Monday, April 20, 2009

Pollen Park! Perfect for Interactive Whiteboard Use...









This is a non-linear learning experience designed to be explored at a leisurely pace by the students and teachers. It is ideal for use on an interactive whiteboard. The graphics are beautiful.

"The site aims to facilitate an understanding of the following:
1. The names of the different parts of the flower and understand the function of each in the reproduction process.
2. The process of pollination and the varied methods of pollen transfer.
3. The process of fertilization and how this differs from pollination
4. The different methods of seed dispersal and why this needs to occur.
5. The process of seed germination and the necessary
conditions for it to occur."


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Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Connecticut Science Center is Opening--Finally! But not now...later...




The suspense is killing me...
This is the text from an email I got today:
"Get ready for June! – that's when the new Science Center throws its doors wide open. When in June? Premier Members and Season Pass Holders will be the first to hear."

So, they don't really know?

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The people at NOVA want your input!

You know, Leonard Nemoy "NOVA". The "awesome science show" and "incredible internet resource" NOVA. Yay NOVA!

First: Are you a Boston-area middle or high school science teacher currently using technology in your classroom? If so, NOVA would like your input to help shape its future resources. The 90-minute focus groups are being held after school hours on April 28 and 29th (middle school teachers) and May 7 and 8 (high school teachers) at WGBH in Boston. Participating teachers will receive a stipend. If interested, contact Karen Hartley at Karen_Hartley@wgbh.org, or 617.300.3864.
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Thursday, April 2, 2009

ASSISTment online math tutoring and assessment--the research says it works!

Math teachers! I know this is a science and technology blog, but you MUST MUST MUST check this resource out! It is a site called ASSISTment, which has been developed at Worcester Polytech using grants from the US Dept of Education and the National Science Foundation. Which both mean that it is

FREE!

The ASSISTment system provides students with two types of tutoring assistance--scaffolds and hints--when they answer a math question incorrectly.

This screenshot gives you a little bit of an idea of how it looks (I intentionally answered the question wrong, so that I would get a scaffold question):





You can log on to assistment.org to create your free account. There is an ASSISTment teacher wiki that has instructions on how it works, but before I found that I clicked around awhile and I figured some of it out that way.

If you are a teacher, you can even apply for FUNDING to create content for your classroom through a WPI program that is funded by the National Science Foundation. So, get some money for the time that you spend putting content on your ASSISTment account and share your data with them to improve the program. For that info, see the homepage.

Okay, so if you want to look at the data from the research, follow this link:

A Comparison of Traditional Homework to Computer-Supported Homework


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