Author Archive: Tim
Some practical and fun science experiments
In Home Experiments from scifun.org, science, and a bit of magic, work together to create some fascinating learning opportunities.
Investigate the science behind floating soap bubbles, explore acids & alkalis with red cabbage, do some wizardry using Bernoulli’s Principle, or bend water using static.
Each experiment is set out in a very clear way, including a list of necessary equipment (most of which can be found easily), some safety tips, and a look at the science principles behind what happens, and why.
Peanut Gallery Films ~ Inter Titles come alive
In old, black and white, films intertitles were used to convey some ikmportant elements of the film’s message to the audience. Text, which appeared in the middle of a filmed scene, would share a character’s dialogue, or describe something about the plot, to keep the film goers up to speed.
Peanut Gallery is a Chrome Experiment that lets you add intertitles to old film clips using your voice, then share those clips with your friends. It uses your computer’s microphone and the Web Speech API in Google Chrome to turn speech into text.
In old cinemas, the Peanut Gallery was a place of great mirth, and rumbustious merriment. What other excuse do you need to go and get storytelling in a fascinating way?
Danetree Junior School, Surrey
A full on day at Danetree Junior School, a four form entry junior school, situated in Epsom and Ewell, and the first junior school in the borough to become an Academy, as part of its partnership with Glyn School. A morning with 60 Y5/Y6 pupils and their teachers, then an afternoon with 60 Y3/Y4 pupils and their teachers, followed by a whole school twilight with pizza half-way through! Continue Reading
Soundslice ~ Visual Tablature
If you, or your students, are learning guitar tabs, Sound Slice gives the chance to watch, listen, rehearse, and play in a clever way.Tabs have never sounded so good.
Sound Slice lets you sync tabs with video so you can see (and hear!) them in real time. Try “100 Riffs~ A Brief History of Rock n Roll“, or strum along with Django, in “I’ll See You In My Dreams”.
You can even slow the whole process down, to give you a chance of keeping up!
EdHeads
Edheads is an online educational resource that provides free science and maths games and activities that promote critical thinking. Choose from Simple Machines, predicting the weather, or even take on the role of a surgeon throughout a total knee replacement surgery! Analytical thinking, problem solving, and some interesting learning.
Perhaps start by Designing A Cell Phone. In this challenge, you get to think about key elements when designing for a specific audience, in this case senior citizens? Engineers have to understand the implications of designing products and systems for people that are not identical to themselves. This offers the chance to plan, test, analyse, and review thinking, and design, processes.
A soft sound board
With this sound board you could create a calming sonic atmosphere within your classroom. Mix the relative levels, and panned position, of different sounds, from a choice of birdsong, bonfire, creek, crickets, gulls, ocean, rain, thunder, and wind chime sound effects, & music. Sound!
Gewoon Speciaal ~ What a day!
Two months ago we were invited to go to the IPON conference for ‘Gewoon Speciaal’ Simply Special, that happened on Wednesday April 10th. Nothing special for so far, you might think, but because my students (with special educational needs) in coordination with the Social Media Circle, ICT&E, some of them could go with me to make it really special.
At the first meeting we heard about your participation, so I warmed up my kids and began to think about our interpretation for the day.
Four of my enthusiastic pupils came up with the idea to make an Animoto. We had worked with it in the Social Media Circle, so that could be a good way to present.
Four kids, from my colleague Erik Lagraauw’s class, could come to the convention. In the Circle, his students worked with video camera and interviewing, so that would be their involvement. Continue Reading
Stich.it ~ Gathering elements together in a flowing slideshow
Stich.it is a service that lets you “stich” almost anything together on the Internet. Quickly create a slideshow-like experience that can include Web pages, video, music, photos and more.
There is no limit to the number of elements you can “stich” together, and you end up with a single, short, URL which contains all of the things you have gathered. (Go careful as you can’t edit afterwards, yet).
Try this Stich on the basics of Stiching, or this one on drawing comics, or make one of your own.
The word “stich” means a line of poetry, & that’s a good metaphor for what they are trying to achieve. Poetry in motion
Project Noah
Project Noah is a tool to explore and document wildlife. It was created to provide people of all ages with a simple, easy-to-use way to share their experiences with nature. You, & your, students can investigate, & contribute to, Project Noah missions.
Once you’re registered as a teacher, you can create a new place-based mission for your students: a challenge to document the world around them, and understand the importance of biodiversity, as well. We’d love to Noah-bout what you discover.
Battle Abbey School, Battle, East Sussex ~ ‘Challenge-based Learning & ICT’
Wow! For folk who spend their lives wandering in virtual worlds, in some stunning landscapes, and settings, around the world, it is with great delight that we head to Battle, in East Sussex, and Battle Abbey School.
The school is set within the English Heritage site of Battle Abbey itself. What a fabulous setting for a school. And what a lovely school to spend time wandering in the world of wonders, and helping to extend, even further, the great thinks they do with their students, combining their glorious analog setting, and some digital wizardry. Continue Reading
Invitation to World Literature
Invitation to World Literature is a multimedia series introducing drama, epic poetry, and novels from many times and cultures. Thirteen half-hour videos form the centerpiece of the project, and feature a mix of writers, scholars, artists, and performers with personal connections to world literature, from Philip Glass to Alan Cumming, Wole Soyinka to Kristin Chenoweth.
With thirteen texts, rom The Odyssey, from the eighth century BC, to The God of Small Things, by Arundhati Roy, in 1998, and including such things as the classic Things Fall Apart by the recently departed Chinua Achebe, this a fascinating collection of resources.
As well as our events, we like to share interesting, and more often than not, FREE tools, resources and ideas, some old, some new, and we hope you might find something useful. We'd love your thoughts. Tim & Sarah
