You already know that we’re working with DonorsChoose to raise some money for public school teachers who are trying to give their students the engaging educational experiences they deserve (and who, owing to dismal state and local budgets, need our help more than ever). You also know that our benevolent overlords at Seed will be randomly selecting some donors to receive nifty prizes (details about this to be posted as soon as I get them).
Of course, helping public school teachers deliver the education their students deserve is it’s own reward, but that doesn’t mean you might not want a little something to recognize your donation. So, as I did last year, I’m going sweeten the deal by offering some incentive to everyone who donates to my challenge.
Because money seems to be tight for almost everyone, I’ve knocked down the level of some of the donations needed to get particular thank-you swag, and I’ve added a “crafty” new incentive this time around. Here’s what you can get if you donate to my challenge:
Category Archives: Blogospheric science
DonorsChoose 2009 Social Media Challenge: raising our own classroom stimulus funds.
Around this corner of the blogosphere, folks frequently bemoan the sorry state of the public’s scientific literacy and engagement. People fret about whether our children is are learning what they should about science, math, and critical reasoning. Netizens speculate on the destination of the handbasket in which we seem to be riding.
In light of the big problems that seem insurmountable, we should welcome the opportunity to do something small that can have an immediate impact.
During the month of October, a bunch of us ScienceBlogs bloggers will be participating in the annual DonorsChoose “philanthropic throwdown for public schools”, which this year they’re calling the 2009 Social Media Challenge. (You may recognize it as the Blogger Challenge of yore.)
Send GrrlScientist to Antarctica!
GrrlScientist is in a contest to become Quark Expedition’s official blogger from Antarctica. (So is DN Lee from Urban Science Adventures.)
Grrl has been doing pretty well getting votes in this contest, despite the fact that her competition includes a radio personality from Portugal and a member of the Osmond family.
Of the top vote-getters, it is clear to me that Grrl would do the best job with the specified task (blogging from, and about, Antarctica). She has a personal and professional interest in nature, science, the environment, and conservation. She has a history of writing pieces that are accessible communications of both scientific content and aesthetic appreciation, in an astounding balance of clarity and lyricism. She takes lovely nature photographs, which she regularly shares with readers of her blog. And to say she’s an experienced blogger is an understatement on par with noting that Antarctica can get a little chilly.
The voting in the contest ends 30 September, 2009 at 12 noon (Eastern time). That’s less than 48 hours from now.
If you haven’t yet voted, consider giving Grrl your support. Voting does require registering your email address with Quark, but they are doing this to avoid poll-crashing, and I haven’t received any spam from them. And, if you’ve already cast a vote for someone else, you are allowed by the rules to reassign your vote. Some other worthy science bloggers in the competition have been throwing their support to Grrl as the voting winds down, so don’t miss this chance to give her your vote, too.
I chat with Paw-talk about ethics and animal research.
In case you’re interested, Paw-talk, a website aimed at humans with pets, invited me over to chat about philosophy, ethics, science, and the use of animals in research. You can find that interview here.
It’s also worth noting that the site features a number of interviews with science bloggers you may recognize … perhaps because the Paw-talk team has a hunch that people surfing the web for pet-related information may also have a latent curiosity about matters scientific. Good on Paw-talk for feeding that curiosity!
Science Scout badge tally.
You may recall a couple years ago when the Order of the Science Scouts of Exemplary Repute and Above Average Physique started issuing badges.
Now, the Science Scouts have a spiffy new webpage and many new badges … and there are rumors (or should I say rumours) that actual, physical badges, suited for stitching onto sashes or lab coats, will be available.
So it seems like a good time to review the badges I have earned thus far as a Science Scout.
3QD 2009 science blogging prize nominees posted, voting round open.
Remember those prizes 3 Quarks Daily is offering for the best science blogging of the past year?
Well, the nominees are now up, including four of my posts:
Stepping away from silence.
This month, Sheril Kirshenbaum and Dr. Isis are spearheading a blogospheric initiative to call attention to a continuing epidemic of mass rapes in Liberia even six years after the end of its 14 year civil war, and to try to do something about it.
Last month, Nicholas Kristof described the situation in the New York Times, touching on the particular case of a 7-year-old rape survivor named Jackie:
3 Quarks Daily announces awards for science blogging.
Actually, the awards will include other sorts of blogging, too, but it’s the awards for science blogging that have a fast-approaching nomination deadline.
What readers who find this blog were looking for.
Every now and then, I have a look at the logs of incoming traffic to see how people are getting here. A bunch of people arrive via search engines, and here’s some of what they’ve been searching for in the last couple days: