The Transistor Museum
The Transistor Museum is a fascinating site "dedicated to preserving the history of the greatest invention of the 20th century." The museum's front page mentions some remarkable facts and quotes that demonstrate the importance of the transistor in modern life. Visitors can read transcripts of lectures, oral histories, and short biographies of notable individuals who played a role in the development of transistor applications. An impressive photo gallery showcases some of the most prominent histo
Cryptology ePrint Archive
The International Association for Cryptologic Research (IACR) maintains this archive of nearly 400 research papers on various topics in cryptology. Contents date back to 1996, and new material is posted most weeks. Papers generally describe original theories about a certain topic, analyses of cryptologic methods, or proofs of specific equations. Anyone can submit their research for possible inclusion in the archive. There is not an extensive refereeing process, which allows authors to more quick
Computer Science Student Resource Site by William Stallings
This diverse collection of refreshers, how-tos, and research guides, while geared for computer science (CS) students, also has a few resources that are useful for anyone. A quick review of mathematical concepts and advice on how to write papers and abstracts fit in the later category. Students starting out in CS may find the explanation of binary and hexadecimal systems valuable, or perhaps the detailed guide to queuing analysis. An especially humorous article titled "What the Professor Really M
University of Aberdeen: Dryland Rivers Research
This University of Aberdeen website "is intended to stimulate research by providing an information focus and provoking networking between those working on dryland rivers and the sediments they leave behind." Following an introduction to the subjects covered at the site and the latest news, users can discover what drylands are and why they occur. Researchers can explore the work of numerous researchers related to geomorphology, sedimentology, processes, techniques, and environment and engineering
Learning math : Measurement
This college level course, developed for elementary and middle school teachers, begins with the fundamentals of measurement, then examines standard units in the metric and customary systems. Online workshop sessions cover measurement of a circle, area and volume formulas, angle measurement, and indirect measurement encountered in trigonometry. The final session explores ways to apply these concepts to K-8 classroom teaching. Each of its ten sessions contains video programming, problem-solving ac
Mathematics Museum
Like any museum, this website called the Mathematics Museum provides some interesting visuals and explanations of various aspects of its subject, in this case mathematics. For example, the Fractal 3D Gallery includes video footage of 3D fractals and an FAQ section that provides some basic information on fractals. The Kodawari house includes some interesting math games and instruction for children as well as more advanced mathematics. Visitors can browse images created using Mathematica software
Idea Bank : A Big Bang Lab
The authors of "How Far are the Stars," featured in the February issue of The Science Teacher, showed how the measurement of parallax permits scientists to infer astronomic distances. Give your students the chance to make similar inferences through a free module available online that allows students to scale sizes and distances, and then create models from which they calculate inferences that, in simplified form, give results that astronomers obtained similarly in recent times.
Zookeeper
Teachers can direct students to this material to help them investigate a career as a zookeeper. Having students review this page can be an excellent precursor to a job-shadowing activity. The discussion board's set of questions and answers can be a helpful resource for an activity in which students produce a number of pertinent questions that should be asked of a zookeeper when investigating this field of work.
Energy-mass conversion
How do physicists make new particles? In this page of a particle physics tutorial, students are introduced to the concept of converting kinetic energy to mass. Students read that low-mass particles placed into an accelerator can be smashed together to produce more massive particles through the conversion of energy to mass. They see an example in which two pieces of fruit are accelerated and smashed, and additional types of fruit are produced. Copyright 2005 Eisenhower National Clearinghouse
Natural Resources, the Environment, and Ecosystems
This collection of teacher guides includes: Ecosystems and Climate, Wildlife - Just One Piece of the Picture, Integrated Pest Management, Soil and Ecosystems, Sustainable Agriculture, and The Web of Life - Understanding Ecosystems. Each guide includes a subject overview, objectives, and student activities. By the end, students should be able to understand the effect of climate on ecosystems; the interrelationships of animals with components of their natural ecosystem; how ecosystems benefit from
Scope on Safety : Essential First Aid for Science Teachers
From a practical standpoint, science teachers should be trained to respond to incidents involving burns, bleeding, chemical exposure, swallowed poisons, penetrating objects, lacerations, and shock. Basic training is required to properly handle these situations, and this training should be reviewed annually. A list of possible lab incidents and the appropriate first-aid response is provided.
Quick take on the trip of a drip
The concept of evaporation is generally understood by students in grades 5-8, but they may be unsure of the journey that a single drop of water takes from the sky to earth and back again. The National Science Education Standards stress that the process of condensation requires extensive observation and instruction if students are to really understand the water cycle.
Water Properties
This simple description of the chemical and physical properties of water was produced by the U.S. Geological Survey. It includes a brief quiz to assess prior knowledge, diagrams of water molecules, and important numerical data about water.
Wisconsin Fast Plants Program
This is the homepage of the Fast Plants organization. Fast Plants are inexpensive seeds which take approximately 2 weeks from planting to flowering. The website includes seed ordering, growing directions, and activities.
Quick take on action with fractions
Really understanding what fractions are, how they fit on the number line, and how to operate with them-add, subtract, multiply, divide-is central to learning decimals and percentages. According to the NCTM Principles and Standards, students in the middle grades should be expected to acquire a deeper understanding of fractions, decimals, and percents and an increased flexibility in using them to solve problems. Yet students may reach even the higher grades of middle school without a firm grasp of
Delights of Chemistry - Chemistry Demonstrations performed in Leeds
A variety of chemistry demonstrations which were performed at the University of Leeds. Movies, photos and text that explains our chemical reactions are available within this site.
The Tropical Meteorology Project
This site includes a link to Tropical Storm Forecast, yearly forecasts for tropical storms, named storms, typhoons, hurricanes, and intense hurricanes include the current forecast and archived forecasts. Other links lead to weather products, research, and articles from The Tropical Meteorology Project, Colorado State University Researchers, and the Tropical Storm Research community from around the world. There are also tropical storm frequently asked questions about typhoons, hurricanes, and oth
Microbes 2 : Louis Pasteur a microbe discoverer
Microbes 2: Louis Pasteur a Microbe Discoverer focuses on Pasteur and his discovery of microorganisms. Students know about germs for example, they know to wash their hands to prevent spreading germs and are ready to learn about the discovery of them. Middle-school students may not be able to imagine a world in which people did not know germs existed, because in general, students often have difficulty understanding that the beliefs, values, attitudes, and points of view of people in the past are
Quick take on those dicey decimals!
Understanding decimals is a must and practice with them a basic necessity. These digital resources feature games, lessons, and interactive experiences that encourage understanding and practice at varying levels of mastery.
Written division
Factsheets emphasize the meaning of place value in division, the concept of division as repeated subtraction, division by 10 and 100, and well explained examples of both short and long division. A game as well as worksheets and quizzes are provided for practice.
