Empty Pocket Ideas You Can Use
In fall of 2010, Teri Wiese and I presented at the ISTS meeting in Ames, IA. Our presentation was called "Empty pocket ideas you can use," and was based around improvements that science teachers can make to their class with little or no budget. Below are the ideas we presented, along with resources to learn more about these ideas. These will be added to as we have time.
Wii whiteboard - using a Nintendo Wii remote ($40), a computer with Bluetooth (or a USB Bluetooth device), and an infrared pen, you can create an interactive white board along the same lines as SMART boards.
Google docs - This free service by Google is an entire office suite which students (and teachers) can work on from any computer. These documents are saved online, so there's no risk of a hard drive failure or forgetting which USB drive it's on. These can also be shared with others so students can work collaboratively at school or from anywhere with an internet connection, and can even work on the same document at the same time.
Web cam document projector - A simple web cam, pointed downward at a well-lit surface, serves as an ELMO-like document projector when connected to a computer with an LCD projector. If you use a program called YAWCAM (http://www.yawcam.com/) you can even make it full-screen. With cheaper web cams, you'll get some pixelation, but you also only paid $20 for it. They have HD web cams now that might reduce this problem, some of which are available online for around $50.
$15 photogate stopwatch - Using a stopwatch, a few transistors, a capacitor, a photo-sensitive resistor, and a laser pointer, you can make your own photogates for timing events where reaction time would cause significant error. Diagrams and specific instructions still to come ... once I perfect my design.
Funny or themed tests - making jokes in tests, or using a theme for the test (movies, cartoons, tv shows, etc.) is a great way to eliminate some of the pressure and stress around taking tests, as well as helping to make sure more students read all of the directions.
Individual, standard-based projects - toward the end of a school year, semester, or unit, have students do projects to demonstrate their knowledge around a standard or benchmark for a given unit. Assign one standard to each student or group, then have them present to each other to help review.
Class web page - Keep your students up-to-date on upcoming labs, homework assignments, notes, and tests, and avoid the "did I miss anything when I was gone yesterday?" moments by maintaining a free, easy-to-create class web page. Most districts offer some opportunities for this, although some are quite difficult to use. Google Sites is a free web site host which has an extremely easy interface and some great templates for creating specific types of pages. www.bennettscience.com is created entirely through Google Sites, and I purchased my domain name through www.godaddy.com .
Facebook profile biographies - Have students write biographies for famous scientists or inventors in the format of a Facebook profile. Not only do they need to learn about a person and the times they lived in to do this, they also have to translate that information into the language that one would typically see on a Facebook page. This may not encourage great mechanics, but it does require a lot of thought on their part. Get the template for students to use here, or check out an example.
Taking apart toys, small appliances - For simple machines, energy, etc., have students work in teams to dissect small motorized toys and appliances. Blenders, handheld vacuums, toy pinball machines, and RC cars can all be picked up at Goodwill cheaply. I was shocked to hear one student told me she'd never used a screw driver before, and flabbergasted when 4 other students said they hadn't either. For electricity, wire a few plugs and switches (without a power supply) to have students take apart, or dissect a circuit breaker.
Toy physics (immiscible timer, pressure tube, squirt gun, Mystix, lightning ball) - Simple toys make for great demonstrations and explorations of physics at work. Again, Goodwill is your friend to find these things. Also, check out the "cheap last-minute birthday present for a kid" aisle at drug stores.
Sample cup acceleration - Have students fill small plastic sample cups (can usually be found with the liquor in a grocery store, as people use them for Jello shots) to the brim with water. Pair them up, and have their partner give them directions about how to walk while holding the cup in their open palm. Tell them to keep track of what motions causes spills. As a class, discuss the motions that caused spills, which will be, in general, changes in motion or changes in direction. In short, acceleration causes it to spill. Don't forget to model responsible behavior by helping to clean up the water on the floor when you're done.
Moonwalk speed - When learning to calculate speed using v = d/t, have student measure the speed at which they can Moonwalk (Michael Jackson style) Be sure to find a quick video to show them that explains how to Moonwalk, and have "Billie Jean" or the like ready to play while they make measurements. Once they've measured distance and time for their Moonwalk, and used it to calculate speed, give them the average distance from the Earth to the moon (3.844 x 10^8 m) and have them find how long it would take them to Moonwalk to the moon.
Dances (Doppler dance, wave (worm)) - Any time you can get kids moving to learn something, do it! Make up dances to describe certain concepts. These are especially good if you demonstrate first and are a ridiculously terrible dancer like me! "The Wave" that you see in stadiums has a lot of the same properties that all waves have ... it begins with a disturbance, propagates through a medium (which moves up and down, as the wave moves across the stadium), etc.. My Doppler dance involves holding an imaginary sounds source and raising yourself up (represents a higher pitch) as you move your hands toward yourself, or squatting down (lower pitch) when you move your hands away from yourself.
Meter stick center of gravity - balance a meter stick on two fingers, one at either end of the meter stick, and slide your fingers slowly together. The meter stick will stay balanced, and your fingers will meet at the center of mass (center of gravity) of the meter stick. When one finger gets closer to the COM than the other, it will be holding more of the weight of the meter stick, and thus experience more friction, which allows the other finger to catch up.
Bed of nails - Build one, or better yet, have a student or two build one outside of class and bring it in. All you need is a sheet of 1/2 inch plywood (cut to a rectangle roughly the size of one person's body), and nails hammered through spaced about 1 inch apart. Be sure to use some cushioning under your head, and crab-walk over the bed to lay on it. Spread your weight over as many nails as you can to reduce the pressure you feel from each nail. For a little extra drama, toss an apple onto the bed and watch it get impaled on the nails before you lay down. If you're not brave enough to lay on a bed of nails, make a small one for a balloon to lay on. You have to use a surprising amount of force to pop the balloon! Just be sure to protect your hands for when the balloon does finally pop.
Brick pendulum - Hang a brick from the ceiling using some strong rope. Tilt your head up and bring the brick up to your chin with the rope taught. Release the brick, and don't look down! Conservation of energy is shown as the brick cannot get higher than it started, unless you give it a push. Just in case you push it, keeping your head up will allow your head to snap back a bit if the brick hits you. No guts, no glory!
Categories game - come up with a category of household items, and have students try to figure out what it is by asking if specific items fit in your category. For example, your category could be "kitchen items". Students might ask, "is a blender in your category?" and you'd tell them yes. DON'T EVER TELL THEM WHAT YOUR CATEGORY WAS. Ask them questions to get to the idea that the only way we know if we have a "right" answer in science is by performing multiple tests and comparing the findings to our current understanding of a phenomenon.
Music – instruments, blue man group - When discussing sound and different types of resonators, bring in an instrument, especially if you play. Show them (or have them make predictions about) how to make the sound change in specific ways, such as increasing the pitch or decreasing the volume. They can each play with this by holding a wooden ruler tight against their desk, with only a bit sticking off the desk, then pushing down on and releasing the end. Vary how much ruler is sticking out to change the pitch. There are also great clips of the Blue Man Group playing an instrument called the "drumbone" where you can see them changing the length of the pipe they are hitting to change its pitch. Have students watch a few clips and write down observations about how to change the pitch in the various instruments that they see to get to the idea that, to change pitch, you either need to change length or the speed at which the wave travels (string thickness).