Thing17

       I looked at a lot of drawing tools since I have to make a lot of diagrams for physics.  I found one called Sketchfu that is fun because it makes a movie out of the drawing showing it as it progresses.  I  made a  sample which I have included here.  I could use this for demonstrating problems and I could include the progression of the equations as the problem is worked out.  This was fun to do and I will probably use it in class.




Learn how to draw cartoons, comics, and anime at Sketchfu!


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itunes and podcasting

I have used itunes on my ipod for a while now so it  was not a problem.  The itunes store had a lot of podcasts that I would like to listen to.  I subscribed to some NPR podcasts and to one from the Onion.  I could see using podcasts in class when there is a science in the news event.  I probably would not use ipadio or my own podcasts because it would be easier to make instructions or hints using other webtools because I could include images.  I made a short podcast about my vacation in England.

SlideShare

I was excited to find a SlideShare by Chad Orzel who wrote "How to Teach Physics to Your Dog".  I bought this book in June at University of Washington while visiting my daughter and it is a very interesting book.  I also found a lot of astronomy SlideShares that are pretty good.  This seems a lot like a power point presentation so I will have to see what the differences are.  I guess that it is just "shared".

What Every Dog Should Know About Quantum Physics

View more presentations from Chad Orzel

Screenr

I chose to make a screencast describing an APOD (astronomy picture of the day) picture of the Helix Nebula. This technique would work well for lots of astronomy terms.  It would help to have visual input when describing specific phenomena.  I could also use it to work out a physics problem step by step with explanations along the way.  Here is my first venture:

Wikispaces and Voicethreads

     Wikispaces might be useful in several ways.  I could post topics about physics or astronomy in the news and have students comment on them.  I could ask students to post articles or links to articles that they have found about science in the news.  I could post a picture or video from NASA's APOD and have students comment.
I could post a problem and have students post about how to solve it. I could post review questions or practice quizzes.
     Voicethreads could also be used for posting problems or science in the news articles.  There are more ways of commenting than in Wikispaces.  It might be good for students who have a hard time writing their thoughts to be able to just speak their comments.  It would be a type of differentiation for these students. Many of the websites and webtools that we have been exploring can be used for the same purposes,  It is just a question of which one would be most convenient for the specific purpose at hand.    

Animoto

      I made a little video of our vacation in Great Britain.  We first went to Northern Wales, then spent a week in the Cotswolds and then a couple of days in London. The weather was wonderful - sunny and cool.
      For classroom use, I could post little mini-lessons or problem-solving hints on Animoto.  I could make a demo video of a lab for students who are absent on lab day,  They would then be able to see what the experiment entailed and get data.  I could also use it to publicize the musical by taping a section of a song in rehearsal and putting it up on the website.

CreativeCommons.com

I was surprised to find that my son Conor was already using this site to publish some of his music.  It allows him to share  his music while still retaining ownership of his intellectual property without having to go to a lawyer.  I was interested in the educational and science sites ( MITOPENCOURSEWARE,  Connexions, Curriki, CK-12 Foundation, Public Library of Science, Science 3.0, PLoS Blogs, etc.)  I can use these as research sites for myself and my students.  I also was thinking about taking textbook modules and modifying them for my own particular use.  This would be helpful when I want to put a unit together that isn't in my text.  It also would be good for creating a module of appropriate reading level for students that have difficulty reading the regular text (differentiated learning).

Updating my Blog

In order to update my blog, I added a slide show of pictures from GHS's spring musical, Les Miserables.  I also added a welcome message and a list of recent and upcoming musicals that I am working on.  I also changed the "about me" section.  I really don't like to write about myself - it all seems so lame.  It is much easier to talk about physics or astronomy or musicals!  By the way, Donna Lounsberry took these beautiful photos for us.

Flickr

I am excited about using Flickr.  I have wanted a way to share pictures from the musicals and in class pictures .  I could also use pictures for labs in physics and astronomy.  I could take a time lapse photo of a trajectory and have students analyze horizontal and vertical motion or I could use a set of photos of the position of the Sun at different times during the year.  If anyone would like to see photos of last year's show ( Les Mis ), check out my flickr account.  My flickr user name is LOB1122.  Click here to go there.

Google Reader

I like Google Reader - it makes it easier to follow the blogs I have subscribed to.  I won't have to navigate around to check up on new science news.  I found a blog on what's happening on Broadway so I can keep up with theater news also. Anything I can connect directly to my home page is more likely to be read.  I do want to check out how to put my delicious sites on the homepage so I won't lose all of them. There are sites about activities and labs I could use as well as teacher blogs I can follow.

Twittering

I did not like the premise of twittering b/c I don't want to know what someone is doing all the time.  I also don't think that anyone wants to follow what I am doing.  However, I did find some good science twitter sites and Stephen Colbert has a very funny site.  I even found out that my son Conor has a site.  I'll follow some of these sites and see which ones will be relevant to my classes and/or interests. In general, I like websites with more complete coverage of science topics like some of the ones I have already found in previous lessons.

Google Docs

I found Google Doc to be easy to use and very helpful to me personally already.  My biggest problem with this class has been trying to remember my usernames and passwords for the various sites.  My daughter Betsy suggested that I make a spreadsheet with all the websites and usermames and passwords on it.  I did this on Google Doc and shared it with my husband so when I forget my passwords I have someplace to check.  In the past I have tried writing them down, but I always lose the paper.  I also think that this will be useful when we are writing a test or worksheet for a class like conceptual physics,  The teachers can work on it it together without all the emailing back and forth.  Students could use it for writing joint lab reports and for joint projects.  I could make a spreadsheet like the one Bob made for my students about their interests (family members, sports they play, musical instruments they play, jobs, etc) so I could get to know them at the beginning of the year. I am sure I will use this a lot next year.  Thanks, Bob!

My Delicious

I had never heard of this before but I liked it a lot.   I found several lab sites for physics and astronomy.  (One of the sites  has video labs that I hope Grant can help me figure out.).  I am excited to have new labs to try in class. I also found some sites to keep me updated on what is new in science.  I like to be able to talk to the kids about new discoveries and they are happening all the time, especially in astronomy and astrophysics.  My Delicious username is lob11.

Stars

I used this video in astronomy last year ( I think Bob sent it to me).  The students liked it because they did not realize that our Sun is a relatively small star. At the end, the video shows a Type Ia supernova where a white dwarf is pulling mass off of a larger binary companion.  When the mass of the white dwarf increases to a mass greater than the Chandrasekhar limit (1.4 solar masses) the star goes supernova because its gravitational pressure overcomes the outward electron degeneracy pressure.

I am following the blogs of Liz Barnes, Chris Luzio, and Grant Godar because we are all science teachers and their subjects overlap mine.  I am also following Steve Jones' blog because I like music and he finds some interesting things on the internet.

Devils Tower Time Lapse

After my daughter's graduation last Friday, we packed up her apartment, sent some of it home on Amtrak, put the rest of it in the car and headed home. It was a beautiful trip through Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, Iowa and Missouri to Illinois. We saw some spectacular rainbows driving through the mountains and stopped to see Devil's Tower and Mt. Rushmore. Here is a link to a time lapse video of Devil's Tower.

LOB's First Blog

Hello.  Not only is this my first blog, but the only one I have ever read is my son's..  I am currently in Seattle helping my daughter pack up her apartment after finishing her MA in museology (which is NOT to do with music - it is about museum administration). Seattle is a beautiful city with much milder weather than at home. There are all sorts of flowers here that I have never seen back in the Midwest.

 I am a high school physics and astronomy teacher.  I also direct the school musicals as well as local community theater shows.

a scene from Muni's 2006 production of Aida

I love music, theater, reading, and science.  My favorite website is NASA's APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day).

I do not spend a lot of time online but hope to explore new aspects of the internet this summer.