Biodiversity

Spotlight on Senegal

Tim B — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 19:55:00 GMT

ePals Spotlight on Senegal

CyberSmart Africa! and Ecole Sinthiou Mbadane, a West African rural primary school, have together creates a series of short videos depicting local students: how they live, learn and function on a daily basis. The students use Flip video cameras to record the images and a microphone to record narration. The narration is in French, and English subtitles are added. These digital stories are a great complement to ePals “The Way We Are” Project, Take your students on a virtual field trip to rural Senegal. Let them explore for themselves the similarities and differences in students’ daily lives.

About CyberSmart Africa!

The immediate goal of the CyberSmart! 21st Century Learning Initiative is to create a model for digital learning that is truly sustainable and scalable through innovative, technology-based approaches. CyberSmart Africa’s ultimate goal is narrowing the digital divide and preparing students to benefit economically, socially and politically from living in a connected world. http://cybersmart.org/africa/

About Ecole Sinthiou Mbadane

Ecole Sinthiou Mbadane 1 is a rural primary school located in the brush (off paved roads) approximately 7 kilometers from the town of Mbour, 100 kilometers south of the Senegal’s capital, Dakar. Students, ranging between 8-15 years old, speak Wolof as their first language. At school, however, students speak French. Despite having no electricity at school (there is a nearby internet café), students are eager to create and share digital stories, collaborating with students around the world.

ePals Endangered Species Blog

Tim B — Thu, 28 May 2009 09:18:00 GMT

Featuring a new animal each month!

Now Showing: Polar Bears

What animal can weigh up to 1,500 pounds, has two layers of fur, and is at the top of the food chain in the Arctic? If you guessed the polar bear, you are right!

You will only find polar bears in the five “polar bear nations”—Canada, Denmark (Greenland), Norway, Russia and the United States (Alaska). They live in the Arctic and depend on the icy sea for seals, their favorite food. They are great swimmers, but only rarely hunt for seals in the open waters. They usually hunt on the sea ice, catching the seal when it comes up for air.

Polar bears don’t mind the extreme cold. They have a thick layer of blubber that keeps them warm. They also have two layers of fur, a small tail and small ears, all of which helps to keep in their heat. Polar bears actually have more problems with overheating than with getting cold. That’s one reason you’ll usually seeing them walking along at a relaxed pace rather than running. They don’t want to overheat.

The polar bear is the largest bear on Earth. Adult males can weigh between 775-1,500 pounds. They can stand up to 10 feet tall! Their big paws help them to evenly distribute all of this weight when they are walking on the ice. If the ice is too thin for walking, some bears will lie down and scoot across on their stomachs.

The polar bear has no natural enemies and is at the top of the food chain in the Arctic. So, why is it on the threatened species list? The main threat to the polar bear today is loss of their habitat. They depend on the Arctic’s sea ice for hunting and this ice is rapidly shrinking.

Got a question about polar bears? Did you draw a cool picture that you want to share? Send them to us and we’ll post great questions and answers, as well as your artwork at the end of the month!

Test your polar bear smarts! Take our polar bear quiz and see how much you know.

Learn more:

ePals Endangered Species Blog

Tim B — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 01:22:00 GMT

Featuring a new animal each month!

Now Showing: Leatherback Turtles

Can you name an animal that can weigh up to 700 kilos (1500 pounds), has flippers longer than its own body, and has no shell? The leatherback sea turtle is all these things, and is also the fastest swimming reptile!

The leatherback sea turtle lives in the open seas, and swims almost all over the world. A leatherback can live as far north as Norway, and as far south as New Zealand. Because of their large flippers, they are great swimmers and they like to swim very deep in the ocean. Their favorite food is jellyfish. Yum.

Leatherbacks can live about 45 years, if they reach adulthood. These turtles lay their eggs on land. Lots of the eggs never hatch. They are popular a popular meal for birds and small mammals, and even humans. Lots of baby leatherbacks that are born don’t live to adult age. They are popular meals for bigger fish. Adult leatherbacks sometimes die by eating plastic found floating in the ocean. They think it is jellyfish. These are some of the reasons that leatherback sea turtles are critically endangered.

Got a question about leatherback sea turtles? Did you draw a cool picture of a sea turtle? Send them to us and we’ll post great questions and answers, as well as your artwork at the end of the month!

Learn more: