I put some work videos up on YouTube which I thought some of you might find interesting. This was for an event called Play@Pyle which was a showcase of some of the work DoIT-Academic Technology and Engage are doing to help faculty develop and integrate simulations and games into college classrooms. The two keynotes are by two faculty members of UW-Madison's Games, Learning, and Society (GLS) group - Richard Halverson and Kurt Squire. If you're interested in reading more, I can send you some links to papers they've written on games, learning, and the future of education:

http://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=AF1CD92871407F7E

Ok, so this is an odd question to be posting to LJ, but I figure it's worth a shot. Long story short, I totally love the MATC program so far. I need to find more drawing references. Lately I've been drawing insect creatures. I tried checking out some books from the library but they didn't have the quality or detail of photos I was looking for.

So on an off chance that some of my science friends out there know more about this than I thought I would ask:

1.) What are some good books with high detail insect photos? I need to see things like mandibles!
2.) Do you know of any good web sites or archives with good high magnification of insects? Electron microscopsy (sp!) is interesting of things like fleas is ok too.
3.) From what I'm finding on the internet, it looks like a low power stereo microscope is best for an amateur like me who wants to examine insects. Where is a good place to buy either a new or used microscope ... online or in meatspace?

From The Interaction of Color by Albers - a book I was not that thrilled with (probably due to it being the 1972 condensed edition which has few color plates to refer to), but in which I did enjoy this quote:

"In the end, teaching is a matter not of method but of heart. Therefore, the most decisive factor is the teacher's personality. His enthusiastic concern with the student's growth counts more than how much he knows. It is well known that "the teacher is always right," but rarely does this fact elicit respect or sympathy; even less often does it prove competence and authority.

But the teacher actually is right and always will gain confidence when he admits that he does not know, that he cannot decide, and as is often is with color, that he is unable to make a choice or to give advice.

Besides, good teaching is more a giving of right questions than a giving of right answers."

A quote I enjoyed from a recent conference session:

"Civil societies become democratic when there are opportunities for people to learn the importance of listening to all views, even those they dislike, of 'working through' conflicting approaches to solving a problem, and of building common ground for action" (Matthews, 1998)

On another note (since I still can't sleep... I suppose sitting around on the computer is not generally sleep-inducing is it?) - lately I started playing pen-and-paper role-playing-games again. I'm running a science fiction space opera based on a modified old TSR setting from the 80s - Star Frontiers. I'm looking for additional players. If you're interested in playing, leave a comment or send me an e-mail.