Great Math sites

Math seems to get left out the "the equation"(ha!)when we talk about interactive sites or "fun" activities. The reality is that there is plenty out there by and for math teachers. Following are sites that might be useful(Thanks to Richard Byrne and others).

The Math Factor is a good podcast website for students finding interesting and challenging mathematics problems. Math teachers may also want to play the podcast in class then have students discuss and work on solutions to the problems. It has been created and maintained by the Math department at Univeristy of Arkansas. Much if it seem very interesting and challening to me.

Going global, NZMath is created and maintained by the New Zeland Ministry of Education. Algebra, Geometry and Statistics are among the areas covered, by level/ability. Looks interesting!

The Harvey Mudd College Math Department maintains a site called MuddMath Facts that allows for searches by topic. Again, lost of information

Kind of a fun way to begin class is with a video clip. Math in the Movies is a fun way to create an anticipatory set. The site is created and maintained by a member of the Harvard University Math department. PLEASE REMEMBER THAT THE STANDARD FOR APPROPRIATENESS AND LANGUAGE IS DIFFERENT AT THE UNIVERSITY LEVEL-PREVIEW ANYTHING FOR LANGUAGE AND CONTENT

Here is the latest application that I am hooked on: The Eyeballing Game is such a fun way to learn and interact with geometric theorems and shapes. It would be great on a SMARTboard! I've found that I am obsessed with trying to create the perfect parallelogram! The game rotates through the seven tasks three times and then provides you with an overall average of your accuracy along with where you rank with the last 10,000 people who have played the game. Think of class team competition using this application!

If you are a SMARTboard user at all you will appreciate Mr Vizza's site. The best I can figure, this gentleman is a math teacher with lots of time and experience with SMARTboards. He has a "gallery" of SMARTboard lessons and resources that is pretty amazing

Finally, there is Jim Reed, a Canadian math teacher who's page makes my head hurt. But if you are a math teacher, you will probably find some good information.

Great Science Sites

One of my favorite and probably the most informative blogs that I read is one written by Richard Byrne, a teacher in rural America. His "Free Tech for Teachers" blog is a wealth of information. This week- he is recapping resources by content area. Following are great SCIENCE sites(other content areas will follow) :

The Forces of Nature website provides a nice list of complete lesson plans for teachers of students in grades K through 12. The site is based on a film produced by National Geographic designed to educate students about volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes. The film apparently is still available on Amazon.com. But even without the movie, most of the lesson plans and activities are still very usable. You can even "create" volcanoes, tornadoes, earthquakes - very cool!

The US Department of Energy has a good collection of resources for teachers and students. The lesson plans found on the education page range from simple one page, ten minute activities to lesson plans that will take a day or more to complete.

Science Buddies is a great resource for science teachers and students. The site includes, project ideas, "ask an expert", resources and competition tips. It is worth the time to check this one out.

A research facility called Jefferson Lab is a great place to find educational online games and puzzles. The games from Jefferson Lab are great practice for applying science and math knowledge to problem solving. The site also has a great Teacher Resources page full of lesson plans for hands-on activities, study pages, and reference materials.

Phun is a project of a graduate student at Umea University in Sweden. The idea behind Phun is to create software that can used to create 2-D animations of physics concepts. The software allows users to create simple animations to demonstrate physics concepts. The playful synergy of science and art is novel, and makes Phun as educational as it is entertaining. I had fun watching the demo video and would love someone to "test" this with kids- It is a free download-If there are any "takers" out there, let me know.

The United Nations Environment Program has constructed a Google Maps mashup to displaying more than one hundred examples of environmental change. Each placemark on the map has close-up views of the land and a story about environmental change at that location. For example clicking on a placemark will reveal close-up imagery of the site and detailed information about the environmental changes taking place. Users of the UNEP Changing Environment Map are also able to download the imagery or view the sites in Google Earth.

The Fantastic Contraption may be my favorite game- An interactive opportunity to "build" working machines. It is addicting and would be GREAT on a SMARTBoard.

March is Women's History Month

I recognize that we are halfway throught the month, but there is still time to recognize March as Women's History Month. The Library of Congress has great information on their site at http://womenshistorymonth.gov/. The site includes a tab "For Teachers" that includes lesson plans, activities and research aids. Hope you and your students find it interesting

Here is an interesting web page that provides lots of ways to use WORDS.

Go to rhymezone.com. A search engine of sorts, allows you to type in a word and receive RHYMES, SYNONYMS, ANTONYMS, DEFINATIONS, QUOTES USING THE WORD, PICTURES and USES OF THE WORD IN SHAKESPEAR.
Kind of a cool way for students to find and use vocabulary. The site also includes a number of interactive games that would be useable on SMARTBOARDS. Check it out!

Thanks to Mr Albright for this one!!

Geek Brief 030409 - Google-411

Today's brief is with thanks to Mom Frango, my partner in crime here at PSHS.
Leave it to Google to come up with something like this!!!

I'm not sure this is necessarrily a classroom tool, but a great tool nonetheless:

Here's a number worth putting in your cell phone, or your home phone speed dial: 1-800-goog411 or 1-800-466-4411. This is an awesome service from Google, and it's free -- great when you are on the road. Don't waste your money on information calls.

Here is the information page and a video--Unfortunately it is on Youtube!