Posted 02 Nov 2016 / 0
I recently discovered this page on the NYC.gov Environmental Protection site. It’s pretty cool: if you are worried about NYC’s water supply, you can get up-to-date information on where our reservoirs stand. When I ask my students to cite sustainability issues, they often point to how water is wasted in NYC on things like spraying Read More
A Minor Post, Ecosystem Services, Green Design, Public Policy, Sustainable Urban Design, Urban Ecology, Water Supply, Web
Posted 01 Nov 2016 / 0
A student in one of my Evolution sections this semester sent me this fun little animated video: I thought that it was very clever how animation — a medium that already is inherently dedicated to playing with time scales — was used to give us a view of human development from (mostly) the point of view of rocks.
A Minor Post, Cultural Evolution, Film, Television, & Video, Geology, Human Evolution
Posted 31 Oct 2016 / 0
It’s that time of year again. Once again I send my students in my Ecology course out to estimate their ecological footprints, so to show that I am holding myself to a similar standard — and to make sure to keep myself ecologically self-aware — I always make sure to make my own footprint public. This should Read More
A Major Post, Anthropogenic Change, Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, Ecological Footprinting, Ecology Education, Environmental Justice, Ethics, Habitat Destruction, MSCI-270, Ecology, Pollution, Sustainability, Teaching Tools
Posted 31 Oct 2016 / 0
The New York Times “We Don’t Need a ‘War’ on Climate Change, We Need a Revolution” I am excited about this opinion piece by my friend and colleague Eric S. Godoy. He and his co-author Aaron Jaffe are absolutely right: as much as we might “fight” to “capture” the right metaphor for the “battle” against climate Read More
A Major Post, Activism, Anthropogenic Change, Articles, Climate Change, Cooperation, Environmental Justice, Ethics, Evolutionary Psychology, Human Evolution, Mismatch theory, Philosophy, Public Outreach, Public Policy, School of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Social Dilemmas
Posted 22 Oct 2016 / 0
A still of Josh Fox in Beijing from his newest documentary, How to Let Go of the World. All in all it was an ambitious evening. I am not sure of how it came that Pratt was able to host a visit from Josh Fox, documentary filmmaker, after a screening of his newest movie How to Read More
A Major Post, Activism, Cultural Evolution, Envirolutions, Environmental Justice, Ethics, Film & Video, Film, Television, & Video, Population Pressure, Pratt Institute, Public Outreach, Public Policy, Resource Consumption, Sustainability, Sustainable Energy, Talks & Seminars
Posted 18 Oct 2016 / 0
I am excited to be one of the Pratt faculty members who will be on hand at the first annual Sustainability Summit sponsored by the Student Government Association and Envirolutions club. The Summit takes place this Thursday (October 20th, 2016) from 5:30-10 pm in Higgins Hall Auditorium. There will be a screening of the Josh Read More
A Major Post, Activism, Anthropogenic Change, Envirolutions, Pratt Institute, Public Outreach, Sustainability
Posted 10 Oct 2016 / 0
Image of students taking an online exam at the turn of the century courtesy of Michael Surran via Wikimedia Commons I think that any teacher who is honest about their relationship with their students realizes that they are not completely impartial. Given how much you can get to know your students — especially if you require Read More
A Major Post, Assessment Methods, Ethics, Learning Management Systems, Teaching
Posted 10 Oct 2016 / 0
I am excited to have been asked to guide an informal exploration of some of the potential behind Moodle, the platform for Pratt’s Learning Management System (LMS). I will be sharing some of the ways that I tackle teaching challenges using the LMS and will then will allow participants at this lunch to play “stump the chump” Read More
A Major Post, Educational Technology, Learning Management Systems, Pratt Institute, Teaching
Posted 14 Sep 2016 / 0
The Chronicle of Higher Education “No, Banning Laptops Is Not the Answer (And it’s just as pointless to condemn any ban on electronic devices in the classroom)” I appreciate this nuanced approach to technology use in the classroom, but I tend to lean towards the “any ban is counter-productive” perspective. I like the idea of being Read More
A Minor Post, Higher Education, Teaching, Teaching Tools
Posted 12 Sep 2016 / 0
Whenever I have a really mind-numbing task that I need to do, I turn to podcasts to save me from the tedium. One of my favorite respites is Dan Ariely‘s Arming the Donkeys podcast. Today I checked out a couple of great episodes for the parents out there. Just released a few days ago is an Read More
A Minor Post, Behavior, Development, Empathy, Game Theory, Human Evolution, Play, Public Outreach, Radio & Podcasts, Reputation, Social Norms
