Chemistry in Slow Motion

The Periodic Table of Videos produced by The University of Nottingham features a video demonstration of the characteristics of each element in the Periodic Table of Elements. Each element in the Periodic Table displayed on the home page is linked to a corresponding YouTube video.

The Periodic Table of Videos YouTube channel contains some additional features that teachers and students may find worth watching and bookmarking. One example of that is a playlist titled Slow Motion Chemistry. Slow Motion Chemistry contains nineteen videos that capture chemical reactions in slow motion. Some of the things that students can see in the Slow Motion Chemistry videos are a hydrogen explosions, muskets firing, and copper sulfate interacting with ammonia.


Applications for Education
As you can see in the video above the Slow Motion Chemistry videos offer more than just slow motion footage of chemical reactions. A short explanation of what is happening is included in each video. That could make Slow Motion Chemistry a good resource to bookmark and share with your students as part of a flipped lesson or to post on a course website as review material.

A Multimedia Timeline of WWII in Europe

Last week I shared National Geographic's excellent multimedia timeline of the Pacific Theater of WWII. National Geographic offers a similar timeline of the European Theater. While the title of the timeline is World War II in Europe, it does include include events that happened in Africa and some events in the United States. The timeline World War II in Europe includes pictures, text, video, and maps of events beginning with Hitler's first violation of the Treaty of Versailles through the end of the war in Europe.

The timeline is layered in such a way that students can see the overlapping timelines of some events that were happening in various parts of Europe, Africa, and the United States at the same time. The layering of the timeline could help students see how many events of the war didn't happen in isolation from each other.

This timeline was created by using Timeline JS. Timeline JS is one of the tools featured in my Teaching History With Technology course that is on sale through the end of the month. 

Music Crab - A Cute App for Learning to Read Music

Music Crab is simple and free iPad designed to help students learn to read music. The app features a little crab that students move by playing virtual piano keys in the app. To move the crab students have to play the correct notes. If they play too many incorrect notes in a row, the game is over and they have to start again.

Applications for Education
Music Crab features ten levels that students can progress through. Each level is a bit more difficult than the last. In each level the speed of the game increases and students have to improve their sight-reading skills in order to advance through each level.

PuppetMaster - A Great App for Creating Animated Movies

PuppetMaster is a free iPad app that kids can use to create animated movies. The app is designed for elementary school students and therefore doesn't require students to create accounts in order to use it. All movies made with the PuppetMaster app are saved to the camera roll on a student's iPad.

To create an animated movie with PuppetMaster students simply open the app, select a character, and the select a background scene for their movies. PuppetMaster has pre-made characters and background scenes. Students can also add their own background scenes by taking a picture to use as the background. For example, I made a movie with a robot character attempting to reach under the Christmas tree in my living room (you can view that movie here).


Students can record themselves talking or singing in the background of their movies in order to tell their stories. Or in the case of one video that I made with PuppetMaster, you can record a baby crying in your video.


Applications for Education
PuppetMaster could be a great app for students to use to animate stories that they write. You could have students use the app to create an animation of a favorite story that they've recently read. Or you might consider using the app to get students to tell a personal story through the use animated characters.