Harper Collins Video

Last year, I was contacted by Harper Collins in the UK and they asked if they could include an edited copy of my chemical weathering video on a video resource disc that was going to be included with one of their science textbooks. They came across the video while browsing Youtube.

Of course, I said yes!

After we worked through a few video encoding issues, they were nice enough to send me a copy of the disc along with a check. I have to say that Harper Collins was a pleasure to work with. Thanks again Harper Collins.

Maury Project

This year, I was selected as a participant for the Maury Project. The Maury Project is a 2 week long national program of teacher training based on studies of the physical foundations of oceanography. The goal of the Maury Project is to train members of underrepresented fields in the sciences and significant numbers of pre-college students from underrepresented groups. The Maury project is offered by the American Meteorological Society in conjunction with the US Naval Academy and NOAA.

Held at the United States Naval Academy (USNA) in Annapolis, Maryland, this intensive workshop will include lectures, tutorials, seminars, research cruises, hands-on laboratory exercises, and field trips. Faculty members from the USNA, and Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and other scientists, and science educators will present work shop topics.The workshop will focus on the physical foundations of selected oceanographic topics and issues. The major topics presented will center on waves, tides, density- and wind-driven ocean circulations, and sea-air interactions.

I will be at the US Naval Academy in Annapolis from July 11 to the 24th and I will be updating ScienceBoom during the PD.

One of the requirements of the program is that I have to conduct several PD’s on oceanography when I return. If you are interested please contact me and I will let you know when the workshops will be scheduled.

The New York City Teaching Fellows program recognized me for my participation in this workshop in one of their weekly newsletters.

National Board Certification

I just finished the assessment center exam which is the last requirement I had to fulfill for National Board Certification. The entire process of national certificationIt was challenging, but not impossible.

I was awarded the Albert Shanker grant by New York state which helped fund my nation certification attempt. The grant is available for all NYC teachers with at least 3 years teaching experience.

National Board certification has several benefits besides sounding impressive. If you have not yet reached the top of the pay scale, NBPTS certification can be substituted for the 30 and above putting you at the top of the scale. It is faster than taking P-credits and free if you apply for the grant. If you are self motivated, I highly recommend the process. That being said, I hope I passed. Scores will be available after December.

Overall this was an exciting year. I hope you stay tuned for my posts on the Maury Project and a few more exciting updates.

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As the London Times reported of the processes that created the striations displayed in these unusual candy-striped icebergs:

Keith Makinson, of the British Antarctic Survey, said that icebergs that seemed to show stripes were quite common in southern waters, but it was the first time that he

had seen brown stripes. They are believed to be created when ice crystals form under the water and, in a process described as “inverted snow”, rise to stick to the bottom of the ice shelf. As the ice crystals form a new layer at the bottom of the ice shelf, which later fragments to float away as icebergs, tiny particles of organic matter are trapped.

Parts of dead marine creatures such as krill form much of the trapped material and have the effect of creating coloured stripes, mainly blues and greens, in icebergs. Dr Makinson said that the brown stripes in this example were likely to have been formed from sediment washing underneath the ice shelf.

Photographs of similarly-patterned icebergs can be viewed at the web site of the Australian Antarctic Division.

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Host: Michael Doig
Duration: 4:11

Materials

Can of Compressed AIr – Can be purchased at any office supply store for around $6.

Raytek MT4 Mini Infrared Thermometer – The ability to take the temperature of just about anything without touching it is amazing, not to mention entertaining. I took a reading of my desklamp and found out the bulb was 212?F, Wow!

Casio Men’s Pathfinder Triple Sensor Altimeter/Barometer/ Digital Compass Watch – For the money, this watch is a steal. Barometer, compass and thermometer all in one place. Great for hiking or scientific exploration. The manual is really dense, but operating the watch was relatively easy. My biggest problem was with the temperature, it was constantly bouncing around.

Barometric Pressure Fast Facts

• A column of air one square inch in cross-section, measured from sea level to the top of the atmosphere, would weigh approximately 14.7 lbs per square inch or 1013.25 mb.
• An increase in elevation results in a decrease in barometeric pressure.
• As pressure decreases, temperature also decreases.

Special thanks to Mike Ogasawara and David Doig.

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1) Each place on earth will receive an equal length of daylight (sort of).
2) The sun will be directly overhead an observer at the equator (0 latitude).
3) On the equinoxes, the sun will rise exactly east and set exactly west.
4) The length of daylight will begin to get shorter after the autumnal equinox and longer after the vernal equinox due to earth’s tilt (23.5 degrees). This statement only applies to the northern hemisphere.

Here is a tool to determine exactly when the equinox will occur for your location.

Measuring Shadow Length

As the Earth progresses in its yearly orbit around the Sun, shadows cast by the Sun vary in length due to the tilt of the Earth’s axis. Recording the length of noonday shadows is a good way to demonstrate how the angle of the sun and your latitude affect the length of shadows.

For this activity, students stand in a an open area and have a partner measure the length (in cm) of the shadow they cast. Students will return each month to record the length of their shadow until at least the winter solstice (December). The recorded lengths can then be used to create a graph of shadow lengths versus month.

A great extension to this is to have students try and simulate the changing length of their shadow over time using a flashlight and an action figure. It will lead students to notice that the higher the flashlight, the shorter the shadow and vice-versa.

Photographing Shadows

If your students have digital cameras, a tripod and some paint your class can create time-lapse videos of the shadows at your school. You’ll need an area where students can return to repeatedly throughout the year to take photos. You can use the paint to mark where the tripod is located so students can replace the tripod in the exact same spot again. If they take enough pictures they can play them together and observe the change in light and shadow throughout the seasons. Here is an example of a time-lapse over one day.

If you do not have the technology to create movies, students can just compare pictures taken at the same time of day over the course of several months and describe how the position of the sun and the length of the shadows appears to change.

Make a Sundial

Using pre-made templates such as this sundial from the Sandburg Planetarium(designed for 39N latitude), students can create sundials to study the relationship between the length of the shadow cast by the gnomon and the time of day. This will lead to discussions about how the earth rotates and you could have students hypothesize what will happen to their sundial shadow as the months change.

More information on sundials.

Get outside and enjoy this bi-annual event with your students. If you have any questions please post them in the comments below.

National Geographic Video

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Starting your lesson with a Do Now is good practice. It sets the tone for the class, gets students settled in (because they have to do it now), and ideally makes them think. A Do Now is a question or quote that either reviews or introduces a topic to students. But what constitutes a good Do Now?

Let’s take a look at 5 different types of Do Nows.

Review

This is probably the most common type of Do Now. After a topic is taught, a question that assesses the previous lesson is used as a Do Now. Review Do Nows allow the teacher to determine if students understand a topic before continuing. However, it can become the only type of Do Now question used and students will grow tired of them.

For example after studying the water cycle, the following question is given:

Do Now: List the major components of the water cycle and explain the role of each step in the cycling of water.

After we study the process for identifying minerals, I like to ask the following question.

Do Now: You are walking down the street and you come across a mineral that is white-ish in color and does not bubble with acid. After a few simple tests you discover the mineral can scratch glass. Using your ESRT, identify the mineral.

Quotes

Using quotes is a refreshing way to assess what students know about a topic. Reflecting on a quote also opens up different avenues for discussion once a topic has been covered. Quotes make students think, because there isn’t just one answer. Quotes also make great writing prompts.

You can find tons of science quotes at sites like Quote Garden or Quotations Page. If you are looking for a quote on something specific, do a google search for the topic name + quote. For example, search “geology quote” for a quote on geology.

After studying the water cycle, you might give the following quote as a Do Now:

Do Now: What did the author mean when he wrote the following statement?

All the water that will ever be is, right now.
– National Geographic, October 1993

Opinion

Opinion or empathy questions are a great way to make students apply what they have learned or to see what they know about a topic. Typically a situation is given and you ask students how they would solve the problem or how they would deal with a certain situation.

Do Now: You have been shipwrecked on an island and you are the only survivor on a remote deserted island. What are the first three steps you would take to ensure your survival? Why?

Do Now: You run into a man selling gold chains for extremely cheap prices. Describe two scientific tests you could perform to determine if the gold chains were real gold or just fake imitations.

Another great opinion question type is the “If you were…”. Asking the students to step into the shoes of a leader or scientist.

For example, when talking about pollution and the use of fossil fuels, I might ask students the following:

Do Now: If you were the President of the United States, what steps would you take to decrease America’s dependence on fossil fuels?

Brain Teasers

Brain teasers are just fun, and they definitely make students think.

Do Now: If I were in Hawaii and dropped a bowling ball in a bucket of water which is 45 degrees F, and dropped another ball of the same weight, mass, and size in a bucket at 30 degrees F, dropping them at the same time, which ball would hit the bottom of the bucket first? Same question, but the location is in Canada?

After studying latitude and longitude, I might give the following brain teaser:

Do Now: There is a house with four walls. Each wall faces south. There is a window in each wall. A bear walks by one of the windows. What color is the bear?

Photograph or Video

Using photographs and video is going to become more common place. People expect to see photographs and video of things they are learning about. The best part about using photographs and video is that you already have the tools to make this happen. Most new digital cameras also take video. If you keep an eye out you can find tons of interesting science images in your area. Besides, being a good observer is part of being a scientist.

After talking about the sun traveling through the southern sky in the northern hemisphere, I would give the following image. I might tell students that fungi does not like to grow in direct sunlight.

Do Now: Using what you know about the motions of the sun, explain the image below.

When talking about the motions of Earth and the Sun I would show the following video and ask students to explain what is happening. Then I would ask students to model this using a plastic tree, flashlight and a digital camera.

Do Now: In your own words, explain why the shadow of the tree is moving.

Conclusion

Do Now’s are a very small, but important part of building great lessons. Using a Do Now for every lesson lets you assess students and lets students know you prepared for them. Coming up with original and interesting Do Nows can be a challenge, but now you have five different types of Do Nows to use when planning. Modifying these five major types can lead to all sorts of interesting Do Nows. I’m sure many of you have some great ideas, please share them in the comments.

Do Now Tips

• Do Nows should be short, they should not take students more than 5 minutes to complete.
• Survey the room and give students points for completing the Do Now.
• A good Do Now must be relevant to the lesson.
• Use a timer, it creates a sense of urgency.

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Below you will find a .zip file with all of the PowerPoint slides, handouts and video tutorials inside. You will need to use a tool such as winzip to unzip the files. All of the handouts are Adobe .pdf files and the presentations are saved as .ppt files. The archive a little large, but should download in a few minutes.

If you have any questions please leave a comment below or ask a question in the ScienceBoom Forums.

Download Slides and Notes (50.47 MB)

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If there was ever a type of musical expression that needed to be combined with robots, it’s beatboxing. At their October performance, you’ll see human beatbox Adam Matta laying down beats for the ‘bots of LEMUR, as well as Ethan Ham and his instrument that replicates vocal input with slide whistles. Completing the lineup is Shawn Trail, mannin’ up on the mallets with a Lobi-inspired style. Also on hand are Christopher McDonald and Gertrude, his machine that “uses a multicolor LED to draw dramatic color images captured by long exposure photography.”

Date: Thursday October 9
Time: 8:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Place: Place: LEMUR, 461 3rd Ave. bet. 9th and 10th St., Brooklyn
Price: Price: $5

Nightlife at the AMNH

Start your weekend off right at the smartest party in town, hosted by the American Museum of Natural History. At the Rose Center for Earth and Space, you’ll be able to drink and dance under dynamic visuals accompanied by the explosive beats of live bands and DJs. This month’s party features Mattie Safer of The Rapture and DJ Mehdi, a French hip-hop and electronic producer known for bridging the gap between these two dance music genres. For the price of the ticket, you get entrance to the party, a complimentary screening of the Space Show Cosmic Collisions, and a free pass to the Museum for future use.

Date: Friday October 10
Time: 9:00 PM – 1:00 AM
Place: American Museum of Natural History, 81st St. between Columbus Ave. and Central Park W.
Price: $20

Science Smashes Urban Legends

Alligators in the sewers? Mob victims buried under Yankee Stadium? New Yorkers love urban legends, and, as it turns out, so do scientists, albeit slightly less morbid ones. Find out the real truth about whether or not glass is a liquid by joining Columbia University’s monthly Cafe Science meeting. Physical chemist Laura J. Kaufman’s speech, “Is Glass a Liquid? The Science Behind the Urban Legend,” addresses the liquid and solid characteristics of glass and how materials of this type can be used in applications as diverse as oil delivery and cryopreservation.

Date: Monday October 13
Time: 6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Place: Picnic Café, 2665 Broadway, between 101st St. and 102nd St.
Price: $10, includes one drink

Science Teacher Institute at Cornell University

Cornell University invites elementary and middle school teachers to participate in the Cornell Science Sample Series, a collaboration between Cornell’s research centers and departments to provide professional development in science, engineering, math, and technology. Available workshops include Electricity, FOSS Forces and Motion Kit, Probability and Measurement and Bird Sleuth.

To apply, visit www.ccmr.cornell.edu/education/teachers/csss.html.

Date: Saturday, October 18
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Place: Sloan-Kettering Institute, Room M107 (1275 York Avenue, Manhattan)
Price: All applications must be accompanied by a check for $20 made out to Cornell University. Upon completion of the program, all checks will be returned and participants will receive an additional check for $20 to cover travel costs.
Notes: Space is limited to 80 teachers. The application deadline is October 15.

Using Video Interactively in the Classroom Workshop

An overview of teaching strategies using video clips from Channel Thirteen?s Web site in biology, chemistry, physics and Earth science.

For further information, call 212-598-7772.

Date: Friday, October 17
Time: 7:15 p.m.
Place: New York University, Silver Center Room 207, 32 Waverly Place, Manhattan.
Security at NYU requires that you show a picture ID to enter the building.
Price: Free
Guest Speaker: Christopher Ward, Hommocks School

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NYC Teaching Fellow Michael Doig wins a $54,000 technology grant

Michael Doig, a Cohort 12 NYC Teaching Fellow, has won a $54,000 grant from the City Council of New York for computer lab and classroom technology at Bedford-Stuyvesant Preparatory High School in Brooklyn. By providing students the ability to learn computer skills in high school or sooner, they can be better prepared for the future.
Michael intends to use the funds toward computer literacy education. He also intends to engage his students in several long-term science projects, including weather tracking, seismology, videos, podcasts, and more.

To secure the grant, Michael located his Council Member and submitted a proposal for the grant. If you’re interested in securing a grant, you may start by using the DOE’s Financial Accounting Management Systems (FAMIS) to create a list of supplies that you would like to obtain through capital funding. You should also include a detailed explanation of how your school intends to use the new equipment. To be successfully funded, all proposals need to be as specific as possible.

Please join the NYC Teaching Fellows as we congratulate Michael on narrowing the achievement gap through this remarkable opportunity!

Thank you Alissa.

The Brooklyn Ink also featured an article on this award.

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This is not the first time I have found a species I thought was tropical living in and around New York. I spotted Parrots nesting in Brooklyn back in March.

Check out the cool “pincher” on the back of it. Defense, mating, or for grasping while climbing?

I was so excited to have found a stick bug that I forgot to switch my camera into macro mode, so the video is a little out-of-focus.

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Imagine Science Films has gathered an eclectic selection of films to present at the Imagine Science Film Festival

The Imagine Science Film Festival (ISFF) is full-fledge New York Science Film Festival. ISFF 2008 is in mid-October from 16-25 and will include screenings in Manhattan and Brooklyn. The objective of the festival is to showcase films, especially fiction films, that effectively incorporate science into a compelling narrative while maintaining credible scientific groundings.

ISFF is the first science film festival in New York. It an environment where filmmakers, artists, scientists and the public can meet. It will be a place where science is exciting and accessible to everyone, regardless of their background. At ISFF, the public will join scientists in learning and imagining science through visual storytelling.

From ImagineScienceFilms.com

Opening Night

Thursday October 16th, 7-9pm
New York Academy of Sciences
7 World Trade Center, 250 Greenwich St.
40th Floor, New York

This event will take place on October 16, 2008 beginning at 7pm.
Tickets for the kick- off event are $25 for non NYAS members and $15
for members.

Register TODAY to reserve your spot at http://www.nyas.org/filmfest.

Ira Flatow from NPR’s Science Friday is moderating the Festival opening celebration, ‘Science in Fiction’, a discussion on the relationship between science and fiction in cinema. This will be held at the impressive headquarters of the New York Academy of Sciences at 7 World Trade Center, 40th Floor and is a catered event.

Panelists include:
Ari Handel, neuroscientist, screenwriter of The Fountain, and president, Protozoa Pictures
Darcy Kelley, neuroscience professor, Columbia University, and scientific advisor, Tribeca Film Festival
Sidney Perkowitz, physics professor, Emory University, and author of Hollywood Science
Billy Shebar, screenwriter, Dark Matter

ISFF 2008 Trailer (Films Montage) from Imagine Science Films on Vimeo.

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