A "Wow, now I know what that's all about" experience for kids!

Another Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching winner just wrote in about his experience using Gizmos with his students for the past year!

Here's what John Emerson, who teaches up in New Hampshire at Jaffrey-Rindge Middle School, had to say about Gizmos:

Dear Explore Learning:

I was given the chance to use the "Gizmos" from Explore Learning after receiving the Presidential Award for Excellence in 2003. At that time I was solely a math teacher who had been drafted into teaching science in a school district in need of science instructors.  Being a hands-on teacher who is always in search of ways to help learning become easier and meaningful for students, I found that the Gizmos provided visual presentations of concepts that too often become just boring textbook reading and memorizing for kids.  For example when we were studying earthquakes, the Gizmo on Reporting Centers brought to life the P-waves and S-waves and how they are used to locate epicenters. Even teaching the Doppler Effect became a "Wow, now I know what that's all about" experience for kids as they could see sound waves in action [Ed note: the Doppler Effect Gizmo comes in several versions -- version 1, version 2, version 3].

Next year, I have been asked to teach science only and I am excited about the opportunity to use the Gizmos even more.  We will be integrating a lot of math and once again Gizmos are right on target demonstrating many graphing activities with live action and immediate visual graphing presentations. If you need to make science or math come alive in your classroom, I cannot recommend enough the use of these activities and demonstrations. All it takes is one computer, an internet connection, and a projection device and you're in business.

So thanks again for giving me the opportunity to use these innovative teaching strategies. I'm now hooked and will be using them from now on.

Sincerely,
John Emerson

Thank you for your kind words, John! We're glad to hear you and your students benefited from Gizmos. We're going to be launching many new science Gizmos this year, so there will be even more to use in the 2005-2006 school year!

P.S.: Calling all science teachers (and students)! If you have ideas for new science Gizmos, this is the time to send your wishlists in! You might end up seeing your Gizmo on the site when you come back to school after the summer!