Science – Page 6 – iLearn Technology

Algebra in the Real World movies

February 3, 2012February 3, 2012Kelly Tenkely1 Comment8869 views

What it is: The higher up I got in math, the less connection I could make back to it’s usefulness in real life. I had math mastered in school, I could memorize the formulas and spit back out the steps to get straight A’s in algebra, geometry, calculus and even trig. It wasn’t until I was watching the Social Network movie (as an adult) that I started connecting that higher math to purposes in real life. That is a problem. Remember the scene in the Social Network when Zuckerberg is writing algorithms on his window? I saw that, looked at my husband in astonishment and whispered “I learned that!”. I had NO idea that trig was actually used for anything. Seriously. That is why when I saw Algebra in the Real World movies on Karl Fisch’s Fischbowl blog, I knew it was a site that needed to be shared again. Algebra in the Real World has mini documentary type films that show the ways that Algebra is used in a variety of jobs and real world scenarios. Movies include:

Aquarium makers
Backpack designers
Designing stronger skateboards
Engineering faster bikes
First one in the ball park
The forester
Landscape architects
The Lundberg farms
Maglev trains
Reliable Robots
Roller Coasters
Saving the bald eagle
Solar power
The starshade
Structural engineering
The surface of Mars
Testing the robotic hand
The wind business
Windsails

Plenty of variety to help students with a variety of interests!

How to integrate Algebra in the Real World movies into the classroom: After seeing the Social Network, I wanted to go back to my high school trigonometry class so that I could connect the dots. I always really appreciated my physics class because it gave meaning to the algebra classes that I took. I like that these videos help to make connections between the equations students learn and their uses. It is nice to have such a good mix of topics so that students with different interests and passions can find one that helps them make the connection.

These videos would be great to share with a whole class as the algebra topic connected with the video is introduced, at the beginning of the school year, or based on student interest level. Use as an end of the year cap to connect what has been learned throughout the year with the use post classroom.

Tips: The Algebra in the Real World movies are available online or for purchase on DVD.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Algebra in the Real World movies in your classroom!

Google Doodle, Science Fair, Booklet

February 1, 2012Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment3352 views

What it is: Google has all kinds of great resources that many of us use daily in our schools. Every year I look forward to the launch of Google Doodle and wait with anticipation to see what kids from around the US have come up with. This year, I am in a place where we can even try our hands at the Google Science Fair. Very exciting stuff!

Doodle for Google is now open for 2012 submissions! K-12 students can express themselves through the theme “If I could travel in time, I’d visit…” as creatively as possible using Google’s logo as their canvas. The winner gets their image displayed on the Google homepage for a day, $30,000 in college scholarships and a $50,000 technology grant for their school. The winning doodle will also be featured on a special edition Crayola box. Submissions have to be postmarked by March 20th.

The Google Science Fair is open to students age 13-18. Students from around the world compete for over $100,000 in scholarship funds, an expedition to the Galapagos, an experience at CERN, Google and LEGO and an award from Scientific American. Nothing to scoff at!

Google also has a new booklet available called “Google in Education: a New and Open World for Learning“. This is a great resource to see how others are using Google tools in education.

How to integrate Google Doodle and Science Fair into the classroom: Google for Doodle and Google Science Fair are such fun competitions for students to get involved in. Both let students think and express themselves creatively. If you don’t have time to integrate these contests into your regular school day, consider holding an after school club for a few weeks so that students have a place to gather and participate.

I really love looking through the Google Doodles every year. I was thinking that it would be fun to have the students create a doodle with our school name based on our school theme for the year. Yearbook cover? Now that could be fun!

Tips: Share the new Google edu booklet with your colleagues, don’t hog all of those good ideas to yourselves!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Google Doodle and Science Fair in your classroom!

A Plethora of habitat websites and activities

January 19, 2012Kelly Tenkely5 Comments5885 views

This post is going to be formatted a little differently than most are-so fair warning. 🙂 I do a lot of digging for resources and tools for our inquiry block at Anastasis Academy. I thought it might be about time I shared the love here! If you find it useful, I may include some more of these kinds of posts periodically.

Right now our students are learning about how the world works. They are inquiring into animal habitats and needs.

Websites:

Draw a habitat– my favorite from PBS!
Plant and Animal Habitats from BBC has students working with the Sarah Jane Adventures team to complete a habitat interactive activity where students match aliens with the best habitat based on clues about both creature and habitat.
Learn about habitats with this virtual text from BBC.
Create a butterfly habitat by adding and removing plants.
Explore the Deep Sea habitat with this interactive from National Geographic.
Explore the Antarctica habitat with National Geographic’s Critter Cam.
Build an online habitat with Switch Zoo.
Design a Habitat with ARKive education.
The Great Habitat Match with the Magic School Bus Gang.
Walk in the Forest helps students learn about layers of habitats in the forest.
Animal Homes (this is a good one for kindergarten or younger).
Frog habitats– students help a frog find a new home.
e-Learning for kids habitat interactive.

Activities:

Remember cootie catchers? Or fortune tellers? They are easily folded out of a regular 8.5×11″ piece of paper. Students can use cootie catchers to show their knowledge, and quiz each other, about habitats. Ask students to each choose a different habitat to create their cootie catcher about. Each flap can have a different word that describes the habitat (for example: desert might say “dry”, “barren”, “extreme temperatures”, “low vegetation”). The next flap can have a type of animal that lives in that type of habitat. The last flap can include a fact about why that habitat is perfect for the animal. To play with the cootie catcher, one student chooses a word and the other spells the word out while opening and closing the cootie catcher. The first student chooses a new word and the second student spells the word out while manipulating the cootie catcher. On the final turn, the student chooses a flap to be opened to reveal the fact.
Create a complete ecosystem: photosynthesis, rain, decomposition, life cycles http://cranberrycorner.blogspot.com/2010/07/summer-fun-ecosystem-edition.html

There are SO many fun ways to explore habitats and animals…if you have outdoor space at your school, send students outside to explore the habitats they walk right by every day.

Maxwell for Google SketchUp

November 21, 2011November 21, 2011Kelly Tenkely1 Comment4115 views

What it is: If you aren’t familiar with Google SketchUp-you should probably start here and here. SketchUp is an incredibly powerful, FREE 3D modeling software that lets your students create impressive 3D models. Maxwell takes SketchUp to a WHOLE new level. Maxwell for Google SketchUp brings students advanced rendering in an easy-to-use package for free. The best part: Maxwell is fully integrated so that you don’t have to export or use an external application to render an image. Rendering happens in “real-time” so as your students are adjusting their SketchUp models, they can see the changes in Maxwell. Maxwell is compatible with Windows and OSX! With Maxwell students can create materials, set lights and cameras and render 3D scenes. These are incredibly powerful tools…I cannot believe that they are free (I’m a little nervous to say that too loud in case they decide to change their minds!).

How to integrate Maxwell for Google SketchUp into the classroom: Maxwell takes student work in Google SketchUp and polishes it up to a professional level. Truly, the results are akin to what the professionals turn out! The SketchUp/Maxwell combination are wonderful for graphic art classes, math and geometry modeling, advertising lessons, engineering classes, architecture, science models, etc.

Don’t let the impressive results fool you, I’ve had 3rd grade students who made some amazing models using SketchUp. I look forward to introducing them to the Maxwell plugin so that students can see their work come to life in ways that they couldn’t do before.

At Anastasis Academy, we have several students from 2nd through 8th grade who are extremely interested and passionate about architecture. Google SketchUp is where I send them! Students can plan, create and build. Maxwell will allow them to visualize their creations in totally new ways.

I don’t understand why more schools don’t put these types of tools in the hands of students more often. Exposing students to tools like this, gives them the opportunity to explore their passions and interests. The tools are getting easier and easier to use and the number of tutorials is astonishing. You (the teacher) don’t have to know how to use these tools inside and out, your job is to let your students know they exist, and help them find the resources to use them. No excuses!

Tips: Using rendering tools teaches students about materials, light sources, shadows, etc. Use Maxwell to teach students these science concepts!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Maxwell for Google SketchUp in your classroom!

Moglue: Create interactive ebooks and release as apps!

October 26, 2011Kelly Tenkely4 Comments10971 views

What it is: Moglue is an interactive ebook builder that helps students create and share their stories on mobile devices as an app. This download desktop platform makes it a snap for students to create interactive ebooks and release them as apps for iOS devices (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch), Android tablets and Android phones. Students only need to build the content once and Moglue makes it compatible with each user interface seamlessly. No programming is required, this is a great creation platform for all classrooms! Using a simple drag and drop interface, students can make their stories come to life. Every child is enabled to be an artist now.

How to integrate Moglue into the classroom: I think tools that make content creation simple are absolute genius. As much as I would love for every student (and myself) to know how to program, it takes quite a bit of know-how before students can make their stories and ideas come to life. The intuitive interface of tools like Moglue let students focus on breathing life into their creations and not on the technology tools used to build them. Tools like Moglue are wonderful for the classroom where students are often short on time and resources (someone to teach them programming). Because the interface is so easy to use, students can focus on telling a story, releasing their inner artist, and letting their creativity shine.

Students (or classes) can use Moglue to:

Tell a fractured fairy tale
Create a choose your own adventure story
Demonstrate science concepts in an interactive “glossary”
Create a class dictionary of math, science, economics or geography words
Write creatively
Create an interactive “textbook”
Create an illustrated dictionary for a second language
Create an interactive “travel-the-world” geography book

This is a neat way for students to publish their work and share with others!

Tips: The Moglue builder can be downloaded on Mac or Windows computers and has a great tutorial to get your students started!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Moglue in your classroom!

Encyclopedia of Life: podcasts, videos, images, activities

October 10, 2011October 10, 2011Kelly Tenkely2 Comments3191 views

What it is: The Encyclopedia of Life (eol) is a beautiful website that celebrates the biodiversity of life. On the eol website, find podcasts where students can discover the diversity of life five minutes and one species at a time. Students can dig deeper into their learning with extra features like “Meet the Scientist”, “Educational Materials” or “Extras”. The “Extras” include Google Earth tours, videos, audio out-takes, images and contributions from listeners. Podcasts can be subscribed to via RSS or iTunes. The Encyclopedia of Life even provides a podcast guide for educators to use!

Teachers can create customized “Field Guides” on the eol website. These guides are collections of text and images from the eol website to fit your classroom needs.

Students can participate in their very own BioBlitz activities where they are led in observation of biodiversity in their own backyard.

The Tools page has great extra interactives and tools for students to use as they learn about life on earth. Find tools such as a Cool Iris eol plugin, Google Earth Species quizzes and Life Desk where students can create and contribute to eol.

How to integrate Encyclopedia of Life into the classroom: The Encyclopedia of Life is a gorgeous site for students to explore biodiversity. Students can engage with audio, video, images and activities to learn more about life on Earth.

My favorite part of the site is the BioBlitz activities that lead students through discovering biodiversity in their own backyard. These activities teach students to be careful observers, respectful of life and encourage curiosity and discovery. Choose a BioBlitz activity to complete in the school yard with your students. Use the eol site to learn about the different species you find. Students will love the image and audio collections here!

Are you studying a specific species in your class? Create your own classroom field guides. Better yet, put students in charge of this job. Split students into groups, each group can create a field guide to share with the rest of the class based on a species.

Tips: You have to login in order to create field guides on the Encyclopedia of Life. All content can be viewed without a login.

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Encyclopedia of Life in your classroom!

NASA Eyes on the Solar System: 3D interactive solar system

September 28, 2011October 31, 2011Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment3481 views

What it is: It is no secret that I am a big fan of NASA…I may, in fact, be a space nerd. It is all so fascinating, mysterious and beautiful. Whenever I do a space unit with students, I find that I have many kindred spirits. Space seems to have that effect on all kids. Recently I learned about a new 3D interactive solar system that NASA has introduced thanks to @rmbyrne and his ever-full-of-useful-ideas-blog, Free Technology for Teachers. Eyes on the Solar System is a 3D environment students can explore that has actual NASA mission data included inside. Students can ride along with the Juno mission to Jupiter. The Juno mission seeks to understand the origin and evolution of Jupiter and our solar system. In the Explore Juno mission, students will learn more about the science, the spacecraft, and the mission with a 3D interactive. Students can also explore the solar system on their own.

How to integrate Eyes on the Solar System into the classroom: Eyes on the Solar System is a super awesome way for students to explore our solar system. Students can choose to join the Juno mission or explore the universe on their own. This is a GREAT site to share with the whole class on a big screen (projector-connected computer or interactive whiteboard).

With young students, explore the universe together on an interactive whiteboard or projector. Have students prepare for their space mission and do a launch count down as a class. Students can take turns being mission astronauts by interacting with the 3D solar system. Other astronauts can take “official” mission notes and observations at their seats as they wait for their turn as mission first in command.

Eyes on the Solar System makes a great center activity on classroom computers. During a center rotation, students can each explore a planet or feature of our solar system and then report back to Mission Control (the rest of the class) with their findings. Assign (or let students each choose) a different feature to study. When the students come back together as a group, the whole solar system will be represented. I have had students create “baseball cards” of everything from composers to planets. Eyes on the Solar System would be a great place for students to start their exploration and research to gather “stats” about a planet. Students can take a screen shot (on a Mac command+shift +4) of their planet for the front of the card and add the stats to the back of the card using a word processing or publishing program. Print out a class set of each card and let students trade and collect all of the planets (and special features) of the solar system.

Turn student exploration of the solar system into a creative writing project. Students can go through the Juno Mission to Jupiter and write a fictional story from Juno’s point of view. Do you have hesitant writers? What about having students create a graphic novel or comic book about Juno’s adventures through the solar system?

Tips: Be sure to check back to Eyes on the Solar System periodically, new features, tours and news are being added. “Just like the universe, ‘Eyes on the Solar System’ is expanding.” 🙂

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Eyes on the Solar System in your classroom!

Flake Pad: Create geometric, symmetrical shapes

September 12, 2011Kelly Tenkely1 Comment15074 views

What it is: Flake Pad is a very simple little website that lets students create geometric snowflakes using basic shapes and a grid. To make their flake, students choose a shape and click a spot on the grid. Students can add as many or as few shapes as they would like to their flake. When they are done the flake can be viewed off of the grid for a screen shot that can be included in other projects or it can be printed off. I like Flake Pad because it gives students space to be creative and can be used to teach and practice symmetry.

How to integrate Flake Pad into the classroom: Flake Pad is a great little site to help students understand symmetry. Any time students click a space on the grid, the shape is added to multiple points on the grid. Use Flake Pad on an interactive whiteboard or projector-connected computer where students can identify lines of symmetry on the flake that the whole class can see. With the pointer tool on Flake Pad, students can drag the shapes they have created to different points. Have students in the audience describe what happens to the flake as the shapes are moved. Do the lines of symmetry change?

Flake Pad can be used on classroom computers as a center activity. Students can create their own flake, print the flake out and draw the various lines of symmetry with a ruler.

Use Flake Pad during a unit on weather. Students can experiment with creating their own snow flake, print the flake out and use the print out to list characteristics of snow, or snow related vocabulary along any straight lines on their flake.

Tips: Flake Pad works from the Safari browser on an iPad….mostly. The line shape doesn’t work. Students could still create their own flakes, print and add lines with a pencil…further practicing their understanding of symmetry!

Please leave a comment and share how you are using Flake Pad in your classroom!

Make your own iPad Stylus for less than 10 cents!

August 30, 2011August 30, 2011Kelly Tenkely24 Comments16867 views

We had an incredible first week at Anastasis Academy. It was amazing to see all of our hard work come together in the form of a student body. Walking through the classrooms this week it was obvious: this is a place of learning.

One of our first-week of school activities was creating our own iPad stylus. Since we are a one-to-one iPad environment, this seemed like a good beginning for everyone.

We learned that to make a stylus, we first had to find some soft, conductive material. A Google search informed us that we could use conductive foam (the kind that is used to pack electronics), conductive thread, conductive yarn (we thought this would be PERFECT for our pens but couldn’t get any delivered fast enough), or a Scotch Brite sponge. I was a little skeptical of the Scotch Brite (it just seemed TOO easy) but it worked like a champ!

The kids had fun exploring how the yellow, soft part of the sponge would draw on the iPad when they held it in their hands. Some of the kiddos were a little baffled when they put the sponge into the plastic pen body and they found out that it no longer worked. Students added a little wire and soon the pens were working again! It was a great way for all of the kids to experiment with conductors and insulators.

Below are the steps for making your very own $0.10 or less iPad stylus.

*I bought a pack of Scotch Brite sponges, cheap, penny pens from a local office store, and a small roll of craft wire. We made about 50 pens for $6.00!

1. Separate the Scotch Brite sponge from the abrasive green backing. Cut the yellow sponge remaining into small wedges.

2. Take the ink out of some cheap plastic pen casing. Drill a hole near the head of the pen with a small drill bit.

3. Cut 6 inches of wire.

4. Tightly wrap the wire around the small end of the sponge wedge.

5. Thread the sponge through the head of the pen (our pen head separated from the pen body).

6. Bend the end of the wire farthest from the sponge into a 90* angle. Thread this into the pen body and through the pre-drilled hole.

7. Pull the wire through the drilled hole and wrap it several times around the pen body.

8. Cut the exposed end of the sponge into desired pen-nub shape.

9. To use the pen, make sure that your hand is touching the wire at some point. Draw or write with your stylus!

The kids loved making their own stylus. There was a lot of talk about perseverance (when we tried to thread the wire through the small drilled hole), conductivity and exclamations of “I did it!”.

It was a wonderful exercise in frustration and success. Every student was proud of their finished product that actually worked! Students learned about conductivity, perseverance, insulation, and building with every-day materials.

One of our students, Benton, made a short stop motion animation with his pen…you can see it below:

Now for our next trick- working with @ianchia to figure out how we can construct conductive manipulatives that work with the iPad. Should be fun!

Make your own QR Code Scavenger Hunt!

August 22, 2011Kelly Tenkely35 Comments33657 views

Today was the first day of school. Ever. It was pretty epic. Since the students didn’t know where things were located in the building yet, I thought we would have some fun locating them with a QR code scavenger hunt. It was SO easy to do, I thought I would share the process here.

1. First I made a new website where each page of the website contained a clue. I made my site with Weebly.com because it is SO easy to use. I made the entire site in under 10 minutes.

2. Next I used goo.gl URL shortener to shorten the URL of each webpage and generate a QR code. Just copy and paste the long Weebly URL into the goo.gl shortener and voila. A short Googlefied (that is a technical term) URL. Click on “Details” next to the shortened URL to view your QR code. I just dragged and dropped these QR codes into a Pages document so that they were all in one place for easy printing/copying.

3. Print out QR code sheet and make enough copies for each classroom. Because we have a 10-1 student-teacher ratio, I made up 10 clues to find. Each student was in charge of one clue. I cut up the QR code sheet so that each student had a little QR code clue card.

4. Set students out on their mission. Each student takes a turn using the Scan app to uncover the clue. They read the clue out loud to their group and brainstorm what the answer could be. When they thought they had the answer, they went to that place and took a picture of it using the camera app. For example, one of our clues was: “The Grub Hub”, students went down to the kitchen and took a picture.

5. When all pictures have been collected, students gather and add up the points they won.

*Below is my example of the QR code and website they were connected to.

This was a really easy activity to prepare for from a teacher perspective. The impact was huge with the students. They had a great time with this!

We used this hunt as a way for students to familiarize themselves with the layout of the new school but it would also be a great activity for a math scavenger hunt “Find an item that represents three times four”, or colors in art “This is the color you get when you mix yellow and blue”, or literature “find an object that represents this character in our novel”. The list could go on and on if you use your imagination! The QR codes are so easy to generate, students could use these for almost anything!