by Lee Walsh | Mar 15, 2019 | Measurement, Measuring People, micro:bit, STEM
Accurate measurement is critical to our everyday lives, and yet it is often taken for granted. When I buy petrol, I am assuming that the petrol pump is accurately measuring the petrol going into my car. This means that I pay the correct amount of money. Buying food is...
by Jack Brooks | Feb 15, 2019 | Guest post, Measuring People, Physiology, Sensation
We’ve all rated our pain at the doctor’s office, read an eye chart for a licence test, or told a friend the truth about their cooking. Despite the commonly held view that we have just five senses, we actually have many more, and we depend upon their accuracy and...
by Lee Walsh | Jan 15, 2019 | Measuring People, Physiology, Sensation
In November I wrote about the senses, in particular the ones beyond the usual 5. This post focusses on the group of senses that tells us the position and movements of our body, called proprioception (pro-PREE-o-SEP-SHUN). Proprioception is not a new discovery. The...
by Anna Hudson | Dec 15, 2018 | Guest post, Measuring People, Physiology
Neural control of breathing The muscles that make us breathe need to work or ‘contract’ both when we are awake and asleep to bring oxygen into the lungs (and remove carbon dioxide) to keep us alive. This contraction of our breathing or ‘respiratory’ muscles occurs...
by Lee Walsh | Dec 5, 2018 | Measuring People, micro:bit, Python, STEM
One of the things Platypus Technical does is develop tools for learning and teaching STEM. This month I have been looking at the BBC micro:bit through the Advent Kit from Little Bird Electronics. As part of that I have been uploading example python code to...
by Lee Walsh | Nov 15, 2018 | Measuring People, Sensation
Most people reply that we have five senses vision, smell, taste, hearing and touch. Why stop there? How come most people don’t list any others? When I have worked in schools with students in year 1 or 2, they can think of many more. Young children have told me things...
