Friday, December 28, 2018
Best of 2018 - PhET PowerPoint Add-in
PhET is a free resource that has been popular with science and math teachers for many years. PhET provides free interactive math and science simulations covering topics in physics, chemistry, biology, earth science, and mathematics. In the PhET library you'll find simulations appropriate for elementary, middle, high school, and university students. PhET even offers a search tool that will help you find lesson ideas built upon the free simulations.
56 of the PhET simulations are available to insert into PowerPoint presentations through the use of PhET's free PowerPoint Add-in. With the Add-in installed you can browse the available simulations and insert them into your slides. The simulations work in your slide just as they do on the PhET website.
Applications for Education
The PhET PowerPoint Add-in could be time-saver if you are planning to use more than one simulation during a lesson. Rather than clicking through menus or clicking through bookmarks to bring-up the right simulation, you could just create a slideshow that has your PhET simulations arranged in the sequence you plan to use them during your lesson.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009
My Mini City - Build Your Own City
My Mini City is a city simulator that introduces users to real-life challenges facing city development and planning including unemployment, sanitation, overpopulation, and natural disaster. My Mini City does not require users to download or update any software, it is a completely web-based application. Being an entirely web-based application gives it an advantage over other city simulators on the market today. As most readers of this blog know, I am a huge proponent of web-based applications because their usability over a myriad of network and operating systems.
Applications for Educators
Geography and Social Studies teachers will like My Mini City for the number of real life problems the program simulates. It's a great teaching tool as it makes students account for number of geographic, economic, and political concepts.
Earth Science teachers will like My Mini City's sanitation, population, and natural disaster simulations.
Here are some related resources that may be of interest to you:
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Alegbra in the Real World

In my bumbling around the Internet today I found a website with videos about Algebra in the Real World.
On The Futures Channel there are videos accompanied by lesson plans about using Algebra in the "real world."
Applications for Education
The Futures Channel has come to the rescue of Math teachers who are constantly asked the question, "when are we ever going to use this?" On the Futures Channel there are many lesson plans and lesson ideas relating math (and other subjects) to current "real life" situations. And by "real life" the Futures Channel doesn't mean just converting recipes like my high school Algebra book did. Check out the Futures Channel today and stop answering the question, "when are we ever going to use this?"
For more Algebra lesson plans that involve real-world scenarios check out Dan Meyer's free 38 week Algebra curriculum.
Free Technology For Teachers: Mediated Cultures- What will you do this semester?
Today I came across a simulation activity Wesch does with his anthropology students to explore the systems of the world over the last 500 years. While the activity is designed for college undergrads it could easily be adapted for high school students. Watch the introductory video below and then visit Wesch's website to learn more about the activity.
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