NASA is scheduled to launch five suborbital sounding rockets from their Wallops Facility in VA between 12 – 1:30 am tonight to study the upper level jet stream. You may be able to see chemical tracers in the sky for about 20 minutes. More information can be found here:
Category Archives: APlusPhysics
RAPTOR Physics Teacher Meeting 3/10/12
ANNOUNCEMENTS
- The University of Rochester Laser Energetics Lab is looking for talented high school juniors for their Laser Energetics Lab summer internship program.
- The good folks at Syracuse Universityare offering a three week QuarkNet course this summer, and they would like to get the word out about it. Dr. Steve Blusk (a B-meson researcher) is heading up the endeavor, with help from several other professors, including an expert in neutrino research. Ranald Bleakley (Weedsport High School) and Joshua Buchman (Fayetteville-Manlius High School) have been working with them all to help make sure that the course will be extremely beneficial to high school teachers. The program is likely to be offered for the next several summers, so it would be great to let people know this will be available.
Specifics:
SyracuseQuarkNetSummerProgram.pdf
Three week course (6/25-7/13)
The course will involve lectures on particle physics and particle physics research, lots of Q and A, fantastic lab experiences related to particle physics research, and a three-day detector seminar by Tom Jordan from QuarkNet.
$1500 stipend for participants
(No housing or travel allowance, though, that we know about)
- Thanks to the RIT Physics Department for hosting RAPTOR.
- Steve Whitman is working with SUNY Brockport on programs for high school physics teachers to implement Interactive Physics effectively in their classrooms.
- STANYS-CWS is also working to network and build collaboration. Get involved!
PROGRAM
Dan Fullerton (Irondequoit High School Physics) gave a presentation on a developing outreach program at RIT intent on Integrating Semiconductor and Microelectronics in High School Science Courses. Effort is being developed by Dan Fullerton, Mike Jackson, and Tom Schulte. Course materials are available on APlusPhysics.com. RAPTOR-MicroE-STEP-rev3.pdf
Link to Semiconductor Technology Enrichment Program (STEP) Overview
Link to Microelectronics Content Online (hardcopy version here Honors Physics Essentials)
Dr. Steven Manly (University of Rochester and author of Visions of the Multiverse and Relativity and Quantum Physics for Beginners) presented on a series of physics applets useful for helping students visualize concepts:
Coulomb
Electric field
Electric flux
Charged particle in magnetic field
Magnetic field surrounding wire(s)
Electromagnetic plane wave
Polarization in electromagnetic plane waves
He also shared information about the school’s PREP program, then went into his technical presentation titled The Manly Man’s Guide to the Universe: The intimate relationship between the VERY big and the VERY small.
The U of R PREP Program (Pre-college Experience in Physics) is a free three-week summer program for 9th and 10th grade women without previous physics experience. The program runs weekdays from 9 am to 3 p.m., featuring speakers, demonstrations, tours, lectures, projects, and social activities. The program is designed to be fun and enriching, and fosters opportunities for attendees to build a peer group (and is not designed as an AP-B prep program). More information is available by contacting Connie Jones .
The Manly Man’s Guide to the Universe: The Intimate Relationship Between the VERY Big and the VERY Small
Particle Physics, The Standard Model, Cosmology, the Big Bang, and how they tie together.
Resources:
Particle Physics Information Sites:
W Map Animations
SHARING AND DEMONSTRATIONS
ImagineRIT May 5 — demonstrations and activities across campus.
Next RAPTOR meeting May 12 from 9 am to noon at RIT (Science Bldg, 4th Floor).
Brendan Noon demonstrated homemade electroscopes from cans and styrofoam cups as well as activities to build student inquiry and explorationdeveloped by Orlando Marrero 
Electrostatics Starter.doc
Physics Videos Posted #flipclass #physicsed #edtech
It’s been awhile since I’ve updated my blog, but with good reason. Starting roughly two years ago June, I began work to create short overview videos of all major topics covered by the NY Regents Curriculum. Last night, 87 videos later, they were finally complete (http://www.aplusphysics.com/courses/regents/videos/vid_index.html). But allow me to explain further.
These are not meant to replace in-class instruction, or act as a substitute for reading the textbook, or supersede much more effective active learning techniques. However, for the student who has to miss many days of school, or feels overwhelmed and would like the key concepts distilled down into the very basics, or wants a quick refresher before an exam, they can be a resource of great value. I strongly believe in video instruction, but not in the vein of Khan Academy or others, in which video lectures take the place of quality instruction, but rather as additional resources to assist students in building a more complete understanding of the topic being explored.
Further, I am hopeful these will be of benefit to readers of my book “Regents Physics Essentials.” Sometimes seeing sample problems walked through can be infinitely more valuable than reading a solution in a book. I have also posted the videos on Youtube, and have received a very positive response through some 30,000 views.
So if you thought I’d dropped off the face of the Earth… no such luck. Still here, I was just focusing on completing the videos before the next big event in my saga’s family — birth of baby girl #2 is imminent at any moment!
For those who have been wondering what comes next from an APlusPhysics perspective, here are a few of the projects I have on the docket:
- Creating a set of PDF problem sheets for each unit in Regents Physics Essentials
- Creating a video guide explaining how we use the APlusPhysics system for personalized, differentiated review
- Converting Regents Physics Essentials into an iBooks2 interactive textbook format
- Optimizing / Cleaning Up the Semiconductor Technology Enrichment Program (STEP) materials
- And eventually, I want to try my hand at a speculative fiction novel (been planning for almost a year now!)
Best wishes to all, and thank you for your patience and understanding. Make it a great day!
RAPTOR Physics Teachers Out-Reach #physicsed
The first 2012 meeting of the Rochester Area Physics Teachers Out-Reach group (R.A.P.T.O.R.) will be held on Saturday morning, January 14, 2012, from 9:00 a.m. to noon. The meeting will be located in room 3335 of the Gosnell building, Building 8 on the campus of the Rochester Institute of Technology (http://maps.rit.edu/). Park in Lot U. There is NO restricted parking on weekends so park at north end, closest to buildings.
We start with refreshments, socializing, and introductions. There are many physics high school teachers new to R.A.P.T.O.R. the meeting provides opportunities for them, as well as for veterans, to communicate with each other.
Thomas Frys (Association for Bridge Construction and Design Board Member) will discuss the possibility of involving Rochester Area high school science students in the annual ABCD Model Bridge Competitions.
Preparing Teachers and Students to meet State Standards is our topic of the Day. Teachers will discuss their strategies in the following presentations:
Dan Fullerton (West Irondequoit High School) will give a brief presentation on the APlusPhysics.com web resource and how it can be coupled with a novel approach to Regents Physics review. Guided by the principle "The best review book is the one students will actually use," Fullerton gathered input from a range of teachers and students to write "The APlusPhysics Guide to Regents Physics Essentials." His presentation will focus on utilizing these resources to enhance instruction and support students in a hands-on, interactive, highly constructivist learning environment.
Brendan Noon (Williamson High School) will discuss using “Game Show Review” as a differentiated source of learning engagement. Students actively participate in collecting questions from past regents exams and preparing “Game Show” style Power Point reviews and video presentations for their peers to compete against each other as contestants. Lesson plan templates and sample Power Points will be demonstrated and distributed during this presentation.
Next, Brendan Noon (Williamson High School) will lead a discussion on the critical components involved in constructing physics units aligned to New York State’s Common Core Standards shifts and how these shifts will impact New York State assessments. He will show the framework used in developing a Unit on Modern Physics and discuss how this framework can be used in developing other units aligned with Common Core Standards Shifts.
The last scheduled item is Sharing. This is a half hour devoted to unscheduled presentations by any participant, of duration between, say, three to ten minutes. It could, for example, be a demonstration, a lab experiment, a way of presenting a topic, a thought on pedagogy, or humor.
Miscellaneous: Parking is available in Parking Lot U .
There are no costs or fees associated with any part of this meeting and it is not necessary to make a reservation in advance.
If you would like a letter of attendance for this meeting please inform me ahead of time so that it can be distributed at the meeting.
The agenda is repeated in capsule form at the end of this message.
Mr. Brendan Noon
Co-Organizer of R.A.P.T.O.R.
_______________________________________________________________
Agenda
Rochester Area Physics Teachers Out-Reach
Saturday January 14, 2012, 9:00 a.m. to noon
Gosnell Building, Building 8, Rochester Institute of Technology
Room 3335
Parking in Lot U
- 9:00 – 9:15 a.m. Refreshments, Socializing, Introductions and Announcements
- 9:15 – 9:20 a.m. Annual Bridge Building Competition for High School Students
- Thomas Frys Association for Bridge Construction and Design Board Member)
- 9:20 – 9:40 a.m. Physics Demos that make Students Think!
- Bring your favorite demonstration that introduces a topic in physics
- 9:40 -10:10 a.m. A “Novel” Approach to Regents Review with APlusPhysics.com
- Dan Fullerton (West Irondequoit High School)
- 10:10 – 10:40 a.m. Differentiated Instruction with “Game Show” Review in Physics
- (lessons and templates will be distributed) Brendan Noon (Williamson High School)
- 10:40 – 10:50 a.m. Refreshment Break
- 10:50 – 11:20 a.m. Critical Components of Unit Writing for New York State Common Core Standards Shifts in Physics
- (Lessons and templates will be distributed Brendan Noon (Williamson High School)
- 11:20 a.m. to noon Physics Share-A-Thon
Physics education enthusiasts all over the world can interact and participate in the meetings by registering for free at:
http://www.vokle.com/series/22103-rochester-area-physics-teachers-out-reach
A few other ways you can show your support for physics education and collaborate with other high school physics teachers are by liking the RAPTOR facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Rochester-Area-Physics-Teachers-Out-Reach-RAPTOR/261529007244589
or signing up on the RAPTOR Listserve: