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Secret of Photo 51

Ideas from Teachers

(Gr. 6-12)
I use a video clip from NOVA Online's "Secret of Photo 51" Web site in a Bridge Program designed to encourage girls to gain practice and experience in technology and science.

I like to use NOVA programs to catch the attention of students before I begin a lesson. I will show a short clip from the online videos as a hook to get students to think about how technology and science can be thought of in creative terms. I am especially interested in stories such as "Secret of Photograph 51."

What I find particularly relevant to my classes in this clip is the issue of copyright and patenting. We are currently leading a schoolwide discussion about these topics in our advisory meetings with students, and our Technology Department is planning a school assembly around this issue. We are asking students to respond to our schools' acceptable use policy (for technology), and to think about artists'/authors'/scientists' rights.

The video clip "Secret of Photograph 51" is particularly relevant to our school (which is for girls only) as it looks at the discrimination women have experienced in the sciences. It also refers to the powerful link between science, technology, and warfare.

Sent in by
Carmel Crane
Castilleja School
Palo Alto, CA
carmel_crane@castilleja.org

(Gr. 9-College)
I use NOVA's "Secret of Photo 51" program when teaching about Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan's work on moral development. The fact that many science teachers do not know Rosalind Franklin's name and her contribution to science is an injustice of great magnitude. I tell her story to any audience I encounter. I also use American Experience's "Fly Girls" program (about female pilots in World War II) to show good role models for young women. I will be using clips from these two PBS shows in a National Teacher Training Institute workshop for teachers.

Sent in by
Dixi Dougherty
Sierra Nevada College
Incline Village, NV
dixid@sierranevada.edu