Learning Hub

Yokohama International School in Japan requires all teachers and students to have a blog on The Learning Hub, a WordPress platform,  to  share resources, display projects, and comment on posts and projects. I was surprised that blogs are not password protected and even administrators have their own blogs.

Resources:
Kim Kofino's blog.

Sims for Science

Since 2002, PhET (The *Ph*ysics *E*ducation *T*echnology Project) developed over 90 interactive simulations (sims) for teaching and learning science. The simulations animate what is invisible to the eye through the use of graphics and intuitive controls such as click-and-drag manipulation, sliders and radio buttons. The simulations create animated, interactive, game-like environments in which students learn through scientist-like exploration. The sims emphasize important connections between real-life phenomena and the underlying science.






Figure 1: Gas Properties Sim


With a highly intuitive interface and minimal text, PhET sims are designed to give teachers control over how they are used in the classroom, enabling teachers to customize their use of sims to match their environment and learning goals. This flexibility allows PhET sims to be used in class, in lab or as homework, and with groups or individual students. While PhET sims can be used in a variety of ways, they are specifically designed to make scientist-like, inquiry-based activities productive and fun learning experiences for students (Introduction to the PhET Project).
Please visit PhET website at http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new



Figure 2: Acid-Base Solutions Sim


Physics
Motion, Sound & Waves, Work, Energy & Power, Heat & Thermo, Quantum Phenomena, Light & Radiation, and Electricity, Magnets & Circuits.

Biology
Balloons and Static Electricity, Blackbody Spectrum, Color Vision, Curve Fitting, Density, Eating & Exercise, Gene Machine: The Lac Operon, Membrane Channels, Molecular Motors, Natural Selection, Neuron, Optical Tweezers and Applications, pH Scale, Plinko Probability, Reactions & Rates, Salts & Solubility, Simplified MRI, Sound, and Stretching DNA.

Chemistry
Acid-Base Solutions, Alpha Decay. Atomic Interactions, Balancing Chemical Equations, Balloons & Buoyancy, Balloons and Static Electricity, Beta Decay, Blackbody Spectrum, Build a Molecule, Build an Atom, Density, Gas Properties, The Greenhouse Effect, Isotopes and Atomic Mass, Microwaves, Models of the Hydrogen Atom, Molecules and Light, Neon Lights & Other Discharge Lamps, Nuclear Fission, Photoelectric Effect, etc.

Earth Science
Molecules and Light, Gravity and Orbits, Glaciers, Balloons & Buoyancy, Gas Properties, Balloons and Static Electricity, Sound, The Greenhouse Effect, Wave on a String, Blackbody Spectrum, My Solar System, and Radioactive Dating Game. 
 
Java and Flash should be installed on a computer to run the simulations.


Figure 3: Reactants, Products, and Leftovers Sim

Eighth Grade Romeo and Juliet Project

Loryn Croot and Lindsay Fauth

 
ROMEO AND JULIET, 1884
A painting by Frank Dicksee

Over the past few weeks, something really cool has been happening in the eighth grade that reflects our Middle School learning philosophy and provides us with a snapshot of students' classroom experiences. The eighth grade has been studying Romeo and Juliet as part of their coming-of-age curriculum. Grade 8 English teachers Loryn Croot and Lindsay Fauth arranged for a presentation of segments the Grades 11 and 12 play, Goodnight Desdemona (Good Morning Juliet), for the eighth grade. Director Sonya Baehr described the play and the scenes that they were going to watch, which were related to Romeo and Juliet. Following the scenes, the Upper School actors answered questions about Shakespearean language and understanding the meaning in the delivery of the lines. In addition to being extremely fun and funny, the effect of watching students enjoying and speaking about Shakespeare was very powerful for the eighth grade.

It was a perfect kickoff to their film project, in which small groups chose scenes from Romeo and Juliet to interpret, write about, perform, and record in a short video. Over the past few weeks, the halls of Poly have been filled with mini-film crews looking for balconies and filming fight scenes. The level of engagement and investment in the project results in a much higher understanding of the text of the play. Shakespeare's language is incredibly rich and subtle and requires a great deal of work. Simply decoding the plot misses the whole point of studying Shakespeare at this age. Through the film project, students apply their full energy and enthusiasm towards truly understanding the language of the play and forming their own interpretations of the roles.

For me, seeing excited eighth graders arguing over the best way to portray a character and how to produce the best scene is really, really amazing. When motivated and focused, the creative and intellectual product that 13-year-olds are capable of is really impressive. Accordingly, the papers written about the interpretations were clearly enhanced by the heightened level of investment that students had in the project. In addition, the project is a great example of the benefits of technology integration given the critical thinking skills that were involved in the filming and editing as well as secondary technology skills that were learned ( Head of Middle School: Planning for This Year and Next Year. The Poly Pulse, 5/5/08).

Act 1, Scene 4

Act 1, Scenes 4 and 5

Act 2, Scene 2: The Balcony Scene

Act 4, Scene 3

Act 5, Scene 1