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! 1) Understanding Science UC Berkeley's Understanding Science website is a "must use" for all science teachers. 2) Field Research Journals The Field Book Project from the National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Archives intends to create a "one stop" archive for field research journals and other documentation. 3) Evolution 4) PhET Simulations 5) Earth Exploration 6) EdHead Interactives video
Google's AI Can Dream, and Here's What it Looks Like Software engineers at Google have been analyzing the 'dreams' of their computers. And it turns out that androids do dream of electric sheep... and also pig-snails, camel-birds and dog-fish. This conclusion has been made after testing the ability of Google's servers to recognize and create images of commonplace objects – for example, bananas and measuring cups. The result of this experiment is some tessellating Escher-esque artwork with Dali-like quirks. Google's artificial neural network creates its own images from keywords. Michael Tyka/Google. So, what's the point in creating these bizarre images? The Google artificial neural network is like a computer brain, inspired by the central nervous system of animals. The Google team then realized that they could reverse the process. Sometimes, the resulting images are not quite what you'd expect... Google's artificial neural network's interpretation of a dumbbell. Highly detailed elements seem to pop up out of nowhere. [Via Google]
What is science about? / Science / Learning areas / The New Zealand Curriculum Mā te whakaaro nui e hanga te whare;mā te mātauranga e whakaū. Science is a way of investigating, understanding, and explaining our natural, physical world and the wider universe. It involves generating and testing ideas, gathering evidence – including by making observations, carrying out investigations and modelling, and communicating and debating with others – in order to develop scientific knowledge, understanding, and explanations. Scientific progress comes from logical, systematic work and from creative insight, built on a foundation of respect for evidence. Return to top
Visually stunning math concepts which are easy to explain Welcome to Virtual Incredible Science! • Incredible Science Online The activities you find on this website have been created by each of our schools and departments: The School of Biological SciencesThe School of Chemical SciencesThe Department of Computer ScienceThe School of EnvironmentThe Institute of Marine ScienceThe Department of MathematicsThe Department of PhysicsThe School of PsychologyThe Department of Sport and Exercise ScienceThe Department of Statistics Having so many schools and departments doing amazing scientific research means it is easy to show you one of the coolest things about science – it is everywhere! Whether we’re talking about your favourite website, the colour your mum dyes her hair or why your feet get smelly, if you look behind the scenes of almost anything, you will find science in the answer. Explore the website – we hope you love it as much as we do. E whakahīhī ana te Wāhanga Pūtaiao ki Te Whare Wānanga o Tāmaki Makaurau, ki te whakaatu i a Pūtaiao Mīharo Kē Ao Mariko 2013, ki a koutou!
Beautiful Mathematical GIFs Will Mesmerize You Digital artist and physics PhD student Dave Whyte is dazzling our computer screens with his mesmerizing GIFs that are the perfect marriage of mathematics and art. And we can’t stop watching them. Whyte shares his brilliant, procrastination-fueling creations on an almost daily basis on his Tumblr account, Bees & Bombs. Whyte studies the physics of foam and told Colossal that his first geometric GIFs riffed on computational modules that he was exploring as an undergraduate student. To create his eye catching animations, Whyte uses a programming language called Processing. [Via Colossal, io9 and Bees & Bombs]
Science capabilities for citizenship / Home - Science Online The science learning area in the New Zealand Curriculum promotes the idea of developing citizenship capabilities. Students (citizens) need to be ready, willing, and able to use their science knowledge. This means dispositions are important. What does this mean for teaching and learning? Engaging critically with science is a bit like being a book or theatre critic. say what science is say what its strengths and weaknesses are ask informed questions about science issues. Building knowledge of science content and the processes of science is important, and so is building knowledge of the nature of science. The science capabilities help students practice the types of thinking, questioning, and actions needed to become informed citizens. Return to top
21 GIFs That Explain Mathematical Concepts “Let's face it; by and large math is not easy, but that's what makes it so rewarding when you conquer a problem, and reach new heights of understanding.” Danica McKellar As we usher in the start of a new school year, it’s time to hit the ground running in your classes! Math can be pretty tough, but since it is the language in which scientists interpret the Universe, there’s really no getting around learning it. Ellipse: Via: giphy Solving Pascal triangles: Via: Hersfold via Wikimedia Commons Use FOIL to easily multiply binomials: Via: mathcaptain Here’s how you solve logarithms: Via: imgur Use this trick so you don’t get mixed up when doing matrix transpositions: Via: Wikimedia Commons What the Pythagorean Theorem is really trying to show you: Via: giphy Exterior angles of polygons will ALWAYS add up to 360 degrees: Via: math.stackexchange If you’re studying trig, you better get pretty comfortable with circles. Via: imgur Via: Wikimedia Commons This shows the same thing, but a bit more simply: Via: imgur
Links | nZAPSe: New Zealand Association of Primary Science Educators!! A list of Websites and Curriculum Linked Material for kids and adults, fun Activities, Science Education Associations and Experiences that come to your school. These have been recommended by other teachers, parents and children as sources for great experiments and science ideas that can be used in or adapted for your classroom. If you have any recommendations that you would like us to share, please contact us to let us know! Need more resources on the Human Body? Here is your one page stop for links to websites on how the body and its systems work. A range of activities, worksheets, lesson plans and games. Courtney Phillips and her students recommended this site on the Human Body. Thank you to Lilly Dawson and the kids at schoolfundraisingevents.com for this site!! Awesome resource recommended by- Kelly Graves and the kids at Morrow Community Center
100,000 Stars Achievement objectives / Science Nature of science Students will: Understanding about science Appreciate that science is a way of explaining the world and that science knowledge changes over time. Identify ways in which scientists work together and provide evidence to support their ideas. Investigating in science Build on prior experiences, working together to share and examine their own and others’ knowledge. Ask questions, find evidence, explore simple models, and carry out appropriate investigations to develop simple explanations. Communicating in science Begin to use a range of scientific symbols, conventions, and vocabulary. Engage with a range of science texts and begin to question the purposes for which these texts are constructed. Participating and contributing Use their growing science knowledge when considering issues of concern to them. Explore various aspects of an issue and make decisions about possible actions. Living world Life processes Ecology Evolution Planet Earth and beyond Earth systems Interacting systems
Quantum mechanics 101: Demystifying tough physics in 4 easy lessons Ready to level up your working knowledge of quantum mechanics? Check out these four TED-Ed Lessons written by Chad Orzel, Associate Professor in the Department of Physics and Astronomy at Union College and author of How to Teach Quantum Physics to Your Dog. 1. Particles and waves: The central mystery of quantum mechanics One of the most amazing facts in physics is that everything in the universe, from light to electrons to atoms, behaves like both a particle and a wave at the same time. But how did physicists arrive at this mind-boggling conclusion? 2. Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger, one of the founders of quantum mechanics, posed this famous question: If you put a cat in a sealed box with a device that has a 50% chance of killing the cat in the next hour, what will be the state of the cat when that time is up? 3. When you think about Einstein and physics, E=mc^2 is probably the first thing that comes to mind. 4.