While we all found some wonderful teaching tools, only ten can make my cut. I picked these tools by the relevance they will have to the classroom I can see for myself in the future.
10. Wordle from Excerpts from an Educator:
This is tool is really neat! However, it is only a visual aide that serves almost no purpose in a Physics classroom. Sorry, Becki.
9. Pinterest from Dunlap's Blog:
I've only heard rumors about the addiction to Pinterest but after seeing the site for myself, their is some educational value. I can't see an importance to Physics but it is indeed a cool way to entertain yourself academically.
8. Evernote from Katie's Blog :) :
I tend to forget things, so having an accessible tool to keep my thoughts and record important notes is a definite plus.
7. Prezi from Uniquely Nina:
Effective slideshows are necessary to using them in the classroom. I can see myself using this to add more pizzazz to Physics. I love pizzazz.
6. Pegby from Michael Carbonara:
This tool is useful for keeping group members on task and aware of the goals of the group. I can see myself assigning groupwork in Physics so perhaps I could utilize this site.
5. SmartBoard Technology from R Wetmore's Classroom:
I have a lot of experience learning from SmartBoards, but I haven't had much opportunity to use them. Yet, they are very useful in displaying information and writing alongside important visuals: something Physics requires.
4. TeacherTube from Education for you:
TeacherTube just struck
me as important because if I would go to the internet for help in my
classroom, I wouldn't like waiting for responses on a forum or twitter.
TeacherTube provides the instant gratification I enjoy.
3. Super Teacher Tools from JLee's Blog For SEDU 183:
I feel that these assorted tools, like random name pickers and jeopardy, would add a lot of pizzazz to my classroom. And you know how much I love pizzazz...
2. Ask Dr. Math from Demi's Blog:
From what I see, this site is
very helpful in deciphering mathematical concepts. With live help
available, who would NOT use this site for math help?
1. Wikispaces from Here and now, the start of it all:
This is really a great tool! I thought that Wikispaces reminded me almost of a blog, only much more in-depth and personal with students. It allows teachers to utilize their classroom on-the-go and serves as a place to upload assignments, goals, etc. All-around a very useful site!
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
A Cool Tool for School: HyperPhysics
As an aspiring Physics teacher, I know the difficulty of grasping and retaining the ideas of Physics, basically applying high level mathematics to these already vague concepts of our Universe. Not every mind is easily attuned to the Universe, myself included, but many resources exist to help clarify the ambiguity of the world. HyperPhysics is among the most powerful tools I have found thus far.
HyperPhysics (HP) is a resource that I can envision for both myself and future students. The site has three main functions that I find especially useful: unit conversion, interactive visual aides, and detailed articles (in increasing importance).
HPcontains a page for unit conversion that not only provides the factors for conversion, but allows for input and immediate output of a conversion factor. An example would be, "How many feet are in 60.54 meters?" in which one would normally write out that 1 meter is equal to 3.28 feet, and then perform the multiplication of 60.54 meters times 3.28 feet to get 198.57 feet. However, HP can do this calculation in an instant.
Second, HP features incredible visual aides that establish the relationship of how one concept relates to another. They do this by creating an interactive web of ideas that display how one concept trickles down into an incredibly detailed aspect of the big idea. An example is the following web of light and vision concepts, some of which even I have no idea what they are. Each bubble leads to a specific article on the content of the bubble. Light and Vision refers to the Propagation of Light, then reflection, which is seen in mirrors, then mirror instruments, which leads to fiber optics, and finally absorption. It is through this web that the relevance of each topic is greatly understood.
Lastly, HP has the most extensive and organized articles on these topics that I have seen. Articles are interactive and informative, while they keep conciseness and relevance to the overall web they're in. The articles also contain links to other important ideas that may or may not be crucial. I can't really write much more about how great this resource is; two sentences is all I need to show that this resource is bomb-diggity.
I would use this in the classroom as a tool for myself to keep the conciseness of each lesson and refer to these sources for students with questions. This resource is ubiquitous to the user and unlimited in use. As one of the few science education majors and the only undergraduate Physics education major, this resource, though not relevant to many others, is something I highly recommend.
HyperPhysics (HP) is a resource that I can envision for both myself and future students. The site has three main functions that I find especially useful: unit conversion, interactive visual aides, and detailed articles (in increasing importance).
HPcontains a page for unit conversion that not only provides the factors for conversion, but allows for input and immediate output of a conversion factor. An example would be, "How many feet are in 60.54 meters?" in which one would normally write out that 1 meter is equal to 3.28 feet, and then perform the multiplication of 60.54 meters times 3.28 feet to get 198.57 feet. However, HP can do this calculation in an instant.
Second, HP features incredible visual aides that establish the relationship of how one concept relates to another. They do this by creating an interactive web of ideas that display how one concept trickles down into an incredibly detailed aspect of the big idea. An example is the following web of light and vision concepts, some of which even I have no idea what they are. Each bubble leads to a specific article on the content of the bubble. Light and Vision refers to the Propagation of Light, then reflection, which is seen in mirrors, then mirror instruments, which leads to fiber optics, and finally absorption. It is through this web that the relevance of each topic is greatly understood.
Lastly, HP has the most extensive and organized articles on these topics that I have seen. Articles are interactive and informative, while they keep conciseness and relevance to the overall web they're in. The articles also contain links to other important ideas that may or may not be crucial. I can't really write much more about how great this resource is; two sentences is all I need to show that this resource is bomb-diggity.
I would use this in the classroom as a tool for myself to keep the conciseness of each lesson and refer to these sources for students with questions. This resource is ubiquitous to the user and unlimited in use. As one of the few science education majors and the only undergraduate Physics education major, this resource, though not relevant to many others, is something I highly recommend.
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