Check out the First Annual C21U TechBurst Competition!

What’s a TechBurst? It’s a short, sharable video that explains a single topic or concept in an entertaining and compelling way. The Center for 21st Century Universities (C21U) has collected 23 of them produced by Georgia Tech students, and now the job is to reward the very best.

To view, visit the C21U YouTube Channel (http://www.youtube.com/user/C21UatGT/videos), watch the video submissions, and click “like” on your favorite video. The winners of the TechBurst competition will be announced later this Spring. 

TechBurst contributes to teaching and learning innovation for years to come, as all current and future TechBurst videos will be archived by the GT Library to augment classroom instruction. In time, Georgia Tech will have a full library of TechBursts that will serve as an invaluable resource not just to its students but to viewers around the world.

 

Click here for a full playlist or find a full list of submitted videos and summaries by their creators' below:

"Momentum"

A college student, incapable of forming short term memories due to a physics lab gone wrong, has taken to tattooing physics problems on his body in order to get his homework in on time. This problem looks at how the impact of an asteroid would change the length of a day on Earth in an educational parody of the movie 'Memento'

"Physics in the Shower" 

A college student, incapable of forming short-term memories due to a physics lab gone wrong, has taken to tattooing physics problems on his body in order to get his homework in on time. This problem looks at how the impact of an asteroid would change the length of a day on Earth in an educational parody of the movie 'Memento'.

"Gerrymandering" 

This video discusses the drawing of voting district lines in the United States. We will include Supreme Court precedent, some history of redistricting, and Constitutional issues.

"Introduction to Circuits, Resistors, Capacitors and Inductors"

This video talks about basic circuit elements: resistors, capacitors, and inductors. It also reviews the math as well as their applications and examples of real world use.

"ISYE-Applications of Probability Part A"

"ISYE-Applications of Probability Part B"

These videos walk students through the concepts and several example problems in Applications of Probability in an ISYE classroom. 

"Live Trace for Visual Design"

This video outlines tips for an effective composition, demonstrates how visual design students can effectively demonstrate their knowledge of visual elements and principles of organization using Adobe Creative Suite. This TechBurst opens a raster-based image and trace it using the Live Trace feature in Adobe Illustrator, then create a unified composition by adding other elements. Live Trace gives design students the freedom to digitally experiment with drawings of any kind. The vector art it produces can be used in numerous ways and is easily customized.

"Taylor Polynomial"

Guy #1 had a question about how to use the Taylor Polynomial to estimate e^(0.3) to within 0.001. Guy #2 helps him out by showing the Taylor Expansion and explains the steps, including the LaGrange Remainder. This is relevant for students taking Math 1502 (Calc 2).

"On Architecture and Media"

As architecture students, we are interested in exploring spatial relationships through visual practice. We will base our concept on 'deception.' We will view methods the media uses to persuade and deceive the masses through the eyes of an architect. This concept will relate sociopolitical deception to visual illusions in the form of a satire.

"Lu Factorization Part A"

"Lu Factorization Part B" 

These videos discuss the calculus concept of Lu Factorization.

"Taylor Polynomials"

This video walks students through solving Taylor polynomial problems in calculus.

"Calculus Derivatives and Application"

The concept addresses differentiation rules through two example problems. The first is a basic second derivative explaining the chain rule, and product rule. The second example uses the quotient rule, another differentiation rule, but takes it further by showing an application of the first derivative. It also shows the use of critical points from the first derivative.

"Inverted Microscope"

This is an instructional tutorial for the XDS-1 inverted microscope in hopes to accurately explain how to use the bright field setting and phase contrast setting. This instructional manual will eliminate any misuse of the microscopes, and will increase the quality of students' visual figures for their reports and presentations. 

These microscopes are heavily used in the Biomedical Engineering curriculum for certain laboratory classes required for the degree.

"Designing a Lamp"

Concept development and procedure of creating and building a lamp in the Industrial Design Studio. This video will demonstrate full process, from ideation to completion of designing a lamp, and will showcase skills learned in Georgia Tech classes. The lamp is called the Pore Lamp. It is made of unique cement, developed by myself, that utilizes wax and a specific curing process to create porous cement. The light shines out of the cement through the large holes left by the wax.

"Ratio Convergence Test"

This video explains the ratio convergence test in Calculus.

"U Substitution"

This is a basic video on u-substitution; a concept that often trips people up in calc1. It is important to understand that those who have issues with this particular topic might find it useful.

"Constructing the 'Perfect Cube' in Biomedical Engineering"

Many biomedical engineering majors must construct a 4-inch cube out of Bristol board (very thick paper). The tolerances on this cube are 0.03 inches. This makes the construction of the cube very difficult, and has resulted in the assignment being named the "Perfect Cube". This assignment is very helpful for the students. The students learn about tolerances and they gain confidence and model building skills. This idea can be applied to all engineering students to help them understand how to build a model. Because many students fail to build successful cubes the first time, this video will help them with this task.

"Transcription, Translation and the Make-up of Proteins"

This video explains the process on DNA to RNA to proteins, specifically focusing on protein formation and structure. I will also show what the proteins can do once they are created.

"The Physics of Gravitational Pull in Space"

This video reviews an example physics problem regarding the gravitational forces between an asteroid and a spacecraft. The question was a multi-step problem asking about the trajectory of the craft, the mass of the asteroid, and the force of the asteroid's gravity on the spacecraft.

"Gravitational and Electrostatic Potential Energy"

I will be discussing 'the concept of potential energy in physics specifically with regard to gravitational and electrostatic potential energy.

"Chemical Combustion"

This video explains the Chemistry concept of combustion reactions. It focuses on the components of a combustion reaction and how to successfully balance a combustion reaction equation.

"Physics in the Shower"

Solving problems is so much easier in the shower! Here's one from a Physics 2211 course where we approximated the change in trajectory of a spacecraft, NEAR, as it passes the asteroid Mathilde.

"Taylor Polynomial"

Guy #1 had a question about how to use the Taylor Polynomial to estimate e^(0.3) to within 0.001. Guy #2 helps him out by showing the Taylor Expansion and explains the steps, including the LaGrange Remainder. This is relevant for students taking Math 1502 (Calc 2).