TELS RESOURCES
The goal of this note is to describe the resources (software, probes, learning activities, and projects) that might be used in the 12 topics that we are developing for research. The emphasis is on open source WISE and CC materials that collect student data. Feel free to add other resources that groups should review, particularly if they are in Java and can be used at no cost.
MIDDLE SCHOOL
EARTH SCIENCE: THE SOLID EARTH
WISE
*WISE Rock Cycle
*What's on your Plate: Janice's project
EARTH SCIENCE: THE ATMOSPHERE
WISE
*WISE Global Warming
*Greenhouse gases and Sensemaker debate. Contemporary Controversy.
*Astronomy
CC
The Footprint Calculator - JAVA app from Center for Sustainable Future. http://csf.concord.org// Download at http://www.concord.org/esf/resources/software/efc/install.htm
PHYSICAL SCIENCE: HEAT AND TEMPERATURE
WISE
*Probing your surroundings
Concord
Temperature probes & molecular models. Concord is developing a software interface to Pedagogica that uses the Go!Temp temperature sensor from Vernier. Pedagogica will be able to link the temperature recorded to a representation of the atomic motion using the Molecular Workbench.
Activities in the MOLO database at http://molo.concord.org/
*Heat vrs. Temperature #74
*Two Atoms and a Box #139
*Gas Diffusion #28
*Elastic Collisions between two particles #29
*States of Matter #127
*Latent heat #170
*Changing Phase #63
PHYSICAL SCIENCE: KINEMATICS: FORCE AND MOTION
Concord
MAC project Dynamica materials at http://mac.concord.org/
*Treasure Hunt
*Vector Motion
*Motion Graphs
*F = ma
*Force and Distance
Concord is not supporting ultrasonic motion probes for use with Pedagogica. Instead, it is developing video capture that uses $15-25 USB webcams. These will be demonstrated in August, and available late winter for
use in classrooms in 2005. For a sample of what an expensive system can do, see albertiswindow.com
BIOLOGY: CELL PROCESSES
Concord
Biologica MAC project http://mac.concord.org/ Meiosis
There is a Net Logo model of the AIDS epidemic and we have "Pedagogicized" NetLogo. See http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/AIDS
BIOLOGY: WATER QUALITY
WISE
*Water Quality
Concord
Bob will ask Barbara Tinker and Keith Wheeler if they know of materials that CC can contribute.
HIGH SCHOOL
PHYSICS: DYNAMICS
Concord
MAC project Dynamica materials at http://mac.concord.org/
*Treasure Hunt
*Vector Motion
*Motion Graphs
*F=ma
*Force and Distance
*Balancing Forces
*Forces in 2D
*Collisions
*Momentum
*Gravity
PHYSICS: ELECTRICITY
Concord
Dima is developing an electric circuit model tentatively called "Circuit World" that CC will demo in August and make available in late Fall. It will show voltage by color and current by marquee-like motion in the wires.
CHEMISTRY: CHEMICAL BONDS
Concord
Activities in the MOLO database at http://molo.concord.org/
*Molecular Viewer MOLO #185
*Bond Types MOLO # 50
*Chemical Equilibrium MOLO #24
*Reversibility of Chemical Reactions MOLO #113
CHEMISTRY: CHEMICAL REACTIONS
WISE
*Designer Fuels
Concord
Activities in the MOLO database at http://molo.concord.org/
*Molecular Viewer MOLO #185
*Energy Conservation MOLO #60
*Potential Energy in Covalent bonds MOLO #110
Dan Damelin working Automobile Fuels Unit will be ready by August. It shows the impact of disassociation energy and compression ratios on engine efficiency.
BIOLOGY: GENETICS
WISE
*Mitosis/Meiosis
*Antibiotic Resistance
Concord
MAC project Biologica materials at http://mac.concord.org/
genetics of dragons, hamsters, peas.
BIOLOGY: EVOLUTION
Concord
Population genetics. Concord is adding a "population level" to BioLogica which will "give life" to organisms, enabling them to roam around the screen, consuming "grass," and mating with each other. Users will be able to create their own rules governing the relative fitness of different phenotypes in different environments. One example of the use of this level has been to illustrate the amplification of the allele for sickle cell disease in the presence of malaria.
Molecules to populations. In progress
MAC Project http://mac.concord.org/ Dragon evolution.
Activities in the MOLO database at http://molo.concord.org/
*Protein Shaping MOLO #159
MODIFYING THESE RESOURCES
It is important to realize that these materials do not have to be used "as-is". We have funding to modify them or create new versions. The new developments we make could be anything from changing a few words to programming an entirely new model, as we are doing with "Circuit World" in response to teacher input. The project is open for suggested modifications and one of the goals of the summer meeting is to prioritize these development projects. Obviously, our programming resources are limited, and a significant amount of our software effort involves making it simpler to make these modifications. In many cases TELS Teachers and Scholars will be able to make the desired modifications, and we strongly urge this to happen rather than relying on our limited programming staff.
Here are some of the ways materials can be modified to meet the needs of developers, in order from simple to moderately complex:
- WISE customization. Start with a WISE unit that is close to what you want and change it.
- WISE authoring. WISE is really intuitive?try authoring a new unit in it.
- WISE 2.5. This is our name for WISE that easily incorporates CC models. By inserting a button, WISE can (or will soon) open any CC model that uses Pedagogica, including BioLogica, Dynamica, and most of the activities in the MoLo database.
- CC Model "tweaking". Some aspects of BioLogica, Dynamica, and the Molecular Workbench will be able to be "tweaked" by selecting options?no programming needed.
- Molecular Workbench authoring. One version of the Molecular Workbench is embedded in an environment that supports some of the simpler Pedagogica functions, but without requiring scripts. A page can have one or more models, graphs, controls, text boxes, questions, and links to other pages. The starting state of the model and the options available can be controlled. The resulting pages can stand alone or be launched from
WISE. - Pedagogica customization. Pedagogica is programmed in JavaScript. With only some understanding of programming, it is possible to go into a script and make some modifications.
- Pedagogica authoring from templates. We have developed Pedagogica templates that provide much of the programming for a unit. With only some minimal programming skills, you can generate your own Pedagogica activity in one of these template formats.
- Pedagogica authoring. JavaScript is not quite as hard as programming...
It is important to realize that other resources can be easily incorporated into Pedagogica, including NetLogo (http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/ ), Flash, and QuickTime. This means that one window can be running one of these in parallel to any other model or tool. Pedagogica can pass a parameter from one application to another. Thus, for instance the temperature measured by a probe can be passed to a molecular dynamics model so that the molecules go faster at higher temperatures. http://csf.concord.org//
Finally, it should be noted that almost any model can be build in a spreadsheet.
Posted by at Jun 04, 2012 12:49
