Always popular Sun song projects
The Sun song project inspires both elation, and terror. Some choose to do the project as a song, a rap, or a spoken/slam poem. Here is our first live entry
A spoken word poem about the Sun
I really like to allow for student creativity when I consider my projects. Below are a few of the submissions. I ask students to create a song, slam, or spoken word poem about the Sun, and perform it live. This has been one of the more popular projects in the class. Martin was the first up, and here is his project. He did a great job! I'll have him repeat his performance and I'll post a better quality copy in a few weeks, but I wanted to share this with everyone today.
Slam Poem about our nearest star
CC and Lil were too shy to go on camera, but Paige was happy to perform the reading. It's a great example of a slam poem, at least by my standards, and like all things, there may be a few errors along the way, but we learn from them
An updated version to TPSVote, and the source code for you to modify
A new, more updated look to my 2010 color voter card app is available on the Play store. It works the same as the older version, but looks a bit nicer. I would have simply replaced the older version, but I changed compilers, and lost some info needed for the upload, and was unable to do so. Both versions are there, and they're free.
If you don't know how it works, watch the video on the Play store. And if you are still using i(fill in the blank) you can use those devices in the same way by finding a flashlight app with multi-colored screens, or upload a multi-colored image, and have your students zoom in on their choice. Either way, you'll find this method incredibly effective in increasing student engagement in your class.
I use TPSVote (Think, Pair, Share, Vote) instead of clickers. The main reasons are that it's quick, free, and I am not looking to collect long term data. Clickers are expensive, and I have yet to see anyone in K-12 use them as a tool for long term study anyway, so why add the expense. There's no reason to waste the time passing clickers out, dealing with tech/battery issues, and then collecting them. Your kids already have a phone, it's probably turned on, and within reach. Take advantage of it, and teach them that it's a great learning tool. For the students without a smartphone, or ones with dead batteries, be sure they get color cards. In fact, issue all students the old printout folded versions at the beginning of the year. For the iDevices, I have the colors in front of the classroom as a reference.
If you want to customize this app, it's easier than ever. I posted the source code to MIT's Appinventor gallery. You can download, and tweek the app to fit your needs. Some of the things I've added was to connect the choices to an SMS number so that when the votes were cast, a graph would appear using Polleverywhere, or V5V5. Play around with it, and try out Appinventor.org, I think you'll find very user friendly. And if you have a tough time, ask a student
I use TPSVote (Think, Pair, Share, Vote) instead of clickers. The main reasons are that it's quick, free, and I am not looking to collect long term data. Clickers are expensive, and I have yet to see anyone in K-12 use them as a tool for long term study anyway, so why add the expense. There's no reason to waste the time passing clickers out, dealing with tech/battery issues, and then collecting them. Your kids already have a phone, it's probably turned on, and within reach. Take advantage of it, and teach them that it's a great learning tool. For the students without a smartphone, or ones with dead batteries, be sure they get color cards. In fact, issue all students the old printout folded versions at the beginning of the year. For the iDevices, I have the colors in front of the classroom as a reference.
Cheap optics demo kit
The majority of the items are simple to find, and fairly inexpensive. These are the two basic requirements of most teachers out there. I was able to do this for around $35. The biggest trick was to find a way to show the path of light. I don't have a chalk board, so I don't have chalk dust. I teach in a planetarium anyway, and the dust can cloud up my projector over time, it also may cause a problem if allergies are a concern. In the days of yore, it was easy enough to light a cigar, and blow smoke out to show the light path, but we all know how well that would go over today.
E-cigarettes seemed to offer a solution. It is simply a refillable tube of vegetable glycerin that is heated by a rechargeable battery. It' essentially a very small fog machine. It has no nicotine, with a slightly sweet smell, and lots of vapor that dissipates quickly.
It would be easy enough to simply puff the e-cig to get the result, but you never know what to expect from parents. With that in mind, I had to find a way to to produce the vapor, without promoting smoking. The cheapest way I figured, was to use a siphon pump that you can pick up at Harbor Freight for $3. A camera lens cleaning bulb would be better since the seals were designed for air, but the fluid pump works well enough. The e-cig fits snugly in the tubing, and makes an airtight seal. After a few squeezes, you get pretty good vapor flow.
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| The 3 laser pointers were $12 and the lenses were $17 on ebay. The bulb was $3, and the e-cig was donated |
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| The laser pointers fit into the 2x4 with 9/16 inch holes. I adding a small notch, which depresses the switches when the pointers are inserted |
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| The beams become clear when using the fogger |
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| Simple set-up |
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| The way the lenses work becomes clearly visible, providing a "neon light" effect. Lots of "Ooohs" and "Ahhs" |
Cycling trip from Pittsburgh to Washington DC
The following interactive map represents day 1 of a 5 day bicycling trip from Pittsburgh to Washington DC. I will add to the map over time, in order to give a complete layout of the trip
View Larger Map
View Larger Map
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