I'm finishing up my presentation on physics in football and have come across a few interesting links that I thought might be nice to share.
The Naked Scientists - A large collection of podcasts, videos, and kitchen experiments that demonstrate many different scientific principles. They're put together by "media-savvy" scientists and researchers from Cambridge University. Personally, I got a kick out of the "Science Experiments from the Sporran" series, but the innuendo would be best left to more mature audiences. One experiment I quite liked was how to use buttered bread and a microwave to measure the speed of light. Overall, the site is quite well-produced and has (generally) safe and accessible experiments.
Phun and Algodoo - Both are 2D physics simulators for computers developed as side projects by a student of Umea University. The first is the more simple of the two and focuses on mechanics while the second includes more functions for fluids and the addition of light/lenses. Algodoo is also oriented toward teaching physics to students and has been optimized for Intel's classmate PC and supposedly works well with the SMART board that is in each YHS classroom. I haven't tried Algodoo yet, but Phun was extremely addictive even if the interface wasn't as intuitive as one could have hoped. It may work well as a computer lab for physics students, though I imagine one would have to assume that the students would play around with it quite a bit.
Showing posts with label resources. Show all posts
Showing posts with label resources. Show all posts
2010-03-01
2009-12-02
Uncanny Valley
I have a love/hate relationship with Wolfram. For example, Wolfram Alpha is a wonderful resource for online calculations, but it's coupled with a very restrictive user agreement. Likewise, Mathematica has tremendous functionality, but I always hated its notation. Well, I now have a reason to both be afraid of Wolfram, and be scared for the future of high school homework. I present to you, dear reader,
Step-by-Step Math
The short of it? Wolfram Alpha can now solve most equations that have analytic solutions and can provide you with the proper steps to arrive at the solution. Oh woe!
Step-by-Step Math
The short of it? Wolfram Alpha can now solve most equations that have analytic solutions and can provide you with the proper steps to arrive at the solution. Oh woe!
2009-11-19
Miscellany
A few brief notes:
After receiving some complaints of the comment system not working, I've changed the settings to allow anyone to comment. If problems persist, please contact me and I'll see what I can do.
The hip new thing on the internet these days is Google Wave. I've been playing around with it and I think it may be a useful place to discuss class specific topics. For example, I've created a "wave" with the word problem I plan to do this Friday. If you'd like access (even if it isn't necessarily for the TF program), I have several invites remaining, send me an email and I'll set you up.
After receiving some complaints of the comment system not working, I've changed the settings to allow anyone to comment. If problems persist, please contact me and I'll see what I can do.
The hip new thing on the internet these days is Google Wave. I've been playing around with it and I think it may be a useful place to discuss class specific topics. For example, I've created a "wave" with the word problem I plan to do this Friday. If you'd like access (even if it isn't necessarily for the TF program), I have several invites remaining, send me an email and I'll set you up.
2009-11-12
A gRAPh
I saw this site about a year ago, but forgot about it until now. Maybe half of the graphs are appropriate for a high school setting, but they might be a neat way of explaining how to interpret visual data. It doesn't hurt that many of them are pretty hilarious.
rap represented in mathematical graphs and charts
rap represented in mathematical graphs and charts
2009-11-06
Sixty Symbols
While looking for videos of Chladni plates for my presentation on sound, I came across a site with a lot of well produced videos on common physics topics. Called Sixty Symbols, it is a series from the University of Nottingham physics department. Most run from 7-9 minutes long and usually feature a demonstration of some sort. Like the PheT site, some of the videos are better than others and a few of the professors they talk to seem ill-prepared. Other videos are much more intriguing, my favorite so far is the one on Schrodinger's Cat. The level of the talks seem a tad high for my 9th graders, but may fit well in a science class.
Sound Principles
Today I gave my first large presentation to my two classes. On an earlier occasion I did a short talk on the LCROSS mission and had the class do basic calculations. That didn’t go over so well because I think many of them don’t share quite the same enthusiasm for space as I do. A few weeks ago I handed out a small piece of paper asking the students to write down a topic that they’d like me to talk about. I left the field open to any subject as I didn’t anticipate having any trouble finding math in even the most obscure suggestions. One of the most frequent suggestions was music; though many simply wrote ‘rap’, there were others that mentioned music, and how to build instruments. I decided that a presentation that covered the basic principles of sound and how it can be described mathematically would be the best place to start.
I used a few principles to guide how I put together the material. I decided on two “acts” in the talk. The first was rather basic and tried to imbue a qualitative understanding of the necessary principles. The second act used those principles as a foundation for real world topics that are difficult to analyze without an advanced degree, but would hopefully be understood intuitively. I also tried a form of multimedia blitzkrieg; almost every slide had a visual and audio component with several short videos near the end. It was my hope that this would keep the students’ attention much better than a straightforward, dry lecture.
My talk began with a discussion of what exactly sound waves are and some of their properties. I made a conscious effort to avoid words like transverse and longitudinal, but instead demonstrated the concept using a Slinky. By hooking my laptop up to the overhead speakers, I then played back various sine waves and combinations thereof. I did my best to show them how sines could be manipulated in much the same way as regular numbers. I mentioned how the simple ideas behind superposition could be used for tuning instruments or for noise-cancelling headphones. These examples helped a fair amount in grabbing the attention of the students. I ended this first act with mentioning how combining a sufficient number of sine waves could added in such a way as to make any sound imaginable. This was a natural precursor to drum machines and electronic music which in turn led to music in general.
In the application portion of my talk, I went over many subjects. The first one was on turntablism. Here I used a microscopic view of record grooves to explain why scratching sounds like it does. I also used a video of an oscilloscope output to show how music is really just a collection of sine waves. My next target was how to use speaker response curves to select a good speaker. This slide did not go as smoothly as the turntablism one, probably because I did a poor job of discussing why a flat response curve is a good one and many found the topic as an excuse to discuss what speakers systems they wanted for cars. I also used a slow motion video of guitar strings vibrating to discuss how stringed instruments make noise and why many of them have large resonant bodies. I wrapped up the discussion with a slightly tangential video, but one that the students really enjoyed. I chose the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows bridge as an example of waves gone wrong. Like the resonation in a guitar body, I showed them how the bridge resonantly reacted to the winds.
Overall, the talk went very well. While there were a number of kids that got distracted, talked out of turn, or passed notes, many seemed genuinely interested. The best part of my day was when several told me how interesting the presentation was at the end of class. One student who is usually hostile and taciturn was very engaged by the talk, listened to me and volunteered answers. I was nonplussed. My only regret is not having a more interactive presentation; I’ve been meaning to make an ultra toriton for a long time and it would’ve been a perfect accompaniment to the talk. I’m planning to do my next talk on football which will likely be a bit more challenging to put together, but I’m hopeful. In the mean time, anyone who would like to look at my slides, can be download them here (careful it’s nearly 20 MB).
I used a few principles to guide how I put together the material. I decided on two “acts” in the talk. The first was rather basic and tried to imbue a qualitative understanding of the necessary principles. The second act used those principles as a foundation for real world topics that are difficult to analyze without an advanced degree, but would hopefully be understood intuitively. I also tried a form of multimedia blitzkrieg; almost every slide had a visual and audio component with several short videos near the end. It was my hope that this would keep the students’ attention much better than a straightforward, dry lecture.
My talk began with a discussion of what exactly sound waves are and some of their properties. I made a conscious effort to avoid words like transverse and longitudinal, but instead demonstrated the concept using a Slinky. By hooking my laptop up to the overhead speakers, I then played back various sine waves and combinations thereof. I did my best to show them how sines could be manipulated in much the same way as regular numbers. I mentioned how the simple ideas behind superposition could be used for tuning instruments or for noise-cancelling headphones. These examples helped a fair amount in grabbing the attention of the students. I ended this first act with mentioning how combining a sufficient number of sine waves could added in such a way as to make any sound imaginable. This was a natural precursor to drum machines and electronic music which in turn led to music in general.
In the application portion of my talk, I went over many subjects. The first one was on turntablism. Here I used a microscopic view of record grooves to explain why scratching sounds like it does. I also used a video of an oscilloscope output to show how music is really just a collection of sine waves. My next target was how to use speaker response curves to select a good speaker. This slide did not go as smoothly as the turntablism one, probably because I did a poor job of discussing why a flat response curve is a good one and many found the topic as an excuse to discuss what speakers systems they wanted for cars. I also used a slow motion video of guitar strings vibrating to discuss how stringed instruments make noise and why many of them have large resonant bodies. I wrapped up the discussion with a slightly tangential video, but one that the students really enjoyed. I chose the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows bridge as an example of waves gone wrong. Like the resonation in a guitar body, I showed them how the bridge resonantly reacted to the winds.
Overall, the talk went very well. While there were a number of kids that got distracted, talked out of turn, or passed notes, many seemed genuinely interested. The best part of my day was when several told me how interesting the presentation was at the end of class. One student who is usually hostile and taciturn was very engaged by the talk, listened to me and volunteered answers. I was nonplussed. My only regret is not having a more interactive presentation; I’ve been meaning to make an ultra toriton for a long time and it would’ve been a perfect accompaniment to the talk. I’m planning to do my next talk on football which will likely be a bit more challenging to put together, but I’m hopeful. In the mean time, anyone who would like to look at my slides, can be download them here (careful it’s nearly 20 MB).
2009-10-27
John Travoltage
I'm in the process of putting together a presentation on sound and music. While searching for some good interactive examples of waves, I found this website hosted by the University of Colorado - Boulder. They host a large number of java simulations for common phenomena (including math, physics, chemistry, biology) and they're all free. The quality varies greatly between applets, but some of them are really clever and make for great visualization. Just try out the My Solar System and you'll see what I mean. I may try to work the sound wave one into my presentation, or take the students to the computer lab to use a few of the applets together.
2009-09-25
First Class
I forgot how much of a rush high school was. As soon as each bell rings you see people spilling out into the halls as if the levies just broke.
Mrs. Porter had me give my lecture at the beginning of both classes and it went about as well as I expected. You can find a link to a pdf version of the powerpoint at the end of this post. There were a few scattered questions and quiet comments throughout the talk that made it a bit difficult to focus on what I was saying. In particular, the word 'nuclear' sparked a bit of conversation that mostly centered around bombs and toxic waste. While I acknowledged those topics, I did my best to shift their attention to other applications, for example: radiography, material interactions, computer chip production, etc.
After the talk, I split my time between trying to help Mrs. Porter answer questions, and observing the class. The hardest part about answering questions is trying to guide the student to a solution. When teaching undergraduates, this was much less of an issue, as many of them were putting forth a lot of effort to understand the material. At the high school though, many of the students were quick to get frustrated and give up on problems altogether. Talking to them, I see that they understand much more than they let on, but even the smallest difficulty is enough to throw them entirely off track.
In some cases, we were lucky to have the students at least reading the problem. Several were content just to sit in front of a blank page of paper unless prompted. Many were only convinced to write when it was for a grade; note-taking is the exception not the standard. The levels of their patience is lacking, and each time I talk I feel like I'm competing for their attention with a dozen other things in the room.
It did not take long to notice which students were already well ahead of the class. Almost as a rule, they kept to themselves, but were the first ones to answer any question. I've got to admire their enthusiasm, but at the same time, I think it is discouraging to the rest of the class. It also pleasing to have several students actively seek me out for help on some of their problems, but of course, those aren't the ones that I worry about in the long run.
These are just some brief impressions for the moment, I had class again today, which I'll elaborate on in a short while.
Introductory Presentation
Mrs. Porter had me give my lecture at the beginning of both classes and it went about as well as I expected. You can find a link to a pdf version of the powerpoint at the end of this post. There were a few scattered questions and quiet comments throughout the talk that made it a bit difficult to focus on what I was saying. In particular, the word 'nuclear' sparked a bit of conversation that mostly centered around bombs and toxic waste. While I acknowledged those topics, I did my best to shift their attention to other applications, for example: radiography, material interactions, computer chip production, etc.
After the talk, I split my time between trying to help Mrs. Porter answer questions, and observing the class. The hardest part about answering questions is trying to guide the student to a solution. When teaching undergraduates, this was much less of an issue, as many of them were putting forth a lot of effort to understand the material. At the high school though, many of the students were quick to get frustrated and give up on problems altogether. Talking to them, I see that they understand much more than they let on, but even the smallest difficulty is enough to throw them entirely off track.
In some cases, we were lucky to have the students at least reading the problem. Several were content just to sit in front of a blank page of paper unless prompted. Many were only convinced to write when it was for a grade; note-taking is the exception not the standard. The levels of their patience is lacking, and each time I talk I feel like I'm competing for their attention with a dozen other things in the room.
It did not take long to notice which students were already well ahead of the class. Almost as a rule, they kept to themselves, but were the first ones to answer any question. I've got to admire their enthusiasm, but at the same time, I think it is discouraging to the rest of the class. It also pleasing to have several students actively seek me out for help on some of their problems, but of course, those aren't the ones that I worry about in the long run.
These are just some brief impressions for the moment, I had class again today, which I'll elaborate on in a short while.
Introductory Presentation
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