EDU 528 - Technology in Schools Nirasha Premaratne Oct 2009

Project Outline

Purpose:
1. To increase students' awareness and interest in Physics and recognize it be a simple everyday part of life
2. To introduce and promote Physics with student-friendly technology (mobile phones-iphones, camera
phones, flip cams, computers/ internet/ blogging)
3. To create an online social network where students are given an opportunity to apply their creativity and
imagination with a focus on Physics

Technology:
1. Any recordable device for audio/video recording (phone/ camcorder/ flip cam…..)
2. Computer with software to edit and create a short movie/ movie clip (pc-windows XP- Windows Movie
Maker…..)
3. Online platform to upload the movie and interact with teacher and peers (Blog)
4. Web 2.0 Tools for publishing/casting/posting teacher/student work

Ideas for videos/movies:

1. Interviews with carpenters/builders/engineers/technicians/athletes/……. on a simple Physics
phenomena (pressure/weight.moments/speed/acceleration/levers………)
– examples:
a. how a painter balances himself on a small platform outside the 30th floor window and why,
what happens if he does not mind his position on the platform
b. the secret of the fastest swimmer in school – streamlining – swimming cap and suit, body
movements…..
c. why a builder uses so many different kinds of tools
2. Home-movies
– examples:
a. why the high chair tipped when the baby stood on it and leaned over
b. why I have bad hair days mostly on less humid days
c. how mom’s stilettos can be deadly
d. how to cheat on the bathroom scales with pulleys and ropes
3. Nature
– examples:
a. why are most trees symmetrical around the trunk
b. why do deer cause more damage to car than a smaller animal would in a collision
c. proof that Earth is spinning around its axis
4. Experiments/demonstrations
– examples:
a. measuring acceleration using ticker-tape timer
b. finding gravitational acceleration using a stop watch and pendulum

Students post the video on the Blog where other students and teacher can make comments on it using a
discussion thread and rate the video on a popular voting system.
Each week the most popular video would be displayed on the home page of the Blog

Other benefits of the project:

These videos could be used in actual lesson introductions on the assumption that a video made by a fellow
student will get other students more interested in the lesson.
A library of ready-made videos would be available for future use