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.