Physics, Arrays, Arduino Projects and a Monarch!

In Selected Topics in Science we are are finished with our Chemistry Unit by reading the Sixth Chapter of local historian Glenn Conners book about the Allen Countians that participated in the War of 1812.  This chapter tells of the militiamen from this county that rode from Allen County to Lake Erie to fight and return on horseback.  Many of the surnames are are still present in Allen County.  Our big lab in this unit was making a small amount of gunpowder ... The Daniel Boone Gunpowder Making Lab.  We researched the mining of saltpetre in caves from southern Kentucky and Allen County.  This led to our short study of this county's participation in the War of 1812.

We are also working on electrical circuits using batteries, LEDs, resistors, switches and breadboards.  This lab is a hands-on followup from a PhED simulation on circuits we did a week or two ago.

Our Computer Programming I class is working throught some qB64 problems using READ/DATA statements and single dimension arrays ... The Little League II problem, Gradebook and the Address Problem.

In Computer Programming II we are wrapping up our arduino problems ... programming in C and using components in our kit ... IC, potentiometers and piezo elements.  We are starting on our next set of python problems ... on the horizon ... Finch Robots using SNAP programming, raspberry pi projects and GameMaker.

Picts from CP II below using our arduinos ...  Saw my last Monarch of the season on our farm Tuesday, not much nectar left here!

Arduinos, qB64 and our physics unit ...

After a Teacher PD yesterday, we were back to work in the classroom today.   In Selected Topics, we crushed the wooden structures we build last week.  Students were allowed to use 34 grams of wood in the form of popsicle sticks to build a structure 7.5 inches or taller.  This structure was constructed with a minimum 2" opening in the center and to hold the maximum amount of weight.  It is modeled after the problems found in both Science Olympiad and Odyssey of the Mind competitions.  Our best group held 117 pounds which was lower than the all time record of 255 pounds.  Students learned about laminations, load-bearing members of a structure and stabilizing members.  Next big project in our maker curriulum will be an electromagnet.

 

 


In Computer Programming I, students are working on a graphics and animation problem using qB64.  We worked on animating objects today using looping statements and the PAINT command.

In Computer Programming II, we are finishing a set of Python problems while beginning our study of microcontrollers using arduinos.  We will be constructing some simple circuits using LED lights.

Our Academic Team plays at Franklin-Simpson on Thursday.

Fall Break Ends ... Python and Monarchs

Fall Break is officially over today since I do not count weekends.  Today I took a Future Problem Exam to coach this year.  It took a couple of hours since I have never scored a FPS student booklet.  I faxed it to KAAS this afternoon.  I have been working on some sample Python programs over break and doing alot of work on our farm.  Yesterday while walking on seed, I saw over 10 Monarchs ... migration still on but toward the end.  It is a long way to Mexico!

Selected Topics in Science finished up their catapult problem with a competition last Friday.  We still have three student groups to go but all were able to complete the project on velocity, trajectory and energy.  We will continue in our physics unit next week.

Computer Programming I has been working in qB64 programming.  We will start checking those programs on Monday as we start a graphics / animation problem.

Computer Programming II continues to work on Python problems.  We are currently working on problems that involve lists.  We will start our project rotation after next week which will include arduino controllers, raspberry pi computers and gamemaker.

The semester is half over next week ... time flies in block schedules.

PSAT will be on Thursday.  It has been over 10 years since we had a National Merit Semi-Finalist ...
We use to have one and sometimes two each year.   Good luck to all!



https://collegereadiness.collegeboard.org/psat-nmsqt-psat-10

Last week before Fall Break ... Programming and Physics!

We are finishing our unit on computer science using SCRATCH programming in Selected Topics in Science.  We completed 5 programs, including a simple PONG game.  Students had to enhance their game with some more ... extra sprites or some kind of modification.  Tomorrow we will do a walk around and try out the games.  We have started our physics unit with the physics of motion.  Students are using pHet software to simulation projectile motion.  Our mousetrap catapult for accuracy is on the horizon this week.

https://scratch.mit.edu/



In Introduction to Computer Progamming we have taken a break from SCRATCH to work in qBASIC for a couple of weeks.  Not as visual but a step away from scripted programming.

Computer Programming II students are hard at work in python programming.  We have finished up a graphics and animation program.  Next up are classes and sorting.

A few picts from our earth science unit in Selected Topics ... map reading of Kentucky ... Black Mountain and KY trivia.

Busy and back ...

Back to blogging after a busy start to the school year.

In Selected Topics, we have wrapped up Earth Science and Astronomy Units.  Our Space Truck competition and modeling of the solar system both turned out great!  We are now in a computer programming unit using SCRATCH from the Lifelong Kindergarten Group at MIT.  Students have done a graphics program and a program created to ask a multiple choice question.

In Computer Programming I, we have been doing SCRATCH programming.  We have completed five programs but will switch to qBASIC this week.

Computer Programming II has been programming in Python.  We are finishing a graphics program ... The Ol McDonald Farm problem with animation.

The Academic team played in the 22nd Annual Ezell-Harding HS Quick Recall tournament last weekend.  One of our team made the finals and we finished 3-8.  There were 48 teams in the tournament including several top 10 teams in the state of Kentucky.

Ezell-Harding Academic Tournament

A picture from after the academic tournament at Ezell-Harding last weekend.  Bus left at 6:00 Saturday morning ... many slept on the trip home.

A couple of pictures from our porch below ... frogs visit regularly and a Monarch caterpilar decided to hang out on a rocking chair the last two weeks.  Sue Neal kept an eye on it to get a picture when it emerged by missed it while on a trip to the grocery.  Off to Mexico ... good luck!

Genetics, SNAP and Karel

Today we started the second full week of school.  In Selected Topics in Science, we worked on Genetics ... Punnett Squares and the CitiBank Genetic Problem.  We have two long-term labs going on ... Regeneration Lab using Planaria and The Great Plant Growing Contest.  We start nearly every Monday with "5 of Everything".  Today was 5 trees you should know ... Tulip Poplars, White Oaks, Shagbark Hickory, Sugar Maples and Sassafras.
Tomorrow our study of genetics continues (sex-linked traits like red-green colorblindness) and ABO blood types. We have a separation science lab to do tomorrow ... The Waldo Lab (A forensics simulation using chromatography).

Pictures below are of our modeling lab last week.

In Computer Programming II we started programming our Snappy Bird project.  In Computer Programming I we are still working on Karel the Robot ... using if/then, if/then/else and while/do statements ... We are finishing our Grand Prix of Karel tournament tomorrow.  Good luck to all!

A small buck from a walk this week for my hunting students!  Best butterfly picture of the weekend (Easter Tiger Swallowtails ... female and male) and a pict from the walk in the woods.

First days of school 2015-2016 and butterflies ...

Has the Monarch migration started?  While bush-hogging today, I saw eight.  This one was in a zinna flower bed at our house.

After two days of PD last week, students arrived on Wednesday.  Lots of housekeeping work with tons of forms the first day but, we got a start in all classes.  By Friday, we were able to get some projects rolling.

Computer Programming I started with a graphical logic trainer ... Karel the Robot.  We have worked  through some problems (five) without decision statements.
    Around the Block
    Pick Up the Package
    Take Out the Trash
    Pick the Corn
    Grand Prix with Karel
All these problems can use the define-new-instruction and iterate commands.  We are hoping to have Grand  Prix finished toward the end of next week and we will do a solution check at that point.  Students working on their Karel problems below in the Media lab (new Dells this year!)

https://www.cs.mtsu.edu/~untch/karel/

In Computer Programming II we finally got started after some login problems to the Cloud via the Snap website.  We are starting the year with Snap (UC Berkeley).  It is similar to Scratch (MIT) but, is one of the perferred languages for the AP Computer Science Principles class (scheduled to be offered for the first time in 2016-2017).  We have started our first problem set.

http://snap.berkeley.edu/

Selected Topics in Science started the Regeneration Lab using Planaria on Thursday.  Planaria are freshwater flatworms found locally.  After a light/dark test, student cut their planaria into two parts.  In about 10-14 days, the posterior ends will grow and head.  Next week we will start the Great Plant Growing Contest and study biochemistry.

On the farm this weekend ...

Most of the Tiger Swallowtails have started to show some wear and tear.  Below, a Question Mark (an Anglewing eating deer scat) ... with a fly in the background. Below the Question Mark is a Black Swallowtail. 

A few of the Tiger Swallowtails look like they recently emerged ... on coneflowers and cupflower.

First Week of School 2015-2016

Last week, I attended a bus drivers PD on Wednesday.  I drove with Chris Prock, a shorter in town route.  We caught up on old softball trips. We had parent-teacher conferences on Thursday evening.  I had over 70 students/guardians stop by for classroom information.  Also, several former student came by to visit.  It is always good to hear their stories.

We have teacher PD on Monday and Tuesday.  First day for students will be on Wednesday.  Lots to do before then.

Below is a picture of our honeybees cleaning up the honey from wax cappings after we extracted honey last week.  Below that for my hunter boys I have and have had in class, a group of bucks behind our house eating clover.  Took this picture tonight about dark ... poor quality.

 

Computer Science Principles and last days of summer!

School begins on August 5 for students.  Get off social media and get outside and see some beautiful swallowtails.

Last week, I attended a two-day Advance Kentucky workshop sponsored by KSTC (Kentucky Science and Technology Coorporation).  Ten educators from across state worked on the upcoming AP Computer Science Principles course, scheduled to start 2016-2017.  It is rare that AP offers a new course and this course would have less coding.  The scope of this course would emphasize computational thinking practices ... global impact of computer science, abstracting, computational artifacts, forms of communication and project collaboration.  Students will take an multiple choice exam that counts for 50% of their AP score and they will generated two performance events for the remaining 50%.  The link for this course is below.  We have been preparing to launch this course next year.  Computer Programming II is this effort.  Last year, we got a good start ... Scratch, Python, Arduino, Finch Robots, Raspberry Pi computers and more.

https://advancesinap.collegeboard.org/stem/computer-science-principles
https://scratch.mit.edu/
https://www.python.org/
http://www.kstc.com/

I have been taking a MOOC for this new course through the University of Alabama.  The link is below.  Most of you know how I feel about online courses ... especially if they are all like this one!

https://csp-cs4hs.appspot.com/preview

Finished a book on Ada Lovelace this week.  Lord Byron's daughter that became a very good mathematician (when nearly all women were not allowed to participate in science and math) and a friend of Charles Babbage.  A good historical read from an interesting time during the early 1800s in England.



First semester in our return to the 4 X 4 block, where we should have stayed ten years ago, I will be teaching Computer Programming I (Karel, Visual BASIC and Scratch), Computer Programming II (Scratch, SNAP, Python and a project rotation) and Selected Topics in Science for juniors (Biology, Astronomy, Earth Science, Chemistry, Physics and Computer Programming).  This is a maker class with an abundance of labs.
Second semester I will be teaching AP Computer Science A (Karel J Robot, Greenfoot, BlueJ ... all JAVA) and two Selected Topics in Science classes.

Get outdoors and check it out!

 

Computer Science and Programming - Dragonflies are predators!

Took three students to Berea College (http://www.berea.edu/)  and EKU  (http://www.eku.edu/)  this past week.  Lots of incoming freshmen and their parents to orientation at EKU.  We were able to meet with the biology department head and took a guided tour of the facility.  At Berea we saw one of freshly minted grads doing an orientation class.  I still like the mission of Berea ... if you can get in.

I am continuing to work on the MOOC (University of Alabama) I am taking with Advanced Kentucky for a Science Principles class.  My AP workshop of AP Computer Science A (JAVA) is next week.

Still working on the farm, trying to catch up from Spring Break.

Yesterday, I saw a dragonfly carrying something large when it landed on a nearby milkweed plant.  I could see then that it was eating a swallowtail butterfly.  Food chain in action ...

School's Out but Programming begins ...

Hoping you (our students) are having a great summer.  Get outside and become one with nature ... less Facebook/social media and more wildflowers, butterflies and wildlife ... get out there!

Some picts from our farm so far this summer ...

Great Spangled Fritillaries below on common milkweed ... and the Monarchs are back on common milkweed ...

First generation bumblebee workers are everywhere ... below on butterfly weed (orange) and common milkweed ...  These are Common Eastern Bumblebees ... they nest underground.

 

Below, the geometric designs of flowers/seeds ... rattlesnake master (a prairie plant, green), the yellow center of an ox-eye daisy with its fibonacci number design, and a yellow coneflower (also with a fibonacci pattern).

 

This summer is also dedicated to computer science/programming.  The MOOC / U-Alabama in computer science I'm taking this summer is coming along okay ... I am not too happy about sharing so, I don't.  I am participating in preparation to launch our AP Computer Science Principles class in 2016.  Also, I am joining 10 other Kentucky teachers with the Advance Kentucky program later in the summer to brainstorm how this new AP course will be rolled out in the classroom (all these KY teachers are taking the same MOOC).  

Also, this summer I am particpating in a AP Computer Science A (Java) workshop at WKU later in June.  We are using Eclipse for our IDE.  It has been over 10 years since I have taught JAVA using BlueJ ... I have written/compiled some simple programs and so far so good.  We will have a textbook for this class ... Java Methods - Object-Oriented Programming and Data Structures, Litvin and Litvin.

I am looking at putting these courses together as an Ultimus Opus...

School's Out!

Student's last day of school was Tuesday and our last teacher's day was Friday.  190 students graduated Friday night ... so it is a wrap for 2014-2015.  AP Biology scores will be out the first week in July.

This summer I have an AP Workshop for Computer Science A (JAVA) at WKU.  I am also taking a MOOC on Science Principles this summer to get ready for the upcoming AP Computer Science Principles class 2016.

Wishing all students a wonderful and safe summer.

I have alot to do on the farm now that school is over.  Below are a few pictures from last week and this weekend from our farm.  It has been a big two weeks for Great Spangled Fritillaries (pictured at the bottom).