Fleeing the Flu

Achoo!

Had your flu shot yet? If not, Google Flu Trends will either reinforce your procrastination or move you to action. Why? Well, this nifty online resource is able to "estimate flu activity in your state up to two weeks faster than traditional flu surveillance systems." Roll up your sleeve and get ready for a slight sting. Lest you think that presenting statistics to persuade us to monitor and improve health conditions is a new thing, Florence Nightengale was hip to the process as early as the 1850s.


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Can We Fix It? Yes, We Can!--Fantastic Contraption

Physics teachers:
If Chemistry teachers can encourage their pupils to use interactive technology resources to gain a better understanding of Science-related content, so can you. For example, send your students to Fantastic Contraption. It's a fun, online Physics puzzle game that's positively addictive. While learners are trying to master the game, they'll be much more receptive to content-specific facts. Enjoy!

Periodically Interesting

Chemistry teachers:
Sometimes, the skillful integration of technology allows educators to make well-known, yawn-inducing content much more engaging. By taking standard knowledge and infusing it with rich images and links to remote content, what was less than riveting becomes an interactive resource that generates new levels of interest in both students and teachers. Consider, for example, introducing your pupils to the 3D Periodic Table. Doing so is a fun and practical way to help those in your classroom latch onto fundamental concepts related to the elements.


You'll need to install a free VRML viewer for Internet Explorer known as Cortona. Cortona makes it possible for Internet Explorer to display an interactive, 3D version of the Periodic Table. Downloading and installing Cortona is easy. Just surf on over to the Parallel Graphics Cortona page and follow the instructions (as shown below).


By having students explore this novel and engaging interface for the Periodic Table, your learners will have useful means of visualizing the content you're trying to share with them.

Need an interesting segue for using the 3D Periodic Table? Look no further because history is on your side. On this day in 2006 the official naming of Element 111--also known as Roentgenium (Rg)--took place during a ceremony held at the Gesellschaft fur Schwerionenforschung (GSI) in Darmstadt, Germany, a "City of Science." Element 111 was discovered at GSI. It's official name, Roentgenium, honors Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen who discovered the existence of X-rays. Rontgen's achievement subsequently earned him the first Nobel Prize in Physics. Why not have your students get to know Roentgenium and other intriguing elements a little better by manipulating 3D models of them at an interactive whiteboard or on a laptop?

Related links:

• Find out more about Roentgenium and other element nomenclature at The Chemical Elements: Their Discovery and the Origins of their Names and/or the Multilingual & Name Origin Periodic Table.
• Download the 3D Periodic Table for offline viewing.
• Theodore Gray, one of the founders of Wolfram Research (ever heard of Mathematica?), a columnist for Popular Science’s Gray Matter, and an element collector extraordinaire has crafted an exquisite Periodic Table of the Elements. Gray’s craftsmanship and obsession with elements makes his creation a veritable feast for the eyes that learners and instructors are sure to enjoy.

Out of This World Visualization

Yesterday, I presented a session with all kinds of resources for visualizing ideas. Even though I mentioned ways to conceptualize astronomy, I forgot to mention the following gem. Created by the student team of Michael VanDaniker and Andrew Lund, the Solar System Visualizer is a helpful resource that shows the motions of celestial bodies in our solar system.

Braving the Elements

For students who are beginning to explore the complexities of matter, an introduction to the subtleties of the Periodic Table of Elements can be something of a revelatory experience, akin to finding an operating manual for atoms. The Periodic Table is a valuable tool for understanding reveals the underlying architechure of matter and prepares novices for a better grasp of the principles of chemistry. Rather than relegating pupils to textbooks when it comes to exploring the elements, encourage learners to make use of web-based sources of information. Take, for example, the Dynamic Periodic Table. Although it contains much the same information found in an exhaustive textbook, the information is much easier to access.

Want to immediately grab the attention of students? Swing by Parallel Graphic's eye-popping 3D Periodic Table. This resource is great when combined with an interactive whiteboard or slate. Note: you'll need to use Internet Explorer and download Cortona, a 3D viewer for IE. The effort will will be well worth it.

By integrating hyperlinked, multimedia-rich resources, students are more likely to discover opportunities for creating meaningful associations between the material being learned and their own experiences. To make in-roads to learning, consider exposing learners to image-rich resources. Want proof? If so, simply look up the work of Theodore Gray, one of the founders of Wolfram Research (creators of the awe-inspiring Mathematica). Gray is also a columnist for Popular Science’s Gray Matter and an element collector extraordinaire who has crafted an exquisite Periodic Table of the Elements. His craftsmanship and obsession with elements makes his version of the Periodic Table a veritable feast for the eyes that learners and instructors are sure to enjoy.

In the same vein, the Periodic Table of Videos provided by the University of Nottingham moves users beyond mere words and dishes up engaging images that stick in the mind longer after vistors leave the web.


Essential questions related to this topic:

• What is the most (or least important) element on the Periodic Table?
• What is the best/most truthful way to explain the structure of matter? For example, what's the best way to create models of something we can’t see--like atoms?
• In what ways can the current Periodic Table be significantly improved for younger and/or non-scientific users?
• Is the natural world significantly affected by the actions of individuals/societies who don't know or care about the Periodic Table? In other words, what so important about this bit of science that makes it worth learning?
• What universal rules govern matter and its processes?
  
• Which is more important matter or energy?
• Why exactly should scientists bother getting information about something as small as electrons in atoms?
• What's the most important reason for the way the Periodic Table is organized the way it is? Given advancements in technology, what might make it possible for future scientists to rewrite the rules for the way the Period Table is organized?
  

Related Links:

• In addition to its interactive Periodic Table, the American Chemical Society has an extensive collection of chemistry-related educational material that's well worth exploring.
• The Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility (also referred to as Jefferson Lab), which is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy's very own Office of Science, provides web-visitors with access to It's Elemental: The Periodic Table of Elements as well as a number of Period Table-related games.
  
• The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry's informative Periodic Table of the Elements will prove useful to electron, proton, and neutron neophytes.

Puttin' on the Ritz

You might think I'm crackers but everything really is better on a Ritz. Yes, cheese applied atop a Ritz is absolutely delicious (but to be fair, the addition of cheese makes just about anything worth nibbling). Go a little further and add a slice of ham or turkey and the flavor increases. Heck, even Science is tastier when blended with Ritz. How so? Allow me to tell you a story.

Once upon a time, a thoroughly scientific instrument ended up as a beloved toy. It was the year 1816, and a clever Scottish physicist by the name of Sir David Brewster (as in Brewster’s Angle) was all agog about color. In order to explore the qualities and (chromatic) nature of light, Brewster became enthralled playing with mirrors. He subsequently invented the kaleidoscope (as well as the word, too–from the Greek Kalos, beautiful + eidos, form; + skopos to view). Brewster’s contributions to the study of light (along with an impressive body of knowledge amassed by others) eventually resulted in a better understanding of the dual nature of light and one very cool toy.

Technology, toys, and time to think ideas through–all of these components (along with the propensity to add a little fun to Science)--promote better understanding and lifelong learning. Teachers who wish to help their students understand concepts surrounding the properties of light as well as reflection and refraction, would do well to allow pupils to play with kaleidoscopes. With a little patience, access to the internet, and some inexpensive materials, most learners can find and follow directions for making a kaleidoscope. To extend the learning experience, and have more than a modest helping of fun, educators can direct learners to appreciate a taste for experimentation at the Ritz Cracker site. Once there, pupils can tinker with the Ritz kaleidoscope and make more than a few observations about how and why they see the patterns that emerge.

Sand Sans Sand

Whether you teach Art or Geology, you'll find thisissand.com worth a visit. It's a site that is artistically cerebral. Why? It allows visitors to engage in cyber-sand painting. Don't be surprised if all you see is an apparent blank, grey screen when you visit the site. Just press and hold your left-mouse button for a little while and watch what happens. Click on the tiny square in the upper left-hand corner and access these instructions:

A glimpse at the gallery that accompanies the site is likely to whet anyone's appetite for playing with this intriguing tool for self-expression. How could this site be used in a classroom? Teachers and students studying Art could combine thisissand.com with a traditional lesson related to sand painting, thereby allowing learners to demonstrate synthesis (from Dr. Benjamin Bloom's well-known Taxonomy of Educational Objectives) in a surprising pleasing manner.

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Common's wonderful SVG graphic.

For pupils in a Science or Social Studies classroom, thisissand.com would be useful for exploring sedimentary rocks, earth science, geology and similar topics. Paired with Landcraft and other resources, thisissand.com would wow students and open up a rich discussion about how the face of our planet is changed by natural forces.