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Games and a Virtual Field Trip Make Math Fun for Pi Day. 21st Century Learning Games and a Virtual Field Trip Make Math Fun for Pi Day Every March 14, math fans celebrate Pi Day, but this Saturday will be numerologically unique.

Games and a Virtual Field Trip Make Math Fun for Pi Day

On March 14, 2015, at 9:26:53 A.M. and P.M., the date and time will reflect the first 10 digits of π. Slackmath - QR Video Solutions to Math Problems. By Request - 5 Resources for Teaching About the Forces of Nature. I'm starting to get caught up on a backlog of requests that have come through on the Free Technology for Teachers Facebook page.

By Request - 5 Resources for Teaching About the Forces of Nature

If I haven't gotten to yours yet, I will soon. One of the recent requests was for resources for teaching elementary school students about the forces of nature. Here are five resources for that purpose. Forces of Nature is a film produced by National Geographic designed to educate students about volcanoes, earthquakes, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Online 3D Models of Molecules. Canvas Mol is a website that provides 3D, interactive, rotating models of simple and complex molecules.

Online 3D Models of Molecules

There are more than fifty models of relatively common molecules like glucose, fructose, and morphine. Each model can be altered to show or not show bonds, to show or not show individual atoms, and to rotate on the X,Y, or Z axis. Canvas Mol works best in Chrome or Opera, but it can also be used in Firefox and Safari. Applications for EducationCanvas Mol could be a great resource for chemistry and biology teachers and students. Teachers can manipulate the models to include or not include all parts of the model. Ten Websites for Science Teachers.

We all know that the web is full of excellent web resources for science teachers and students. However, unless you live on the web, finding the best websites can become quite a challenge. This isn't a "Top Ten" list -- instead, it is a list of websites that I either use on a regular basis or just find interesting. From teaching resources for the nature of science and authentic field journals to wacky videos about numbers, I am sure that you will find something in the following list the works for you! Please share your favorite science web resources in the comment section! eSkeletons - Online Comparisons of Mammal Skeletons. eSkeletons is a great website produced by the Department of Anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. eSkeletons features interactive models of mammal skeletons.

eSkeletons - Online Comparisons of Mammal Skeletons

Select a model from the menu on the home page then click on any bone in the model to view it in detail. After select a bone to view you can choose from a menu of viewing angles. In many cases eSkeletons offers a short video display of the bone you've selected from the menu. eSkeletons gives students the option to compare bones across models. Math Art Projects. Make math meaningful with these fun projects that allow your students' creativity to shine!

Math Art Projects

Post-It Note Math Integrate math and art with this collaborative project. Divide students up into groups. First, students map out their design on graph paper, creating a multiplication array. Their design can be square or rectangular. When they're finished sketching it out, have them write down the equation for their array. Thinglink + Chemistry = Interactive Periodic Table of Elements. ThingLink is one of my favorite tools for playing with media which is why I've written more than a dozen posts about it in the last two years.

Thinglink + Chemistry = Interactive Periodic Table of Elements

ThingLink allows you to create interactive images by adding links, text, videos, and audio recordings to any static image that you own (click here for a how-to video). ThingLink's image remix option allows you to upload an image and have others re-use it to create their own interactive images. Explore the Planets and Their Moons in Google Earth. Google Earth has included moon, mars, and sky imagery for quite a while.

Explore the Planets and Their Moons in Google Earth

You can find that imagery by simply selecting it from the drop-down menu within the Google Earth toolbar. To explore imagery of other planets and their moons you have to find it in a Google Earth file and open it. The SETI Institute offers nineteen Google Earth files that you can use to explore other imagery of other planets and their moons. Recent enhancement to the Google Maps gallery has made it easier to access Google Earth files. You don't have to have Google Earth installed in order to view the imagery published by the SETI Institute. Students Can Build and Launch Virtual Rockets on Rocket Science 101 from NASA. Rocket Science 101 is a free iPad app offered by NASA designed to help students understand how rockets work.

Students Can Build and Launch Virtual Rockets on Rocket Science 101 from NASA

The app also helps students understand the differences between the four types of rockets most frequently used by NASA. In Rocket Science 101 students can build all four rockets in a jigsaw-like activity then virtually launch their rockets. When the rockets are launched students see the timing of each stage of the launch from surface to orbit. After playing with the four types of rockets students can try their hands at matching rockets to real NASA missions. In the challenges students read about a NASA mission then have to select the rocket that can carry the payload and travel the distance required to complete the mission. Bioman Biology - Science Games and Virtual Labs. Bioman Biology is a nice resource that I learned about from David Andrade.

Bioman Biology - Science Games and Virtual Labs

On Bioman Biology you will find dozens of educational games and virtual labs designed to help students learn about topics related to biology. The games and virtual labs are organized into eight topics; physiology, cells, ecology, genetics, classification, life chemistry, respiration, and scientific methods. PhotoMath Could Change the Way We Think About Teaching Math. As I do every year, I am taking this week to relax, recharge, and ski with friends.

PhotoMath Could Change the Way We Think About Teaching Math

While I'm away I will be re-running the most popular posts of the year. This was the second most popular post in October, 2014. PhotoMath is a new iPhone and Windows phone app that will provide users with the solution to math problems. PhotoMath users can take a picture of a math problem in a book and have the problem completed for them. The "steps" button on the app will show users the steps needed to successfully solve the math problem. New Digital Math Textbook Incorporates Inquiry-Based Learning. Digital Textbooks. Stephen Hawking's Big Ideas Explained with Simple Animation. Full disclosure: On my 7th grade report card, a sympathetic science teacher tempered a shockingly low grade with a handwritten note to my parents. Something to the effect of it being her opinion that my interest in theater would, ultimately, serve me far better than any information she was attempting to ram through my skull. Thank you, Miss Cooper, for your compassion and exceptional foresight.

There are times, though, when I do wish I was just a teensy bit better informed about certain buzzy scientific theories. Feed the Dingo - A Fun Game About Ecosystems. Feed the Dingo is a fun game that teaches students about the importance of maintaining balanced ecosystems. In the game students have to build and maintain a desert ecosystem. The game begins with a blank slate to which students have to add plants and animals.

The game plays out over twelve virtual days. Each day students have to add more elements in order to maintain balance in the ecosystem. At the end of each day students are given feedback as to which plants and animals are healthy, which are in danger, and which have died. Twelve a Dozen. Toca Nature. Try Science - Online and Offline Science Activities for Kids. TryScience, produced by the New York Hall of Science, offers a nice collection of online and offline science activities for elementary school students. On TryScience you will dozens of activities arranged by topic. The offline activities are hands-on activities like wind mapping with bubbles and building tin foil boats.

The most of the online activities, like Catch the Wave, have an offline activity that you can use to teach the same concepts found in the online version. A Stunningly Simple Way To Explain Pi. 2 Good Sites and 2 Good iPad Apps to Virtually Explore Chemical Reactions. The chemistry lab was the location of some of my most memorable moments in high school. New Study Shows Benefits of Visual Game-Based Math. A recent WestEd study showed significant achievement gains from the use of visual game-based ST Math in 129 California elementary schools. The blended learning math program developed by an southern California nonprofit has more than ten years of demonstrated results at scale.

A Handful of Good Resources for Learning About Dinosaurs. How the Human Heart Works - A Video, an Animation, and an App. How Lungs Work - A Video and an App. The New Periodic Table Song (In Order) Innovative Education Apps: Bio Inc. Innovative Education Apps: Bio Inc. The Elements by Theodore Gray. 100 Math Smartboard Lessons K-5. HubPages report. TenMarks Adds New Free Features for Teachers. TenMarks is a service that offers an online mathematics program designed to supplement your in-classroom mathematics instruction.

Star Walk Kids - Astronomy for Children. Cycles of Learning - Home. ABCya's 100 Number Chart Offers a Fun Math Activity for Kids. From time to time I like to feature offerings from the sponsors of Free Technology for Teachers. ABCya.com is the longest running sponsor of this blog. How children’s brains memorize math facts (study) Making Science Fun for Kids. Dozens of Math Games for Primary / Elementary School Students. Throwback Thursday- Geometry Galore. FREE: Practice Math with 10 Monkeys. Math games. Explore the Moon and Mars in Google Maps. Math in the Movies. Google Gravity. Go Wild - Online and Offline Activities for Learning About Animals. Todo Math: Great Math App for Diverse Learners - Getting Smart by Alesha Bishop - blended learning, digital learning, EdTech, math, mathchat, STEM, technology.

OLogy. Cartoon elements make learning the periodic table fun... Create Molecular Model Simulations With the Molecular Workbench. Science simulation. Learn How To Make Science Fun In The Classroom. Teachley: Mt. Multiplis. Learn Genetics. Math Run - Mathgame - how fast are your Math skills? A simple Math Training Game for everyone. Do-It-Yourself Podcast. Pyramid - Math word definition.