21st-century learning tools

In this week's application, we were asked to explore an online tool that could boost student’s interest in science. The topic I chose to explore was new ways of looking into the electromagnetic spectrum. I found a great website by The Smithsonian http://americanart.si.edu/education/pdf/Conservation_Electromagnetism_Lesson.pdf

What I liked most about this lesson is that it allows students to explore practical uses of the electromagnetic spectrum in a less traditional way. I have only taught the electromagnetic spectrum and its uses in the scientific realm in the past, but this lesson looks at how it is used in the process of art conservation; something I had never considered before. Students will look at how X-rays are used by art conservationist to look at possible cracks in sculptures that can't be seen by the naked eye. They explore how UV radiation can be used to identify the material in the artwork, and Infrared radiation is used to determine if there are any underdrawings under the painting we can see with visible light.

Students are presented with 3 different pieces of artwork, and their potential flaws, and must determine which type of electromagnetic spectrum wave should be applied. They will then see before & after pictures to really see the significance these tools have.

Because we are so lucky to live outside of NYC, we take our middle school students on a trip to The Metropolitan Museum each year. Our principal has asked us to find a lesson that would relate to the field trip, and is the past I've struggled to find a connection between science & The Met. Now I can teach this lesson prior to our field trip and tie the two together. The only challenge I might face with this lesson is some extra prep work on my part. I would need to find out, before our trip, if there are any paintings or sculptures that the Met might have used such applications on so that I could inform my students of this before we go.

Exploring heat transfer

For this week’s experiment, we looked at what type of materials are the best insulators. I set up the experiment by taking 4 identical ceramic coffee mugs and filled each with 8oz. of hot water. I covered each mug with four different materials; Aluminum foil, paper, an over mitt & a down comforter. My initial readings indicated that each mug contained water that was over 120 degrees, but since my thermometer only went up to 120 degrees, I can’t be sure what the exact starting temperatures were. After thirty minutes I took another reading, but the thermometer still went up to 120 degrees so I decided to let the mugs set for an additional fifteen minutes. So after a total of forty-fiver minutes, I found that the Aluminum foil worked best, keeping the water temperature at to 118, while the paper allowed the water to cool down to 110 degrees. Both the oven mitt & down comforter kept the water at about 115 degrees. From these observations, I would say that all worked well at keeping the water hot.

If I were to teach this lesson in class, I might use the above set-up, but then do a follow-up lesson where students could look at the container instead of the material is was covered with. Since most places like Starbucks use Styrofoam or paper cups, I feel like it would be better to test those materials against a ceramic mug to determine which are better insulators, as it is more likely that those containers would be used more often in real life. I also feel like I would need more accurate thermometers, perhaps digital ones that would give more valid readings.