Saturday, 31 October 2015
Thursday, 22 October 2015
LIVING CORNERS ENHANCING SCIENCE LEARNING : ONLINE ASSIGNMENT
LIVING CORNERS ENHANCING SCIENCE LEARNING
PREPARED BY
ANJANA V.L.
NATURALSCIENCE
KAVIYATTU COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
INTRODUCTION
A Living corner is
a valuable part of a science department in school. Through the ideal way to
gain knowledge is to observe objects and phenomenon in their natural setting
but in the present educational set up there is only a little opportunity for
this. A living corner can help in this aspect by way to providing many examples
of things which may be kept in such a living corner. Living corners not only
provides necessary helps in teaching but also helps in creating the eight type
of scientific atmosphere in the school.
A good
living corner should have exhibits which
are natural. A living corner is a biological laboratory specimen held by a biorepository for research . Such a specimen would be taken
by sampling so as to be representative. Of
any other specimen. when biological
specimens are stored , ideally they remain equivalent to freshly collected
specimens for the purpose of research .
Collecting
plants and animals is essential for scientific studies and conversation and
does not some critics of the practices have suggested play a significant role
in species extinction.
OBJECTIVES OF LIVING CORNER
- To focus attention on science experience in school
- To stimulate interest in science by all pupil
- To arose curiosity in scientific investigation over and above the routine class work
- To provide stimulation for scientific hobby pursuits
- To develop the habit of extra study and provide a useful means of occupying their leisure time
VIVARIUM
A vivarium is an area
usually enclosed for keeping and rearing animals or plants for observation and
research. Often, a portion of ecosystem for a particular species is stimulated
on a small scale, with controls on environmental conditions.
A
vivarium may be small enough to s it on a desk or table, such as an aquarium or
terrarium or maybe a very large structure, possibly outdoors. Large vivaria,
particularly those holding organisms capable of light, typically include some
sort of dual door mechanism such as sally port for entry and exit, so that the
outdoor can be closed to prevent escape before the inner door is opened.
There are various forms of vivaria including
Aquarium
Simulating water habit for instance a river, lake
or sea; but only the submerged area of these natural habitats. Plants in the
water will use some nitrogen within the system and will provide areas fororganisms to hide and forage .Insectarium:
Containing insects and arachoidsFormicarium
With species of antsTerrarium
Simulating
a dry habitat for instance desert or savannah. A terrarium can also be
formed to create a temperate wood land habitat and even jungle like habitat. This
can be created with pebbles leaf litter and soil
Avi culture
The world wide hobby of keeping and breeding
birds in captivity to maintain their numerical status in nature with a view of
forestalling their extinction by supplying aviary raised stock
AQUARIUM
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one
transparent side in which water dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fish keepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates
and amphibians. The term coined by English naturalist Philip Henry goose,
combined the Latin root aqua meaning water, with the suffix atrium “a place for
relating to “. The aquarium principle was fully developed in 1850 by the
chemists Robert Warrington who explained that plants added to water in a
container would give off enough oxygen to support animals so long as their
numbers do not grew too large.
MORE THAN JUST SCIENCE
Aquarium and other live displays are of value to more than biology. These set ups can
be inspiring. Think of application a nice aquarium setup and some colorful
fishes can inspire kids of any age to create art and creating stories too. They
can even be tools for math, applying formulae to find out volume, dosing
amounts of supplements or medications and much more. Imagine the classrooms and
problem solving skills that can be
developed using such a tool…the possibilities are endless.
HEALTH BENEFITS
Contemptation of fish in an aquarium seem to have a
significant effect in reducing Levels of stress and anxiety in students.
AVICULTURE
Aviculture is the practice of keeping birds (Class Aves) in
captivity using controlled conditions, normally within the confines of an
aviary, for hobby, business, research & conservation purposes.
Some important reasons for aviculture are: breeding birds to
preserve the species because many avian species are at risk due to habitat
destruction and natural disaster. Aviculture encourages conservation, provides
education about avian species, provides companion birds for the public, and
includes research on avian behavior.
The truest meaning of aviculture, was described by Dr. Jean Delacous, the most dedicated,
influential, and highly respected individual in the modern history of
aviculture.
"Aviculture - The worldwide hobby of keeping and breeding
numerous species of wild birds in captivity to maintain their numerical status
in nature with a view of forestalling their extinction by supplying aviary
raised stock".
TERRARIUM
Terrariums are
usually sealable glass containers that can be opened for maintenance and to
access the plants inside. However, this is not essential; terrariums can also
be open to the atmosphere rather than being sealed. Terrariums are often kept
as decorative or ornamental items. Closed terrariums create a unique
environment for plant growth, as the transparent walls allow for both heat and
light to enter the terrarium. The sealed container combined with the heat
entering the terrarium allows for the creation of a small scale water cycle. This happens because moisture from both the soil and plants
evaporates in the elevated temperatures inside the terrarium. This water vapor
then condenses on the walls of the container, and eventually falls back to the
plants and soil below. This contributes to creating an ideal environment for
growing plants due to the constant supply of water, thereby preventing the
plants from becoming over dry. In addition to this, the light that passes
through the transparent material of the terrarium allows for the plants within
to photosynthesis, an important aspect of plant
growth.
CONCLUSION
Living corners are powerful tool for transacting the
educational information through direct experience. It will also enhance the
love for nature and other organisms. Living corners will enhance the habit of
extra study and it will develop scientific
hobby in students. Aquarium and Avi culture are the two major living corners
functioned in the school. It is a valuable part of science department in
school. These are the different methods for preservation of organisms. It will
provide a positive attitude among students towards the habitat of organisms.
REFERENCES
- Joshi S.R. 2008. Teaching oof Science. Balaji Offset. New Delhi.
-
http://en.wikipedia/aquarium.org
-
http://en.wikipedia/vivarium.org
-
http://en.wikipedia/terrarium.org
-
http://en.wikipedia/aviarium.org
-
http://en.wikipedia/avicuture.org
Sunday, 11 October 2015
MY EARTH MY RESPONSIBILITY : ARTICLE
My Earth; My Responsibility
Despite unavoidable free services
provided by earth to humans we are not being able to pay off her kindness to
us. Rather we humans are being cruel to our Earth by our selfish activities.
Mahatma Gandhi said, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s needs, but
not every man’s greed.”Every day we produce tons of degradable &
non-degradable wastes & throw them anywhere recklessly. Smoke & harmful
gases from our homes, vehicles or industries are suffocating her. We are disposing
dirty sewages, drainage & even chemicals recklessly although we know that
more than 7 billion humans along with all plants & animals in this world
rely on water for their lives. If we aren’t concentrated on saving those water
resources then in near future water can be as expensive as PETROL or one day
people can die due to thirst. Despite huge noise by our jumbo population
itself, we use loudspeakers for our entertainment & industries, airplanes
or other noisy vehicles for our luxury. We destroy forests for agriculture
& settlement. We build huge buildings, roads & factories beyond her
carrying capacity. Establishment of nuclear reactors vastly affects environment
& human lives.
Harmful gases emitted by ACs,
refrigerators , industries & vehicles are depleting ozone layer &
increasing our exposure to very harmful UV rays of sun leading us towards
various skin diseases, eye cataract & even cancer. Wastes like plastics
& other non-degradable wastes like insecticides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers
etc. highly degrade soil quality & decrease agricultural products &
kills soil microorganisms & decomposers. Water pollution increases risk of
water borne diseases like cholera, dysentery etc. and lead & arsenic highly
degrade our mental ability & causes extinction of many aquatic animals. Air
pollution causes air borne diseases like asthma in humans & animals and
disturbs whole metabolism process in plants. Noise pollution causes insomnia
& heart diseases in humans. Deforestation is leading to natural calamities like
floods, soil erosion etc, temperature increase and changed rainfall
distribution, drought, loss of valuable biodiversity, decreased oxygen density
etc. The burning issues in the world at present are “Climate Change &
Greenhouse Effect”.
Solutions of environmental problems are
not impossible to superior creature humans if they are committed. As a youth
& global citizen, I too have the responsibilities to my mother earth. My
first role towards nature is to reduce my own carbon footprint via eco-friendly
activities. Then, I can form a GREEN ORGANIZATION along with some other
energetic youths to raise awareness in my peer circle, neighborhood & the
community about environment sanitation by changing degradable wastes into
compost manure & by 3R principle (reduce, reuse & recycle) of
non-degradable wastes. I can create workshops with local people that air
pollution can be controlled by replacing household energy sources like coal,
firewood etc. by biogas, electricity or solar energy & we can negotiate
with factory owners & vehicle owners to use dust & smoke purification
systems in industries & vehicles & we can encourage them to use
solar-energy based industries & vehicles. 
We can organize environment
sanitation programs & afforestation programs in barren lands. We youths can
appeal the government to bring eco-friendly development policies & proper
planning of cities. We can organize orientation programs about the climate
change, its causes, and effects & mitigation measures in schools &
colleges to induce other youths towards conservation of nature. Youths can
initiate the concept of “Payment of Ecosystem services (PES)” in the society
& emphasize home stay tourism in the villages. As a student of forestry
sector, I have the responsibility to aware local people about importance of
forests & effects of deforestation along with the new concept of carbon
trade via REDD++ programs.
Thus, for the sustainability of our
planet, I promise to fulfill my responsibilities towards Mother Nature as a
global citizen so as to protect my living planet from deterioration & to
handover clean & green planet to our future generations. Maybe our single
efforts may seem small but if thousands of youths can unite together towards
nature conservation then one day our efforts will be a drastic step to protect
our motherland Earth from destruction.
Good awareness
helps our generations to keep the eyes open of our environment. We, as the
young generations are too young to deal with the nature, but we still have
right to manage it.
The younger
generations inherit the world as we have the responsibility to take care of
this planet.
The Earth
comes as the most important shelter for us and incoming generations in the
future. I am glad to emphasize that selfish is not our general attitude.
The universal
should learn by heart that we will not stay longer in this world and it will be
inherit to a new generations as the heir of conditioning. It means that we have
only one wonderful world and we share it together for years.
We should
recognize the value of being kind. Sorrowfully I say, where I come from, people
do not generally appreciate nature which is so sad. Although some community
never interfere the nature, I still solute the progressive countries.
We should
think for some strategies to ensure the nature is in a good condition. For
example, we should plant more green plants to give us more oxygen. I always
accept as true this idiom, where there is a will, there is way because a burden
of one has own choice is not felt. Honestly, I appeal for something make aware
of our environment in the future.
Nowadays, the
younger generations are the heir s of the modern technology addiction which
seems to be doing more harm than good to themselves and the environment. Too
much development has lead to pollution and destruction of the nature. As a
result, the temperature of the Earth’s surface rises. This effect is called the
greenhouse effect. The increase in temperature will result in changes in
climate.
For example,
certain places may experience droughts. The rate of photosynthesis may
decrease. The amounts of agricultural food products will drop. This shows that
our community has no respect for nature. In order to keep our environment
clean, we must maintain and protect our environment reduce those problems. We
should realise that keeping the air clean is our duty. Therefore, we should
practise good habits that help to keep the air clean.
My suggestion
for scientists or inventor is to create and invent new environmentally-friendly
modern technology to overcome this addiction. The new environmentally-friendly
modern technology is very useful and important for us and the environment.
It is very
good to teach our young generation to love and appreciate the nature.
Otherwise, we should take part in any environment campaigns which lead us to be
kind to the Earth. It is important to keep the environment clean so that all
living things continue to live in comfort and safety.
The Earth
sacrifices many things for us. Don’t we realise that? Yes, we never appreciate
it. Therefore, today I would like to encourage my friends to be kind to our
nature. It will be easy if we want. Lastly, I would like to remind my friends
and even myself for always remember that we only have one world that will be
inherit by one generation to another. So, be respect nature and live in harmony
with it.
„Environmentally
responsible behavior is an essential part of our philosophy and we continually
recognize that this contributes strongly to our long-term company success”,
stated in the introduction of our environmental vision.
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