Down to business, and other things

Monday was my first day of real work, as my father-in-law would say. That isn't to say that I haven't been getting work done, but from my apartment rather than from an office, so this was my first day at UNSL. So far it's going pretty well. I've been introduced to most of the department here and Julio and I worked out some of the details of my project. I also touched base with a couple of local physics teachers, most of whom work both here at the university and also at a local secondary school. I visited my first school this morning, and it was great to be back in a classroom and interacting with students. Hopefully I'm going to meet with some other local teachers later in the week, and I have my first graduate class this coming Friday. I've missed two sessions already, so I'll have some catching up to do, but it sounds just about perfect for my project. I'm going to take some pictures of the university and of my office- I'll post them soon. Definitely a lot of work to be done, but it's good to get started trying to figure things out before I've committed myself to a certain methodology for my project.

I managed to take a couple of pictures today of a small memorial in the building where my office is. This memorial is to some of Los Desaparecidos that were affiliated with the university. One in particular was a Physics instructor... there's a lot more to this story and I'm not doing it justice; there's no way I could possibly do so in this limited space. I plan on revisiting this later after I'd had a chance to discuss it with some friends.

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This past weekend was a long weekend for many Argentines. Lots of folks were out travelling around, and San Luis was packed during the evenings. On Saturday I went to Silvia's for lunch- she taught me how to make Milanesas. You start with a really thin cut of beef, salt it, and then soak it in a mixture of egg and oregano before coating it with fine breadcrumbs and cooking it. It can be topped with a variety of things when served: a sauce made from tomatoes, a cheese sauce, ketchup, or mayonnaise. It was delicious and I enjoyed seeing the process from butcher to plate. My only regret is that I wasn't quick enough with the camera to document the process!

On Sunday I went on a trip back up to el Potrero with Julio and Ayesha. We went to Julio's brother's place, where we had lunch. It was another great meal: milanesas, pasta, and ice cream for dessert. Afterwards we went for a drive around the small village and took a dirt road up to this Refugio: equal parts restaurant, bar, and hotel. It was pretty spectacular, but definitely off the beaten path. The view was awesome and the people very welcoming. I was very impressed by their lawnmowers.

Afterwards we stopped by Ayesha's sister's house, where she was staying with her family and some other relatives for the weekend.  They were super nice and very welcoming, before I knew it I was being given chocolate easter eggs, a cup of coffee, and chatting with Ayesha's nephew about his upcoming trip to London. It was a marathon afternoon but it's really good to see different places outside of the neighborhood around my apartment. There were wild parrots flying between walnut trees- quite different from the traffic that goes by my front door every day. The plaza near my house is called Plaza Pringles (scroll down if you follow the link- some good pictures here).

The plaza is usually very busy and full of people, except in the early morning hours when I took this shot.

Comfort Food

Yesterday I finally arrived in San Luis after a crazy trip. First I was stranded in DC after a delayed flight caused me to miss my connection, and then the airline lost my baggage (which will hopefully arrive tomorrow). I was exhausted, but happy to see my friend and fellow Fulbrighter Silvia and my mentor Julio when I walked into the airport. They took me to my apartment to get settled. The apartment is good, but definitely not too spacious. It's really close to the center of the city though, and it's got all the basics.

Julio took me out to buy a cell phone and groceries, and then I slept a bit before Silvia picked me up for dinner at her place with her son Fernando. Today I did some reading in the morning before Julio picked me up. We went for coffee where we met up with one of his colleagues, who teaches at both the high school and college. He was at the coffee shop doing work along with his daughter, who was working on an assignment for her statistics class. It was great to chat with a fellow teacher and he helped me refine my ideas a little bit. He also invited me to come visit his school and is willing to work with me on my project, which is fantastic. Afterwards Julio showed me around the university and then we went back to his house for lunch, where I met his wife Ayesa and her son Carlitos along with the family dogs.

This evening Julio and Ayesa took me to Potrero de los Funes, a park up in the mountains near town. As we drove up we stopped at one point and there was a family finishing up a climbing trip. It was great to know that there is climbing of some sort so close to town, even if I don't have gear or transportation. It's basically a ring of mountains around a reservoir, but the kicker is that there is also a Formula 2 racetrack around the lake. The track has stores and restaurants on it, as well as cabins, hotels, and a theater. We stopped at one of the larger hotels, which is adjacent to the theater, and walked down to the floating bar/restaurant. We just looked around and I took some pictures of the fish, which apparently like the lights of the bar.

We drove a bit further along and stopped at a restaurant for a light dinner of pescados, which is basically appetizers. It was perfect after the large lunch earlier in the day, and I learned a lot about their families and jobs. They also helped me understand the way that the Argentina education system works and had great suggestion s about courses for me to take at the university. It goes without saying that the food was excellent.

In fact, I ought to explain the title of this post. I'm not really a foodie, though I certainly enjoy eating. During my travels so far things have gotten hectic and stressful, but it seems like at just the right moment something pops up that keeps me going. Lately it's been food.

A superb burger in Boston with my brother before flying out on Tuesday was the start. The pad thai I had before leaving the states helped mitigate the frustration of being stranded (along with the great company, of course). After landing in BA and discovering that my luggage had been lost I was tossed in a taxi and rushed across the city to the domestic airport, where I learned that the "reservation" that the carrier I had flown on from the US didn't actually exist. I was put on standby and rushed through security where I finally arrived at the gate with less than 2 minutes to spare before I would have missed the flight. I didn't have time to eat or even think about eating, but on the plane the in-flight refreshment was the Argentine equivalent of a Moon Pie, which was an extraordinary pick-me-up. Last night after a really long day I was feeling pretty beat down. I discovered the Argentines secret weapon: dulce de leche. Traditionally it's eaten with bananas, but it also makes for a terrific caramel apple. What a way to end the night.

Aside from missing my family terribly, life here is pretty good. I'm excited to get started next week but it's nice to have some time to get my thoughts organized. I can't wait to get my luggage!

p.s. in my original post I wrote that I ate "pecados," which translates to eating sins. Luckily a friend corrected me. The proper word is pescados, which I image are tastier.

faith

Today something happened that restored my faith. I was trying to take a shuttle to the National Air and Space Museum, which cost $0.50. It finally arrived and I boarded, handing the driver a $5 bill only to be told that only $1's were accepted. I was given 90 seconds to find change or lose my ride. I ran over to the waiting line for the bus that goes to the city. I started asking people for change for a 5, and nobody had it. Then a guy traveling with his daughter waved me over and asked what I needed. I explained and he just gave me a $1 bill and told me not to worry about it. Given how bumpy this trip has been so far, this was an unexpected bright spot. The museum was neat and I got to see a lot of cool planes in addition to a nifty IMAX about tornadoes.

Stearman Biplane

Every time I see a plane of any sort I am reminded of my grandfather, who is a pilot and plane buff. He used to take my brother and I to plane shows when we were growing up and I even got to fly with him a couple of times. He would love this museum and especially the great selection of biplanes like the Stearman above, which he used to fly.

Requisite shot with shuttle. It was huge!

After the museum I went out to dinner with some friends, who drove the whole way out to Dulles after long day of work to take me out. Afterwards they took me back to the airport and sent me off in person. It's hard to explain how good it was to catch up with good folks who I don't get to see as often as I'd like. No matter how hard I try I can never manage to pay for a meal when I visit them, despite the fact that they were doing me a huge favor. Good food and excellent company make for a terrific sendoff!

Interlude

Yesterday I left home for Argentina. I flew out of the Adirondack Regional Airport on this plane:

There were 6 passengers and two pilots. I've flown on this flight before, and sometimes there is only one pilot. Then a lucky passenger (usually the heaviest), gets to sit in the copilot seat. I got to sit there once, and it was cool. I don't know of many other commercial flights where you get the chance to talk to the pilot and see all of the instruments when you're flying. You also have to weigh all of your baggage (including carry-ons and latop bags) and report your own weight so that they can make sure that the plane is balanced. 

Anyway, while we were flying I decided to take a video of Saranac Lake from above as we flew over. The only option I had was an ipod, which actually took a decent video in the end. It was really shaking, mostly because the flight was bumpy. I can share the whole video if anyone is interested, but the part I liked the best was this bit: 

The deal was that when I looked out the window all I could see of the prop was a massive blur. However, when I panned forward with the camera it picked up the individual blades of the prop, almost like a strobe light would capture a moving object in a dark room. If I had been able to get to my bag I would have shot a high speed video for comparison. Oh well, maybe on the return trip. 

So the question I pose to any students (or other interested parties who happen to stumble across this post) is this: how fast was the prop rotating? What might you need to figure this out? Think about frame rates, etc. (2nd generation nano). Would this video look the same if the plane were moving at a different speed? What if we hadn't had a tailwind- any difference?

Unfortunately, my next flight was delayed and I missed the connection to Buenos Aires. The next one doesn't leave until tonight, so I've got a day to kill. I'm hoping to get some work done and maybe visit the Air and Space Museum near Dulles- so check back for more stuff soon. Hopefully my next post will be from Argentina.

T-

As I sat down to write, I realized that what I had to say didn't constitute a full entry. Accordingly, this post is a compilation of my thoughts over the past 2 weeks.

T-1,209,600 seconds

Courtesy of Historic Saranac Lake 

It's 2 weeks before I leave for Argentina, almost to the minute. I've been working on a couple of presentations to use while I'm down there. I put together one about Saranac Lake that turned out really well: thanks to Mark Kurtz, Adirondack Rock/Cloudsplitter Guides, Historic Saranac Lake, BETA, and the Adirondack Museum for letting me use your images.

I also started my snowboarding season today with some spring conditions at Mt. Pisgah. Unfortunately, given the recent weather it looks like it might also be the end of my season! Here's to good company, fun times, and, courtesy of the M. family, an incredible wipeout! If only I caught it on tape...

The 'gah, courtesy of Andy Flynn and Denton publications

Note: in this picture there is much, much, more snow than there was during our excursion.

I'm starting to get ready- I haven't actually begun packing my bags, but I started making a list.! Still plugging away on other preparations- not too much exciting news on that front.

T-604,800 seconds
Making progress on the research project front. I've been in contact with the Modeling folks at ASU and they're helping me arrange to administer a conceptual exam electronically. My mentor, Dr. Julio Benegas,  helped get the Spanish versions to WebAssign, a company based here in the US so that they can be incorporated into their library. This is good news because it means that Physics Education Research (PER) folks working with students in Spanish will have the ability to administer the exams, and in turn examine their own conceptual gains. It's undoubtedly a huge boost to my project, but it's also a good step for the PER community in general.

This afternoon I started working on using tables in Beamer- good times. I've also been reading some interesting articles for my project. No bombshells yet, but definitely some things to think about. For example, a large survey of university students of different genders found statistically different experiences in high school physics. Does this mean that they actually had different experiences? No, the authors believe that they just interacted with the teacher differently, learned using a variety of mechanisms, and used different techniques to study. Thing is something to remember when I ask students about their experiences in class- perspective has an influence on how we experience events.

I did some intervals up the neighborhood hill on my bike today. Not terribly exciting, but it's good for a quick workout.

T-260,000 seconds
This morning I sent a link to this blog out to some friends and family. It's amazing the responses I've gotten- great to hear from everyone! And it's also worth noting that the traffic is encouraging as well- it's kind of a lonely feeling when the only visits your site gets is from sites like buygenericsfromindia, instant-online-refills, and instanttrafficrobot2.

Still working on my presentations. I spent a while the other day figuring out tables in Beamer, and I'm psyched that I finally understand it. By the way, if anyone needs a little bit of help working in a foreign language, I highly recommend word reference. Google translate is ok, but doesn't really make you think. It's also not perfect. Not that I claim to be, but thinking about the translation and context improve my own understanding as I go. This is a great side-effect of getting the job done!

T-143,000 seconds
I'm nearly packed- just trying to figure out the best way to stay under the weight limits for baggage. Books are incredibly heavy- I had hoped to bring more, but it's not in the cards.

I also wanted to take a moment to say thanks to all our friends and family that have been helping us out and are making this trip work- we couldn't do it without y'all and are extraordinarily lucky.

I said goodbye to Lynn and Grant tonight when they left for a short vacation in warmer climes. Heart-wrenching doesn't quite do it justice. I can't wait for them to be able to join me in San Luis- I wish Emma could come too!

p.s. If you're wondering about why I used seconds to measure the time remaining before I leave, it's because a friend of mine believes that everyone ought to know how many seconds are in a day (~85,00) and in a week (~600,000). Just trying to help make you a more well-rounded person.

Something new

This post will hopefully kill two birds with one stone: I want to get down some thoughts that have been percolating so I can go back and check them out before next school year and I thought that they might be of interest to some of y'all, so here goes nothing.

Lately I've been thinking about something called Standards-Based Grading (SBG). The idea is that rather than evaluating students' performance on a given set of assessments, you give them opportunities to demonstrate what they know. They're scored on whether or not they master certain skills, and they can try multiple times to master each skill. Lots of people have been discussing SBG lately, I would recommend reading through the links below if you're interested (I also borrowed most of the images from links these people provided).

http://tinyurl.com/88g3tqo

Think Thank Thunk

Action-Reaction

dy/dan

MeTA musings

Physics! Blog!

Always Formative

Student Perspective





I really like the idea of SBG, but I don't think that integrating it into a Regents course is as easy as snapping your fingers. I think it has to be done carefully and intentionally (and possibly with student input). I envision a grading breakdown that is a combination of traditional scoring and SBG. It might look something like this:

http://xkcd.com/937/

Current:

Class Participation	20%
Homework	25%
Labs	25%
Quizzes	5%
Tests	25%

New:

Class Participation	20%
Labs	25%
Assessments	10%
Performance	45%

By assessments I mean timed problem-solving sessions. I don't like teaching to the test, but I feel that there is a necessity for students to be able to perform under pressure (to a degree) and since the majority are going to be sitting for the NYS Regents Exam in Physics in June, I feel that this element is necessary. It shouldn't be the over-riding factor in their grade, but I think it should play a role. What do you think? Bueller?

I've considered doing away with the separate lab grade... maybe someday. If I were given blocked-ish periods with the same students in class and then lab (or vice-versa) then I could do this more easily. In fact, I would lean toward eliminating the lab report requirement of my class because I would finally have enough time for students to put together meaningful representations of what they're learned. Maybe this last bit is just a fib and I should can it right now... I'll have to think about that. I'm interested to see how Shawn Cornally's collaboration experiment goes: http://shawncornally.com/wordpress/

Emma back when she was a puppy

An idea I had on my morning walk with dog Emma was to let the students determine the breakdown on the first day of class. There would be stipulations: the lab percentage is set in stone, and all of the others have to make an appearance with at least 10%. All of the different sections would have to agree on a common breakdown as well- no willy-nilly bickering about how section placement determined their grade in the course. Maybe this isn't a good tone to set for the year and shows that I'm not in control. Or maybe it's genius in disguise because it shows that by relinquishing control initially, I get students to buy into the system because they made the decisions, thereby gaining more control in the end. And then I will conquer the world! J/K... or am I?

http://tinyurl.com/7t6nnfb

Stay tuned for updates, and if you have an opinion about any of this stuff, leave a comment below!

Learning Curve

Lately I've been spending what little free time I have working on research and also preparing some presentations for Argentina. Part of my role in this program is visiting local schools and also helping with professional development for teachers. To this end, other Fulbright DAT alums have suggested that I prepare several presentations that I can give at the drop of a hat rather than have to throw something together at the last minute. I have taken this sage advice to heart, and am slowly but surely putting things together.

As a favor to my less-than-stalwart readers, I should warn you that the following might be a shade on the dry side. However, if you're looking for a better mousetrap, keep reading.


Now, for those of you that know me well, this won't come as a surprise, but I've decided to make this a learning opportunity and make this as challenging as possible. Over the past few years I've grown more and more frustrated with a popular set of software that is nearly ubiquitous on PC's. Embedding images in a program that rhymes with bird was the first straw- lengthy documents simply refused to save midway through a long editing process. The second stage was working with equations, which is ok, but issues begin to surface with formatting and moving between different programs of the same suite. Bulleting, lists, and auto formatting nearly broke the camel's back. So I've been staging my own silent rebellion for a little while- I started with OpenOffice, but it seems like a slightly clunkier version of the same basic concept. That doesn't mean that I don't use it and don't recommend it (especially to students- it's free!), but it's not the silver bullet I'm looking for. At this point I should include a disclaimer: I love spreadsheets (and the program that is commonly used to create them, it rhymes with mix-hell) am not trying to replace them, it's the document side of the coin that is failing me.

Around this time I started using Linux (Ubuntu) with my schools Cosmic Ray Muon Detector as part of the QuarkNet Project. This was an interesting process- it engaged me and challenged me in a way that I hadn't experienced in a while. I certainly wouldn't call myself an expert user, but I can get by. It's been great for running analysis of our data files. Anyway, I digress. I was at an International Conference on Cosmic Rays (Thanks QuarkNet!) and noticed that nearly all of the other presenters were doing something funny when working on their presentations- they would type a bit in a text window, and then press a button and switch to a different window, where their presentation was. I asked my co-presenter what they were doing and he explained that they were using LaTeX. After returning from the conference I looked into LaTeX (after figured out how to spell and pronounce it properly), but it was a bit intimidating to jump into, especially in the middle of the school year. I eventually stumbled across Lyx, which I would describe as LaTeX lite. I used it to create a packet of notes for my AP class. It took a little while to pick up, but I got the hang of it. In the end I had trouble getting the images to be the correct size and in the right spot, so I didn't use it much more.

Last fall I put together a SMARTboard presentation on teaching physics for a regional staff development day. I was looking for something Lyx-like to use and I found a Lyx-based template for a program called Beamer. I basically just used a template someone else had created and filled in the blanks, but I was pleased with the result. Unfortunately, the attendance wasn't overwhelming (physics teachers aren't exactly a dime a dozen around here), but at least I learned something new.

Cut to present day: I have a lot of presentations to make and a report to write at the end of the program. I want to be as professional as possible, and using Powerpoint is a death sentence for so many kittens. Lyx seems a bit silly when I could just get at the root of things by using LaTeX itself. In conjunction with a good editor (I've been using Texmaker), I've found the process to be pretty smooth. I'm well on my way and have had great help from folks over at stack overflow when I get stuck.

Examples: Raw code and Output

If you're interested in this process (which my brother-in-law fondly referred to as "sufficiently obscure"), I would recommend starting with the links above. You can also check out http://www.stat.pitt.edu/stoffer/freetex.html for details about using LaTex on Windows machines.

Hopefully everyone is asleep by now. I apologize for the nerdy rant and promise that my next post will be more lively. Until then, good luck Red Storm Hockey!