Acronym in education: CLIL for content and language integrated learning

CLIL stands for an umbrella term in teaching and education: content and language integrated learning. CLIL started as pedagogical project implemented in foreign language learning [1]. The European Commission emphasizes CLIL's multi-facted approach, which can benefit students on various learning levels including oral communication competence, intercultural knowledge skills and development of multilingual interests and attitudes [2].

Teachers working with CLIL are not language teachers, but specialist in other disciplines such as history, geography, social studies, the arts or science. Typically, they teach their subject in their native language (mother tongue) to students for which this particular class-room language is foreign (a second language). The CLIL concept is focused on cooperative learning within a special field of study, rather than speaking and writing in the mediating language. A recent article discusses the implications of CLIL-based teaching and learning of chemistry, while chemistry lesson are held in English to students, for which English is a foreign language [3].

Keywords: learning, teaching, foreign language, classroom context

References and further reading
[1] Sonia Casal: Cooperative Learning in CLIL Contexts: Ways to improve Student's Competence in the foreign Language Classroom. Universidad Pablo de Olavide (Sevilla-Spain). Pdf.
[2] European Commission Multilingualism: Content and language integrated learning. Htm.
[3] Keith Kelly: A New Challenge for Chemistry Education. Chemistry International September-October 2010, pp. 4-7.

An acronym in sustainable energy collaboration: Desertec for desert technology

The term Desertec stands for desert technology [1], which is somewhat of a misnomer since it refers to a solar energy concept. The noun “desert” in this phrase hints to the location where the technology is going to be installed, but not how it will work. The idea of Desertec is to generate solar electricity in sunny North Africa and move it across the Mediterranean Sea to less-sunny and higher populated European countries.

Desertec is now an ambitious multinational renewable energy project, going back to the vision of DESY particle physicist Gerhard Knies, who was rethinking energy production after the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident in the Ukraine in April 1986 [2].

The Desertec concept envisions generation of electricity by concentration of solar power, not photovoltaics. However, the integration of PV installations, wind energy, and other renewable energy production sites in regions north of Africa is planned. The clean technology expertise is at hand, but certain political and security questions—concerning both the solar-concentrating plants and the extensive electricity grid— still need to be solved.

Out-of-Africa dispersion, a strong hypothesis in anthropology, will become reality for electrical current.

Keywords: clean technology, sustainable development, multinational cooperation, energy politics

References and further reading
[1] Energy from the desert: Desertec & Solar City 2050.
[2] Daniel Clery: Sending African Sunlight to Europe, Special Delivery. Science August 13, 2010, 329, pp. 782-783.

The term “Web 2.0” and its synonyms

The Web 2.0 is something that is still happening and hence difficult to define. The term goes back to the year 2005, when web pioneer and vice president Dale Dougherty of O'Reilly brought up this term during a brainstorming session [1]. Then, the Web 2.0 conference was born as well. The next Web 2.0 Summit is scheduled for November of this year.

In their bestselling Wikinomics book [2], Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams refer to some other names for Web 2.0: the living Web, the Hypernet, the active Web, the read/write Web. Today's Web surfers usually don't care much about the name of this technology, they just use it. Programming and mark-up languages such as HTML, XML, CSS and JavaScript belong to the technical core knowledge for Web 2.0 designers [3]. But there is not a single Web 2.0 technology and expansion into new schemes and schemas is ongoing.

It has become popular to attach the “2.0 suffix” to concepts and applications nurtured by Web 2.0 technology. For example, Joel Comm uses “twitter power 2.0” as the title for his latest book edition on social networking and online marketing with Twitter [4].

Keywords: Web design, Internet, information technology, digital networking

References
[1] Tim O'Reilly: What is Web 2.0 • Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next Generation of Software. 09/30/2005. HTML version.
[2] Don Tapscott and Anthony D. Williams: Wikinomics • How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything. Portfolio/Penguin Books Ltd, London, Paperback edition 2010; page 19.
[3] Eric van der Vist, Danny Ayers, Erik Bruchez, Joe Fawcett and Allessandro Vernet:
Professional Web 2.0 Programming. Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, 2007.
[4] Joel Comm: twitter power 2.0 • How to dominate your market one tweet at a time . John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, New Jersey, 2010.

Acronym in astronomy and space technology: JWST for James Webb Space Telescope

James E. Webb (1906-1992) was a NASA administrator (1961-1968) [1]. A new infrared telescope, which was originally coined the Next Generation Space Telescope (NGST), is now named after him: the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) [2]. The JWST is scheduled to be launched in 2014 to carry on as a successor to the iconic Hubble Space Telescope [3].

The JWST's ultralight, shape-adjusting mirrors will have six times the light-collecting power of those of the Hubble Space Telescope. New vistas on the earliest ages of our universe are expected to be accessible by detecting infrared radiation after the telescope and its giant heat shields will have successfully been unfurled out of the earth-to-orbit rocket. For more details see the narrative and the “IN BRIEF” box at the bottom of page 50 of the “Origami Observatory” article [3].

References and more to explore
[1] Interviews: James E. Webb Oral History.
[2] National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA): The James Webb Space Telescope.
[3] Robert Irion: Origami Observatory. Sci. Am. October 2010, 302 (4), pp. 48-55. Abstract.

Acronym in genomics: SNP for single-nucleotide polymorphism

SNP stands for single-nucleotide polymorphism, a phrase in genetics, that is frequently used in the context of genome analysis and the study of natural selection.

The term SNP denotes a point of difference (mismatching nucleotide pair), when detected while comparing the genomes of two individuals (two humans, Homo sapiens, or two individuals of another species). The genomes of any two people differ at only approximately one out of every 1,000 pairs of DNA nucleotides, or “letters,” along the human genome sequence, which consists of about three billion pairs of such DNA letters [1].

The study of SNP patterns is critical in understanding the evolution of diseases [2] such as cancer [3].

Note: The plural form SNPs is pronounced “snips.”

Keywords: genetics, evolutionary biology, biological adaption, genetic mutations, selective sweep, alleles

References and further reading
[1] J. K. Pritchard: How we are evolving. Sci. Am. October 2010, 302 (4), pp. 41-47. Abstract.
[2] Technology Feature: Genomics: SNPs and human disease. Nature 16 June 2005, 435, 993. DOI: 10.1038/435993a.
[3] R. Mei et al.: Genome-wide detection of allelic imbalance using human SNPs and high-density DNA arrays. Genome Res. 2000, 10, pp. 1126-1137. DOI: 10.1101/gr.10.8.1126.

Look-up and how-to questions answered via informational crowdsourcing?

What's on your mind? A question? Well, you can send it to your facebook friends and wait for answers. Or, you may transform your question into a “What's happening?” twitter tweet and wait for replying Twitterers. Before doing so, you probably want to use Google, Wikipedia or any of your other bookmarked Web wizards to get—at least—an idea of what the answer might be.

No success? What about informational crowdsourcing? A crowdsourcing service connects you with real and yet virtual human beings, who will hopefully answer your questions [1]: Yahoo answers and Answerbag.com work this way. There will be no guarantee that an answer is correct. Do your own backcheck!

The critical point is the type of your question. To answer a look-up question is mostly a matter of finding the appropriate dictionary, encyclopedia, library or accessible database. Some person sitting in that adequately stuffed knowledge center or at a fittingly linked electronic device should be your friend in the crowd (whom you might never go to lunch with).

A how-to question makes a different story. There usually is no instant answer. For domain-specific question you need to find the right crowd. For example, if the nature of your questions lies embedded within a field of science, you could try ResearchGATE: There you'll find a “What's on your mind?” form as well and, in addition, a multitude of specialist groups to join, to follow and to consult.

Also, think of how to formulate your question and make it obvious whether you expect a yes or no, a multiple-choice-like answer or a concise narrative.

Finally, there are still those question that only you can answer yourself—always password-free.

Reference
[1] David Pogue: Question Time • To find the best answers, digital services are turning to actual humans. Scientific American October 2010, Volume 302, Number 4, page 38.

Twitter and all those TwitXXXs

The social networking and microblogging service Twitter offers, according to its page head, “the best way to discover what's new in your world.” Noticeable is the phrase “your world” instead of “our world,” hinting at Twitter's effortless use for self-expression and its functionality in broadcasting personal “my-world-view” news.

Real-time news, trivial as well as history-making, can be found on Twitter while the story of interest is happening and evolving. Although typically wrapped keyword-style within the tweet format, an included URL—also typically shortened—may connect the reader with more detailed resources. These tiny URLs are derived by employing URL-shortening services. Further, Twitter add-ons are available to integrate Twitter service with web-page design.

There exists an array of third-party tools, whose names start with “Twit” that support customization of Twitter applicability and performance. Some are specific and device-dependent, such as Twitterrific, adhering to the Mac and iPhone community. TwitThis comes in handy if you want to place buttons on your pages and blog posts, which enable your visitors to forward, via click, a site-link to the Twitterverse. TwitterCounter tracks statistics of your and other people's twittering activity. And while I am writing, the next great TwitXXX is already in the making—for sure!