Anyone who arrives at a movie theater early knows about the slide presentation that plays before the show starts. There is typically a mix of ads and movie trivia, given as still images or short clips. Waiting for Doctor Strange over the summer, I got the idea to do a… Read more“The Pre-Show Lecture”
Author: admin
My Plastic Menagerie
When I was in the fifth grade, our classroom got a Visible Man plastic model, which shows the internal organs of a human body. In hindsight, the missing parts suggested that it was a thrift store purchase by my teacher (our country really should fund education more), but it was… Read more“My Plastic Menagerie”
‘Interacts’: An RPG Quest Board Assignment
I’ve been teaching physical anthropology for just over three years so I have still been making changes every semester. Changes include staying up to date with new discoveries and looking for useful websites or thinking of ways to engage with the topic in daily life. For example, reading a biography… Read more“‘Interacts’: An RPG Quest Board Assignment”
The Cerutti Mastodon Site and the Elephant in the Room
One of the joys of being an anthropology instructor is that I am constantly in the stream of science news that regularly changes what we know about humans past and present. Sometimes news of research findings add a little interesting information to what we knew before. Other times, the news… Read more“The Cerutti Mastodon Site and the Elephant in the Room”
Group Notes: A Failed Experiment
The end-of-semester is a good time to reflect on what worked and what didn’t work in the most recent semester. One initiative that fell completely flat was an attempt to have students take notes as a group. A little before the start of the semester, I heard about a tweet series… Read more“Group Notes: A Failed Experiment”
Bean Pong, Spring 2017
A while ago I dreamed up playing a version of beer pong as a final review activity. With each semester that has passed, I have adapted the game to various class sizes. This semester was my second with a class of over 50 students and I have arrived at a set… Read more“Bean Pong, Spring 2017”
Secret Summer Craft Project, part 4
This is the last part of my 3D printing saga. Recall that I first dabbled in 3D printing to get a Homo naledi skull replica for the anthropology department at Grossmont College. While work on that area went on its own path, I used 3D printing for my own goals. My… Read more“Secret Summer Craft Project, part 4”
Spring Teaching Changes
The spring semester of 2017 brought a large sweeping change and many more minor changes than I had planned. To get the big change out of the way: I was hired to teach physical anthropology at another community college in San Diego County! MiraCosta College is a charming and innovative… Read more“Spring Teaching Changes”
Secret Summer Craft Project, part 3
In the last two parts, I related how I stumbled into 3D modeling and printing over the summer. I had two projects, a Homo naledi skull and some busts of my comic character for my friends. While the former was being printed, the latter kept growing in scope. Instead of… Read more“Secret Summer Craft Project, part 3”
Secret Summer Craft Project, part 2
In Part 1, I talked about wanting to make a 3D printed Homo naledi skull for my department and how it led me into yet another hobby. I had a lot more summer to go after getting my feet wet with 3D modeling and printing. What else could I do… Read more“Secret Summer Craft Project, part 2”