Solar Eclipse 2017 – Resources and Links to View (and Use in Math/Science class….)

I think by now most American’s are aware that there is a full solar eclipse coming on August 21. I have friends traveling to different parts of the country (Wyoming, South Carolina) just so they can see the complete eclipse instead of just a partial. It’s big deal. There has been a lot of talk about how to view the eclipse safely – yes people, you can damage your eyes and/or go blind if you look at the eclipse without some type of protective eye wear unless it is in complete totality (i.e. the sun is completely covered by the moon). If there is even a sliver of sun showing, eye damage is possible, so why risk it? Apparently there is a shortage of eclipse glasses – and regular sun glasses don’t cut it. Later in this post I will provide a way to make a device to see the eclipse without looking directly at it for those of you who did not jump on the eclipse glass ordering craze!

This is a rare occurrence and there are many sites and resources out there to help collect data, track the eclipse, watch it live streamed. I’ve compiled a list of sites and resources that provide lots of options that you can use personally or use with students. Lot of math and science questions and connections that can be made!

1. Space.Com – lots of links here to where to see the eclipse, how to track it, how to livestream, safety, etc.
2. State-by-State Map – also Space.Com but the slide show focuses on time and where to see the eclipse by state
3. NASA.gov Also shows where, when and how, with some great visuals and suggestions for safety
4. Eclipse2017.org A great resource – click on the different links to prepare, find maps, discussions on what an eclipse is, etc.
5. Science Space Institute – they have an app that will allow you to explore real-time images of the solar eclipse
6. Astronomy Magazine – 25 facts about the solar eclipse – (good resource to use with students!)
7. TimeandDate.com – very cool map that if you click on it (path of eclipse) it will show date, time, location
8. USA Today – lots of resources here, with an important one – the FAKE eclipse glasses that have gone on the market – beware!
9. The Washington Post – some fun facts about the sun, moon, eclipse – great for students
10. Sky & Telescope – lots of links to where, when, education resources all connected to the eclipse
11. Eclipsophile – interesting facts about each state in the path of totality – great math/science stuff here!

As you can see, there is a plethora of information on the solar eclipse out there to explore, much of which for you teachers out there, can become some really interesting math and science exploration and discussion.

Let’s end with some links to making your own SAFE eclipse viewer, because again, you do NOT want to look directly at the eclipse, especially partial, with the naked eye. Indirect viewing (or watch it livestream via some of the links above). Here are a few different links that show different ways to create your own eclipse viewers, and I have included a video at the end as well.

1. NASA – using things from around your house (well, only if you have binoculars)
2. National Geographic – uses stiff pieces of white cardboard. This is designed for use with students.
3. TimeandDate.com – pinhole box (so need a box, duct tape, scissors, white paper…)
4. Wikihow.com – this involves carboard and a camera (those of you wanting to take pictures)
5. USA Today – this involves a cereal box, aluminum foil, scissors, white paper – simplified pinhole box
6. Exploratorium – this has several methods, and even has the same scientist from the NASA as one option
7. Youtube – lots of videos on youtube on how to make an eclipse viewer.  I liked this one because it was simple and efficient.

Below is a video on making your own eclipse viewer. I chose this one because it was simple and uses items easily found around the house:

Pee In the Pool and Other Summer Problems – Problem Solving Resources

As part of my daily brush-up-on education news, I read over my Twitter feed to see what interesting articles or problems the many great educators and educational resource companies I follow might have shared. I laughed so hard when I saw the Tweet from @YummyMath asking how much pee was in the water, with a picture of a large pool and many people in it. Come on – let’s admit it, we have all asked that question at one time or another (especially if you are a parent!!)  It’s a great question. And now I am curious. Where to start? My thoughts are I’d probably need to do some research on the average amount of pee found in a pool and then go from there. The great thing here – Brian Marks from @YummyMath has done that work for me, and even has an engaging ‘lesson starter’ video to go along with the lesson (link to the lesson). So – this would be a really fun problem to start out with that first day of school – funny, lots to notice and wonder about, getting ideas from students on where to begin, what information they might need, etc.

In an early post this summer, Summer Vacation – Use Your Experiences to Create Engaging Lesson Ideas, I talked about how your own summer experiences could raise questions and interesting problem-solving experiences to bring back to the classroom. But – as the tweet from Brian Marks @yummyMath reminded me, there are other amazing educators and resources out there who are already thinking of these questions and even creating the lessons for you. No need to reinvent the wheel, as they say – if there are some interesting questions and resources already being posed and shared, then use them. Saves time, maybe provides some ideas you hadn’t thought of before, or maybe it takes something you did think of and provides some questions or links that you hadn’t found yourself. As educators, we need to really learn to collaborate and share our expertise so that we are not individuals trying to support just our students, but we are educators trying to work together to improve instructional practices and student achievement. Isn’t that what we try to stress within our own classrooms – i.e. working together, communicating, and sharing ideas because this leads to better understandings and new approaches? Same goes for our teaching practices and strategies.

Here are some fun problem-solving resources, with lots of different types of problems, but definitely some ‘summer-related’ things already started for you!

1. YummyMath – (check out the ‘costco-size’ beach towel activity….that’s funny!)
2. Mathalicious – (Check out the ‘License to Ill’ lesson – relevant to todays’ debate on Health Care & Insurance)
3. Tuva|Data Literacy (Check out their lessons and their technology for graphing and analyzing data, and their data sets – so much here!)
4. RealWorldMath
5. TheMathForum
6. Illuminations 
7. Center of Math
8. MakeMathMore.com
9. MashUpMath

 

Failure is Key to Learning & Perseverance – ISTE Keynotes

I was unable to attend one of my favorite conferences this year, the International Society for Technology in Education Annual Conference (ISTE), which was held in San Antonio, TX June 25-27 a couple weeks ago. I was doing some training in Austin, TX so could not make it. But – because it is a technology conference, they video many of the presentations, especially the keynotes, and make them available on their ISTE Youtube Channel

This years completed videos are not up yet, but there are some ‘teasers’ of the three keynote presentations. I particularly like the closing Keynote speaker, Reshma Saujani, the CEO and founder of Girls Who Code, on coding and how coding is all about the iterative process and failure – i.e. learning from failure and doing things over and over until you get things to work. This is how we develop that creative thinking, that problem-solving, and that critical thinking in students – letting them fail, learn from that failure, and try again. It speaks to the mathematical practice of making sense of problems and perseverance. Here is the excerpt that is currently posted on the ISTE website – short but worth a listen:

This is the excerpt from the opening keynote, Jad Abumrad, the founder of RadioLab, also about learning from failure.

Both of these speak to something I have been focused on this summer in a course I am teaching – how to get students to persevere in problem-solving and be okay with ‘failure’. Instead of giving up, to have that drive to find another path or look for another solution. I am sorry I missed the conference, but it’s nice to get a peek into some of what was focused on, and I think it’s something educators really need to think about as we use the summer to plan for next year – how can you support productive struggle and learning from failure and perseverance in students?

The Numbers Behind Fireworks – Math Could Save A Finger or Two

I certainly hope everyone enjoyed their 4th of July celebrations. I know I had a lovely time at the beach with my husband and friends. And, as we were at the shore, naturally we, along with hundreds of our ‘closest’ beach-going celebrants, headed down to the oceanfront with our chairs to enjoy a multitude of firework displays put on by five different beach cities. It was actually really nice because you can see all these shows, with some closer than others depending on where you are, and they are timed so you can see the end of one as another is beginning – about an hours worth of city-sponsored fireworks. At one point in time, I saw our cities show and in the background, with 3 other shows at varying distances away (due to the curve of the shore). I did try to capture it on film, but it was night – with a phone – so not the best of pictures!

While we were waiting, again with hundreds of others on the beach for a good many miles, there were those folks who brought along their own fireworks – sparklers for the children, high-grade fireworks firing off – all in all, very impressive and very scary. Especially as the bangs went off, and the ones on the ground smoked away with children running all around – and then there was the falling ‘sparks’ and debris from those larger ones set off by the water landing on folks all around (setting off some screams). The city firework displays are all set off on barges out on the water, done by professionals. Not so much the ones being set off on the shore – right around hundreds of people. While it was all good and fun, and everyone was celebrating the birth of our nation, it was actually a little frightening as well – considering how many of the ‘fireworks’ almost exploded right by us or went towards the houses instead of out to the water….

Naturally, as is my way, I felt the need to look up some numbers. The National Fire Protection Agency has research numbers specific to fireworks. And it’s kind of frightening really. Perhaps the most frightening one is the sparklers, which all the children were running around with and what I believe most people feel are fairly harmless. This little temperature graph might make you feel a bit differently. We are afraid to let children near pots of boiling water or get too close to a fire, yet we let them run around with sparklers in their hands that are burning at 1200 degrees, almost 6 times hotter than boiling water.  WOW!  That’s an eye opener.  And, as a result, according to the NFPA, sparklers account for more than 1/4 of emergency room fireworks injuries – and who is it that is usually walking around with those sparklers – young children. Just to frighten you a little more with the numbers, the circle graph to the right shows the types of injuries that occur – notice, hand & fingers have the highest chance of injuries, with head and eyes tied for second. Again – think of those kids running around with the sparklers……

If we explore the data a little more, we find some interesting statistics:

So – makes sense, if we look at the graph on the right and the graph in the middle, that because sparkler related injuries are the most prevalent, that kids 5-9 have the highest risk for injury since they tend to be the ones running around with those sparklers. But notice in the circle graph to the left that ages 25-44 actually had more reported injuries, which, based on my own experiences and observations, also makes sense when you look at the type of fireworks that are causing the injuries (graph to the right) after sparklers – illegal firecrackers, small firecrackers, those with re-loadable shells. In other words, this is what ‘the dads’ are doing or the ‘adults’ or, as evidenced last night, the large group of college-age kids. They are the ones setting off the big, scary fireworks on the beach – and getting injured more.

Obviously, not many people think about statistics when planning for some fun on the 4th of July (or New Years or other firework-worthy celebrations). It’s about the fun. But – my guess, especially with parents of younger kids who don’t see the harm of those little sparklers – if you showed them some statistics, especially that temperature graph with sparklers at the top, there might be some reconsidering of the ‘playing with fireworks’ mentality. Math could save a couple of fingers…..

Free Online Casio How-to’s & Content Focused lessons – Great Personal Learning Resources

I am clearly on a ‘what should you do with your summer’ kick, if you look at my previous two posts. But – my belief is that summer, while a time for fun and relaxation, is also a time to brush up on some skills you may be lacking or things you want to learn, find new ideas for the classroom….basically, use the time to foster your own personal learning.

This learning doesn’t need to be expensive, it doesn’t need to be long – it’s all about improving skills or learning new ones. With that said, I thought I would remind all of you, whether you are a teacher, a student, or a parent of a student – if you want to brush up on your Casio calculator skills, we have a lot of free online tutorials and how-to’s that might fit the bill. In my interactions with teachers, I am often asked if we have ‘tutorials’ so that the teachers can support all those students coming to class with Casio calculators (because they are more affordable and much more intuitive to use).  The answer is yes!

In this post I am just going to share some links to our free online resources, and highlight a couple of the videos here as well.

Casio Education has a Youtube Channel where we post previous webinars (so these are longer and actual ‘lessons’), shorter how-to’s, and some quick reference videos and overviews as well. Here’s the link to the Casio YouTube Channel.

A couple highlights here:

Here is an example of a short look at the fx-9860 Stat menu:

Here is a much longer lesson with the Casio Prizm on families of functions:

There are also Prizm specific guided tours at this link.

And I have my personal YouTube channel where I do comparisons and how-to’s on the different calculators, so there might be something of interest there as well.

Here’s a quick how-to using the fx-991 Scientific Calculator to solve systems of equations (and use the QR code):

So – if you have a spare 10 minutes or a spare hour, there’s something for you and we will continually add to these so come back often!

Summer Vacation – Use Your Experiences to Create Engaging Lesson Ideas

Sea Turtle at the Big Island, HI. How long do they live? How far do they travel??

I know most students and teachers this time of year are very familiar with Alice Cooper’s song “School’s Out for Summer”  (Seniors are probably focused on the line “school’s out forever….”  Maybe even some teachers!)  No doubt, summer is a time of rejuvenation for students and teachers – a much needed break, both mentally and physically. Note: Those of you who do not teach, and see teachers as having it ‘easy’ with the summers off, might try to spend some time in a teachers shoes before making those ridiculous assumptions, or read up a bit on what teachers actually do (they work more than 40 hours per week) and why summer breaks are so important.

Summer break is fast approaching for many, and some may have even started theirs. I remember those first couple of weeks literally not wanting to even look at anything related to school, students, or teaching. But – as most teachers will attest to, there comes a point where summer vacation weaves into professional learning or preparing for the next school year to begin. We never really turn off completely – we take classes to learn something new, or research some new technology or applications we want to try in class next year, or we revamp some lessons from the previous year. Summer vacation always ends up, at some time or other, connected back to teaching and learning – either personally for our own professional growth, or related to how we can be even better the next school year for our new group of students.

For me personally, everything I do always has me thinking of ways to create an interesting lesson for my students. It’s that pervasive idea that whenever possible, connecting the real world back to what students are learning will make the learning engaging and relevant. Just last week, sitting on the beach in Sea Isle City, NJ, watching this big machine out in the water that was dredging sand to replenish Avalon Beach, all I could think about were questions I would want my students to investigate.  Just a few of my questions, as I sat there:

• How much sand is being pulled up? Is it from the same spot (my observation, since the dredge is in a different location each day, is that no it is not)
• What happens to the sea animals and plant life that are ‘dredged’ up with the sand? Or, is there a filter that only allows sand in?
• What are the impacts on the sea life?
• How many hours a day do the dredges run? (seems like 24 hours to me!)
• How long does beach replenishment last? (if you don’t have any storms to wash it all back to sea) How long does it take to replenish a beach?
• How many pounds of sand is needed and where do they place the sand?

Lots of questions just from sitting and watching. What a great #STEM lesson this would be for students – there’s math, there’s science, there’s engineering and there’s definitely technology – it’s quite the endeavor. There is probably a ton of data out there and information about sand restoration projects, so you could have students researching, doing the math, checking out the science, investigating the machines used and the manpower needed. I did an initial search and found a couple articles already where I learned things like the grain size of the sand determines where the dredge pulls sand from (has to match the beach they are replenishing).  Pipelines are created to carry the sand from the dredge to the beach (so, how big are those pipelines? What happens after they ‘finish’ – do the pipes get removed?) Sometimes this is done to protect sea life, often times to protect commercial and residential properties, so this then begs the questions such as what’s the cost (money wise and to the environment), who benefits, what are the potential dangers and damage (to environment/sea life, etc). Here’s just a few articles I found.

• Beach Replenishment
• Beach Nourishment
• Beach Reclamation

My point here is not to give you a lesson on beach restoration. Instead, my point is that I was just sitting on the beach, enjoying my vacation, and saw the

Two clear streams in Costa Rica that when they meet, the chemicals in them react and turn the water blue. Why

machinery and started thinking. Posing questions. Realizing that there could be an amazing #STEM lesson here, which got me excited and doing research and yes – vacation or not – planning for teaching.  I think it is a natural tendency as a teacher to see a ‘lesson’ pretty much anywhere we go, which is what I want to emphasize here. Even on vacation, if you have a great idea based on something you are doing or seeing, some idea you think would be an engaging lesson, go with it. Take some pictures. Write down some ideas. Do some research. Use your own experiences and ‘time off’ to discover teaching ideas and spark your own enthusiasm for the next school year. Bring your vacation into your classroom and build relevant, real-world, multi-content lesson ideas that will spark student engagement, questioning, critical thinking and problem-solving.

Rethinking Summer School – Equity & Promoting Student Learning

Summer school – I know that it conjures up bad thoughts in most of our minds. Having to go to summer school usually means you failed a course or a grade and you have to make it up.  But – do only the ‘failures’ or the ‘bad kids’ need to go to summer school? Is that what summer school is for? This is what most of us think of when we consider summer school, when in reality, summer school should be a place where all students could go to keep on track, get ahead, or learn some new things. Research shows that the 3-month summer break is often a huge learning set-back for many students, particularly minority students and students living in poverty, causing a widening of the achievement gap, in part because these students are often denied opportunities for summer ‘enrichment’ courses or camps. Summer school options are usually focused on remediation and failures, and not very enticing for students to attend voluntarily, and so we have most students taking a 3 month break from any learning. But what if we approached summer school differently? What if it weren’t a punishment, but rather a place where students were motivated by other students or college student mentors and were engaged in new and interesting topics that kept them learning?

I found this really motivating TedTalk by Karim Abouelnaga, who from his own experiences with school, decided to try to change the way we rethink summer school. It’s not too late, even for this year, for those of you educators out there getting ready for this years summer school to consider making some changes that would make summer school a learning opportunity for all students.