Science Apps & Technology

I finally gave into the SmartPhone craze a few months ago. I am amazed at the technology and everything that my phone can do - and now like many others, I have the thought "how did I ever get by without this phone?".

I think about how much technology has advanced since I was in school and what has changed since I started teaching. I made the comment today about when I was in school I had to clap chalk out of erasers and I had all my students looking at me like I was speaking a foreign language. My comment was prompted by being sent this picture of my son (age 2) using a SMARTboard in preschool. As a teacher, I'm so excited about the technology avaliable to him and what impact it will have on his learning. As a mom, I got a little sad seeing how grown up he looks in this picture!

I saw this video on Sesame Street over the summer with my son. I love the humor because all of the apps CAN get very overwhelming!

On a serious note, I have found some great science education apps. I have shared some of them with my students, but would like to keep a list of apps that support science education. If you have one to add to the list, please comment and I will add it! *I have only listed FREE apps!*

SkyView Free
NASA
Language Central - Life
Language Central - Physical
Language Central - Earth
(The three Language Central Apps are from Pearson, they have vocabulary games that follow the middle school science textbooks)

Whats up with the sun?

One of the best parts about being a teacher is when students ask questions about something they saw or heard outside of school! Today, I had several students ask me "Whats going on with the sun?" My response was I wasn't sure, either. I had heard a little news about solar activity recently, but I couldn't answer confidently.

So, I started looking ... and here is what I discovered:

On January 27th, 2012, the sun released a solar flare that measured X1.8. A solar flare is when the sun releases magnetic energy in the form of intense bursts of radiation. (The picture below is an example of what a flare looks like, not the actual event on January 27th)

What does that mean to us on Earth? Likely, it would have little to no impact on our day to day life. There could be a small blackout in radio transmissions, and if you were flying to the North Pole, your plane may have to be redirected. In fact, Delta Airlines rerouted their planes flying near the North Pole as a precaution to avoid loss of communication or exposing passengers and crew to large amounts of raditation this week.

The increased release of radation from the sun also increases the aurora activity at the poles. It would be a great time to visit Alaska!

Even after researching this event, I still have lots of questions myself. NASA has great answers to all the questions you're thinking right now!

The Doppler Effect

A plane flying over you, a firetruck speeding by, or an ice cream truck driving down the street - what do they all have in common? They are everyday examples of the Doppler effect.

The Doppler effect is the change in frequency of a wave in relation to the observer as the source of the wave is in motion ... say what?

So, you are standing still - you are the observer. A moving car with a siren passing by is the source of the wave in motion.

As the car approaches you, the sound waves in front have a HIGHER frequency (wavelength distance is smaller). You experience this as a HIGHER pitch.

After the car passes you, the sound waves have a LOWER frequency (bigger spaces between wavelengths). You experience this as a LOWER pitch.

Why? The sound waves in front of the moving object get compressed as the object travels and more spread out behind. (see picture above)

If an object is moving REALLY fast, the sound waves can get REALLY compressed, build up in front of the object this causes the moving object to break the sound barrier! Awesome! Another name for this is a Sonic Boom!

One more thing ... What does the siren sound like to the people in the car? Do they notice a change in frequency (pitch)? No, since they are traveling WITH the sound, the siren is the same annoying sound the whole time!

Want more? Check out this great article from MIT!

All Aboard!

And off we go! ...

To quote Thomas the Train (I should add I have a 2 year old son), an "idea flew into my funnel" over the past week. While stopped at a railroad crossing with my family, I remarked to my husband how the passing train and change in the whistle sound as the train passed was an example of the doppler effect in action. One of my lessons this week was about the doppler effect. I shared my experience at the railroad crossing with students this week and how they experience the doppler effect everyday in their lives. (For more information on the doppler effect - read my next post!)

"Wouldn't it be neat if I could log all of my experiences with "science" for my students", I thought? But how? An opportunity to do this was then "assigned" to me, as I am enrolled in a Web-Education course. Assignment #1: Create a blog.

After thinking of what I could blog about and how I could impact my students' lives, I remembered sitting at the railroad crossing with my family.

Science In My World. Of course!

I am excited and anxious to begin my blogging "journey" ... I have visions of what this could become and the potential impact this could have on my students and beyond.  I am always looking for ways to make science content more meaningful to my students and relate it to their lives and I hope that this blog will be a path to make these connections start to happen.