules against some homeowners, but not other homeowners," he said.

Residents who want to sell are struggling. Their houses have lost almost all their value because of the uncertainty over future rent. Andrew Perrins has family and health issues and needs to move. Perrins says he bought his house for $160,000. "Just a few years later, due to the legal actions of the owners of the landowner, my house is now worth less than $5,000," he said.

Jacqui Garcia was so desperate to get out, she's selling her home for just $300. "There was no peace of mind anymore," she said. "You lived in constant fear, what are you going to get hit with next?"

In court documents, ELS calls the residents claims of harassment "erroneous assertions."

No one from Equity LifeStyle Properties would not talk on camera. Instead, they sent the following statement:

We filed a petition for rehearing with the full 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals because we believe that the 3-judge panel's opinion was in conflict with U.S. Supreme Court rulings. As discussed in our petition, the trial court found after a full trial that the City's rent control ordinance does not make housing more affordable, a conclusion the 3-judge panel did not dispute. Instead, the ordinance forces new residents to pay more upfront to get into the community than they would have to pay without the ordinance. Our customers are overwhelmingly satisfied with the quality and pricing of the communities and lifestyle we provide. We invest large amounts of money in maintaining and upgrading our communities every year. Last year alone, we invested tens of millions of dollars in property upgrades.

Monday, the federal appeals court refused to re-hear the case -- a major victory for the mobile home owners. However, Equity Lifestyle Properties has 90 days to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

There are an estimated 350,000 mobile homes in communities throughout California.

Written and produced by Jennifer Olney

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Safeguard the potential of the Contingent Workers

We all are aware of the fact that today workers or employees are not safe at their working premises, as they confront a wide range of emerging health and safety issues that requires to be noticed. OSHA has introduced its future direction towards the health and safety of contingent workers. The health section comprise of threats from operating respiratory illness, combined exposure to latest mixture of harmful chemicals, and exposures to radical fine particulates, as well as amphibious and unreal vitreous fibers. Within the safety space, rising problems embody, fall hazards from wireless communications and high-definition television tower construction, noise in construction, and difficulties in reaching the increasing population of mobile employees.

OSHA SAFETY RULES

OSHA provided safety and health support for 1st response, salvage and recovery operations, and hygiene operations in hazard analysis, monitoring, and refinement. Extra activities are already current to boost OSHA’s readiness. This space would require continued attention throughout the look amount. OSHA tenders a good choice of training compliance courses and academic programs to assist broaden employee and leader information on the popularity, avoidance, and interference of safety and health hazards at their workplace. OSHA, in addition to this also tenders training and academic materials that facilitate businesses train their employees and suit the activity Safety and Health Act.
OSHA plays a vital role in supporting contingent workers by polishing off programs designed to save lots of lives, stop injuries and diseases, and shield the health of America’s employees.

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Emerging leadership qualities and standards for work safety and health,Supervising employment premises and coping with employers and staff,Offering guidance to small businesses,Providing training compliance help, outreach, academics, and different cooperative programs for employers and staff,Providing matching grants to help states in administering consultation comes and approved activity safety and health social control programs, andDeveloping friendly relationships with different agencies and organizations in order to cope with vital safety and health problems.Exercising sturdy, efficient, and honest social control

OSHA additionally supports contingent workers by making certain that its rules effectively address policy problems which they are doing not produce inessential restrictive burden.

OSHA Strategic Management set up, focuses on serious hazards and dangerous workplaces and includes ways that emphasize:

Increasing partnerships and charitable programs

Providing and extending academics and training compliance help.

OSHA MISSION

OSHA’s mission is to delve and make sure work safety and health safety for contingent workers.

OSHA, along side its valued state partners, achieves its mission through varied means that, as well as work social control of applicable laws and rules, inspections, consultation services compliance help, outreach, education, cooperative programs, and supplying of standards and steerage. So as to extend its effectiveness, bureau collaborates with a spread of organizations fascinated by activity safety and health.

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Retailers using controversial marketing tools

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- When you're shopping, you're being watched. And not just by security. Retailers want to know everything about how you behave in their stores.

When you're shopping, you're being watched. And not just by security. Retailers want to know everything about how you behave in their stores.

And now, two Bay Area companies are working on technologies that will watch you like never before. We have a look at what these new marketing tools could mean for your privacy.

Sometimes a sign is just a sign. But sometimes, it's watching you.

"This sign here, basically has a small camera hidden into the back of the sign," said Mark McGowan.

He's a Product Director for EFI, they're in the printing business. But now, they're getting into the camera business.

"As I look at the sign, as you can see, my face is now circled," McGowan said.

It's called SmartSign. It's an ordinary cardboard sign, with an extraordinary ability to recognize faces. It can tell if you're looking at it, and for how long. And it's remarkably good at telling your age and gender.

When asked why put a camera in the sign, EFI Chief Technology Officer Ghilad Dziesietnik answered, "Well, because that's the best way to attract the immediate reaction of the observer in the sign. It's a one-to-one viewing angle."

He says internet marketers can tell if you click on an ad. But stores often don't know if their displays are effective.

"Are people even looking at the sign?" Dziesietnik asked. "What is the focus they have on the sign? Who are the people that look at the sign?"

SmartSign gives all those answers on a colorful web page from a device so cheap that once they release it in a few months, it could be everywhere.

"We really see the cost getting down to really a couple hundred bucks to actually get one of these on the street," McGowan said.

But retailers don't have to put a camera in a sign to start learning more about their customers. In fact, some are already doing it with the cameras that are in the ceiling.

"A system like this can work using your own existing surveillance camera," 3VR Chief Marketing Officer Joe Boissy said.

San Francisco-based 3VR is mainly a security company. Founded with money from the CIA, they built facial recognition that profiles people by age and gender, and tracks them through the store.

"Understand exactly where they're standing, what are they doing, and where they dwell," Boissy said. "Even though some people might say it's controversial, the way we would like to talk about it is to say, we are a friendly big brother."

3VR has tools aimed at customer service:

"I can ask the system to alert me when the line gets longer than six people because maybe I need to send another staffing member out there," 3VR Field Sales Engineer Diego Simkin said.

It can even tell if customers are happy or upset. And it answers the all-important question about the conversion rate -- how many of the people walked into the store and bought something, because they have cameras connected to the point of sale.

And that's where it gets sticky. Cameras connected to cash registers. Privacy advocates say it could mean that stored image of your face is no longer anonymous.

"It could be linked to their credit card transactions at a register, and then the store just has a wealth of information available on people," said Jennifer Lynch with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. "We don't know what's happening to that data, how long it's being stored for, and who it might be shared with."

The EFF worries it could be used for invasive advertising; or, in the wrong hands, identity theft.

When asked what the solution is here, Lynch replied, "I think that the solution is for retailers to not store as much information."

EFI is taking that suggestion. SmartSign analyzes the video, but never stores it. All marketers see are the numbers.

3VR does keep the video, but says it's not linked to your identity.

"We're not tracking people, we're tracking profiles, things that help retailers and consumers at the same time, save time and money," Boissy said.

Consumer advocate Jon Fox likes that promise, but he's worried.

"I think the problem with that argument is that it relies a lot on us trusting companies," he said.

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