Eclectic Technology

Check out nine maker projects that you can do in your classroom. The projects are divided into three sections:

* Smaller Scale Maker Education Projects which includes

     - Towers of Power

     - Catapults

* Design Challenges

     - Bridge to Nowhere

     - Float the Boat

     - Egg Drop

     - Instruments

* Play with Light

      - Electromagnets

     - Squishy Circuits

     - MakeyMakey Controller Boards

Each of the projects includes a list of materials and tools needed as well as a brief explanation. Look over the ideas and consider having an evening where families could come in and experience hands-on science by completing a project (or two).

If you are looking for a website that looks at women who have made a difference in STEM check out this site from the White House. Women who work in the White House "tell their stories of their personal heroes across the fields of science, technology, engineering and math."

The site also suggest that we honor those women who have come before in the "best possible way: By committing to encourage a young woman to pursue a career in science."

Currently the stories of 12 women are shared. You may also write about your "untold STEM history" and share how you will inspire young women to pursue science careers.

You can listen to the stories, and they range from just under one minute to about six minutes in length.

If you would like additional short talks on women in science you consider checking out some of the programs that WAMC offered in 2009 called Women in Science on the Air. A number of these tell the stories of women who were instrumental in making changes but are not know. You can access them at this site:

http://wamc.org/term/women-science-air-0

As flu season approaches teaching students about germs is something we try to do in many classrooms. To make it a bit more understandable this TED-Ed video provides a look just how germs may spread. The language is appropriate for a range of grades (as terms are also explained).

And as all TED-Ed videos you will find a list of additional resources as well as a quiz and a discussion questions.

Mosa Mack: Science Detective is a new site that has launched their first science mystery for students in Grades 4 - 8 (although they note students as young as 2nd graders have tested it as have students in high school).

The first mystery, A Growling Stomach, is just over six minutes in length. In addition to the video you will find resources for Band A (Grades 4 and 5) and Band B (Grades 6, 7 and 8). The resources include:

* Class Discussion Guide

* Small Group Discussion Guide/Individual Worksheet

* Vocabulary Cards

* Standards Alignment to Next Generation Science Standards and Common Core Standards

There are also resources for the teacher including:

* Time Codes/Answer Sheets

* Background Information

* FAQ

This is the only video at this point, but they do state that they plan on having more available, with a goal of having "dozens of animated science mysteries" within a few years.

This is inquiry based science where students are asked to use problem-solving techniques. Check out the first video and hope that more show up soon.

Have you noticed that STEM has transformed to STEAM? The A stands for art and this infographic looks at how the introduction of art to STEM can make  a difference in the academic performance of students. The infographic shares statistics on the perception of STEM and facts about both STEM and the Arts. It looks at how each impact the brain and also statistics about the number of schools with arts (US only) as well looking at US STEM rankings and global arts education.

There is a reason that STEM is shifting to STEAM and this infographic provides an overview of some of the reasons this is taking place.

Jackie Gerstein discusses how we can bring maker education activities into our schools beginning with a look at three current trends:

* The Play Deficit - for many children time to play is minimal as they lead very scheduled lives

* "Lack of creativity and play in children's lives and toys"

* The Maker Movement as in Maker Education

The first two trends are also apparent in our education system. In many schools playtime has decreased with the rollout of Common Core curriculum. Students in pre-school and Kindergarten have specific benchmarks that they need to hit to move on, and it often comes with a decrease in play time.

And many toys we find on the market today do not promote creativity. We often think of Legos as a toy to promote creativity. Gerstein shares her thoughts on this, noting buckets that contain freeform Legos that promote free play are often in the back of the store while the packages of Legos that come with directions on how to build a Star Wars character or a Harry Potter character are in the front.

At the end of this section Gerstein concludes that the literature shows that (quoting from the post):

• Making, creating, innovating, experimenting is needed now more than ever in this rapidly evolving world and our children are severely lacking in these skills
• If these skills are to be integrated into formal and informal learning settings, some direct instruction and scaffolding will need to occur.

The final section of the piece explores how the Maker Movement may impact the two issues noted above and provides a look at six areas that we as educators need to consider if we are going to become a part of the Maker Education.

Honeybees play a critical role in food production. They are a key pollinator and colony collapse disorder may soon have a significant impact on not only the cost of food but what is available. This TED-Ed video looks at this issue. As always you will find a  "Think" section with questions students may answer as well as an in-depth look at additional resources.

Finding great videos that you may use in your classroom takes time. This post provides four videos with a STEM focus that you may choose to use in your classroom. These are often referred to as motion graphics. The ones within this post include:

* The Solar System, Our Home in Space is "an infographic trip through the wonders of the solar system" that allows students to explore the inner and outer planets;

* Measuring the Universe, which combines math and scale and helps students begin to comprehend how vast the universe is;

* For the Love of Mountains, where you will learn more about some of the "extremes" of the earth's mountains;

* Forest (the English version), a "study in ecology and the environment.

I find videos are a great hook for students, providing opportunities for them to quickly engage with the subject and begin to ask questions as they want to learn additional information. These four videos would work with a wide range of ages and are well worth checking out.

Take STEM, add A for Art, and you get STEAM. As this post states, if you think of Leonardo di Vinci and his work this is a logical connection. This post discusses why adding the A for Art is important and the changes that may happen because of it, such as more innovation and creativity.

The list of resources includes links for all five letters and chances are you will find a few that you may not have checked out. Below are five of the resources listed...but click through to see the rest, and all are hot linked in the post. (Most tools listed are free but a few have costs.)

* Cardboard Challenge

* Why Scientific Innovation Needs the Arts

* PBS Learning Makers Party

* Odyssey of the Mind

* The Arts Institute of Chicago

Have fun exploring this diverse set of STEAM resources!

Jackie Gerstein has created a new website that explores the Maker Movement. If this is an area that you would like to explore you will find 10 areas that you can explore:

* Paper Circuits

* Squishy Cirtuits

* Bare Conductive Paint

* Sew Electrics

* Operation Game

* Toy Take Apart

* Soldering Projects

* LittleBits

* Makey Makey

* Hummingbird Robotics

Each of these areas leads to a webpage and the ones I checked out included a number of videos to help you understand the topic as well as some documentation and additional resources.

She also includes a brief video that helps you understand what the Maker Movement is (and you hear from learners involved in a number of projects). In addition there is a ThingLink (based on the image above) that provides  links to additional resources.

The Maker Movement provides learners with opportunities to create something that is new to them. It is authentic learning and learners will go through iterations as they work through the process, and potentially experience failure that will help them become successful.

Here is a new free program offered through USC Rossier School of Education and the Mattel Children's Foundation that provides a curriculum geared to Grade 4 that will help students engage in STEM. The program is called Speedometry and will have students learning about scientific concepts like velocity, gravity, kinetic energy and more. Most exciting is that you can put in a request for a free kit that will provide:

• 40 Hot Wheels® diecast cars
• 16 orange loops
• 16 track clamps
• 64 track connectors
• 100+ feet of orange track

This link will take you the page where you can apply, and you can also download the lesson plans. What a great opportunity!

CK-12, a website that provides free materials for educators and students across grade levels. This link goes to a new series of physics simulations. However, if you work with students and are interested in finding great free resources that include video, text, audio, images, quizzes and interactives then it is worth your time to explore CK-12. 

Have you ever heard of a nurdle? Do you know how they are impacting the ocean and the potential consequences of them? This TED-Ed video shares the history of nurdles (they date back to the 1900s) and their impact on the ocean, and our lives.

This topic is one that many students would understand and they could develop a plan to educate their community about nurdles and what can be done. There are many resources provided in the Dig Deeper session that would allow students to explore and learn more. If you teach science, or are looking at issues that impact the globe in social studies, or are interested in teaching students about global issues that have a range of impacts this would be a great place to start.

Richard Byrne provides a number of links to websites that have great hands-on activities for students to learn science. The sites include:

* Science is Fun - 25 chemistry experiments geared to students in grades 4 - 9

* Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago has activities in twelve topics. You will find experiments for students preK through grade 12.

* Discover the World is from NOAA. A total of 43 experiments which are probably best for grades 4 - 8.

* Squishy Circuits. Learn how to create the "dough" to create these circuits and watch a TedEd to learn more.

There are many ideas to be found in this post and lots of fun for your students to experience while they explore and learn science!

If you are looking for some great resources to help your students learn more about the environment this list of 22 interactive lessons may be right up your alley. The lesson plans are for students as young as Kindergarten up through Grade 12. All are from PBS and all come with materials to use in conjunction with the interactive activities. PBS does require that you create a user name after you access two items but you may also create and save items in a favorite files for future use.

If you are studying climate change in your classroom this video from TED-Ed is well worth watching. James Balog has been a nature photographer for over 30 years and in the last six years or so has set cameras up in a number of places (primarily in the northern hemisphere) that are taking pictures and videos of the changes taking place in areas with glaciers and icebergs.

To say the least the images are amazing and to have the ability to not only see what is happening, but to hear how quickly the changes are happening is mind blowing (at least the students whom watched this video with me expressed this sentiment) and it brought forth quite a conversation.

This video is longer than most TED-Ed videos (about 19 minutes) and includes a series of questions as well as a resource. You might also want to check out the video trailer for a documentary created by Balog and his crew, Chasing Ice. The full movie runs about 75 minutes.

It appears that science is trending in educational videos on YouTube. Other videos in this list (and embedded in the post) include:

* Immovable Object vs Unstoppable Force

* Why Do We Kiss?

* Is Your Red the Same as My Red?

* How Old Are Your Ears? (Hearing Test)

* Amazing Facts to Blow Your Mind (Part 2)

* What if the Sun Disappeared?

* What Your Body Does in 30 Seconds

* Canada & the United States: Bizarre Borders (Part 2)

* The True Science of Parallel Universes