Local Nature Resources

Hello All,

When my kids were much younger I enjoyed taking them to parks, state parks, and nature centers. I had the peaceful outdoor time I craved and they had vast areas to explore and run around.  As a science teacher, I have found state parks and nature centers to be a wonderful resource for pamphlets, guides, workshops and a valuable connection to other government resources.  Recently, I was able to score some guides on common forest trees in our state and pamphlets referencing invasive species in our area.  There were a few books available for review and purchase showcasing regional wildlife.  If your school is strapped for providing resources, it may be time to look for some low cost and no cost alternatives and training other places.  Great local places to check are nature centers, state park offices, museums, departments of natural resources/environmental protection/agriculture, and university extension programs.

Cheers to appreciating nature locally,

Mrs. A

Free Introduction to Web 2.0 Tools Mini E-course

Hello All,

Powerful Learning Practice is a site geared more toward paid for professional development.  There is an Intro to Web 2.0 Tools mini-course offered for free through the site.  The learner receives an email each day for two weeks highlighting a different Web 2.0 tool.  The mini-course introduces blogging, wikis, social bookmarking, Twitter, Ning, videos and so much more.  The course content is easy to follow and relevant. At the end, the learner receives a nifty badge like the one to the right to add to a site, blog, or other space determined to be worthy and of course to advertise for PLP. By no means do I consider myself a Web 2.0 Tools Master, I did gather some new ideas and resources during the journey.  In the store there are also two free resources under Free Stuff, the Connected Educator Starter Kit and the Connected Teacher: Powering Up. 

Happy exploring,

Mrs. A

It's All Elemental My Dear...

Hello All,

I absolutely love the setup of the Ptable, interactive periodic table.  My only complaint as an educator is that it references Wikipedia for in depth descriptions of each element.  There are many other positive notable uses for the site such as the properties tab for melting points and boiling points or checking electron configuration answers under the orbitals tab.

The Visual Elements Periodic Table is an interactive periodic table providing many of the features of the Ptable along with interesting short Podcasts about each element and short video clips of each element.  There is also an alchemy tab.  This could be a nice addition to a 'golden' penny lab, where students turn copper into 'gold'.  My preference is for a procedure that avoids NaOH. 

Here is something unique and fun, The Periodic Table of Comic Books.  Simply click on an element to find corresponding comic book pages.  Not all elements will have a referenced comic book page.  There is also The Photographic Periodic Table of Elements offering many photographs of each element or use of each element along with basic property information.

All of this online periodic table viewing leaves me wanting more.  I may have to spend the evening reading the book The Disappearing Spoon by Sam Kean.  I can’t wait to take in all the different ways the periodic table and its elements have been interwoven throughout history, good and bad.  It's been pointed out it is a great read, though it may contain a few scientific errors.

Enjoy the beauty of the periodic table,

Mrs. A

PhET Sims

Hello All, 

I imagine the PhET website has been reviewed ad nauseam.  I have been waiting for some time to share my enthusiasm over this resource.  PhET offers various interactive science simulations.  My interest there has primarily been chemistry; the other branches of science are well represented along with math.  One can search the simulations by subject and grade level.  Once a simulation has been selected a list of lesson ideas can be found below the simulation.  There are options for running the simulations either directly using the website or downloading to another device.  Under the teacher tab, educators have access to past workshop materials regarding how to integrate the simulations into teaching. Another exciting feature of this site is the materials can be translated using the PhET Translation Utility for another possible way to reach students where language is a potential barrier. The only down side I see here is that the simulations do not work with or do not work well with Ipad, Android, or tablets.  Most of the simulations require the use of a keyboard and/or mouse.  See the embedded Salts and Solubility simulation below if you are curious to see a sample of what the site has to offer.

Enjoy playing,

Mrs. A

Click to Run

Fun with Strawberries

Hello All,

Strawberries are in season and it is time for some summer fun!  There are many great resources online for strawberry DNA extraction.  Strawberries are easy to work with and offer plentiful DNA yields.  Students’ having a visible model to work with makes it easier to introduce certain genetic concepts.  I recommend Science Buddies: Do-it-Yourself DNA.  The setup is friendly to those that have more of a kitchen chemistry setting in their classroom.  Science Buddies is also a great site for science fair project reference and ideas. 

If you prefer a site with a thorough lesson plan written out to span 7^th-12^th grade, view the ucbiotech.org education resource Strawberry DNA Extraction.  It contains references to the National Education Science Standards from 1996.  Steve Spangler Science also offers a procedure video with access to the written online experiment, Strawberry DNA – Food Science.  The Steve Spangler Science site is an outstanding resource for the science classroom when searching for hands-on activities.

From here, you may want to search for DNA extraction explanation videos.  It may be interesting to experiment with other fruits or vegetables such as onion, banana, or kiwi.  This may also be a good time for students to isolate their own DNA from cheek cells or other skin cells.  In the summer, I'm partial to strawberries.

Happy extracting,

Mrs. A

Rader's Physics for Kids

Hello All,

There is a terrific site called Rader’s Physics for Kids.   Many physics concepts are introduced here without relying heavily on mathematics.  While the site name states for kids, it proves to be of value for secondary students who need to review or need clarification on material being learned.  Major concepts covered include motion and mechanics, electricity and magnetism, heat and thermodynamics, light and optics, and modern physics (nuclear, quantum, etc.).  Rader’s Physics for Kids also offers a number of quizzes for students to self-check for understanding.  The site relies heavily on text; reading comprehension may be a challenge for some students.  The content ranks mostly between a 7th to 10th grade level according to Readability-Score.com.

Andrew Rader with the help of volunteers created Rader’s Physics for Kids along with many sites including Chem4Kids, Biology4Kids, Geography4Kids (Earth science), Cosmos4Kids, and NumberNut.com.  All of these science sites and the math site can be found at Kapili.com.  The sites have received various recognitions since 1997.

Happy exploring,

Mrs. A

Lab Safety Training

Hello all,

The Laboratory Safety Institute (LSI) and BioRAFT are offering a free lab safety webinar on June 25 from 1-2PM EDT with James Kaufmann, PhD presenting.  View the link for more information on topics to be covered.

The use of Flinn Safety Contracts and tests are popular in school districts around this area.  Flinn offers free online high school and middle school laboratory safety courses with a certificate option.  The site includes other safety related courses and PD opportunities as well.

Stay safe!

Mrs. A

Earthquake Blogging

Hello all,

I’ve been in search of two blogs relevant to my unit topic for class, earthquakes. I discovered the Pacific Northwest Seismic Network (PNSN) and the Seismo Blog out of the University of California Berkley Seismological Laboratory. The PNSN blog focuses mostly on the Washington and Oregon areas.  A January post shows seismographs pickup on more than ground vibrations from earthquakes, such as sonic booms from bolides entering the atmosphere. It’s fun to click on the seismograms link and view the station clusters and activity. I truly enjoyed the variety of earthquake information available on the Seismo blog. The site offers current news stories, information on recent earthquakes, and content on earthquake predictions and warning worldwide. 

Happy viewing,

Mrs. A