ExploreLearning News : Using Gizmos

New Math Lesson Materials Published

We've just published 2 new sets of Lesson Materials for two of our most popular math Gizmos!

Polygon Angle Sum - Activity B

Quadratics in Polynomial Form - Activity A

As usual, each set of updated Lesson Materials includes 4 documents (Student Exploration sheet, SE Answer Key, Teacher Guide, and Vocabulary sheet), all of which are available as a .doc or a .pdf.  (Note: You will need to be logged in to see all the documents.)

This brings us to 20 math Gizmos with updated Lesson Materials (well, 60 if you count the more modern "purple ones" that have never had anything but Lesson Materials). We still have a long way to go in this project, but there's plenty of progress happening "behind the scenes."

We hope these new Lesson Materials are a help to you and your students - lots of good explorations and thought-provoking questions here.

Expert Corner: Gizmos and the Common Core

Featuring David Shuster, Ph.D.,
ExploreLearning Founder and Publisher.

Teachers and instructional leaders all over the U.S. are busy evolving their practice to reflect the rigor and focus of the new Common Core State Standards.  We at ExploreLearning are doing the same thing.

As with practically all modern math products, Gizmos are already correlated to these new standards. More important is to move beyond correlation to provide direct support for the key goals of the Common Core. With Gizmos, we had a wonderful starting point. Gizmos already provide myriad opportunities to develop deep conceptual understanding and strong support for the Common Core's Standards of Mathematical Practice.

But what does Common Core Standards mean by “mathematical understanding?” Here’s a key quote from the text of the standards:

"One hallmark of mathematical understanding is the ability to justify, in a way appropriate to the student's mathematical maturity, why a particular mathematical statement is true or where a mathematical rule comes from."

	Distance-Time Graphs Gizmo demonstrates the relationship between distance and time with a graph, and introduces slope and y intercept in context of this real world scenario. It supports Standards of Mathematical Practice 2, 4 and 5.

Over the years, Gizmos have been widely recognized as an excellent means to help students understand challenging mathematical topics and the “hows” and “whys” behind them. With Gizmos, students don’t just read or listen and watch, they learn by manipulating key variables and working with multiple visual representations. Compared to more traditional approaches, Gizmos help students to attain new levels of understanding.

In addition to content standards that define what specific concepts and skills students should master, the Common Core also defines Standards of Mathematical Practice. These standards define expertise that mathematics educators at all levels should seek to develop in their students. In particular, they state that mathematically proficient students should be able to:

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

4. Model with mathematics.

5. Use appropriate tools strategically.

6. Attend to precision.

7. Look for and make use of structure.

8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning

We have already heard from many of you that Gizmos help students to develop many of these competencies. But we want to do even better. So as part of our ongoing Gizmo Lesson Materials update, we are putting a special emphasis on the Common Core to ensure that both the content standards and the Standards of Mathematical Practice are supported as fully as possible.

If you have suggestions for how we can further improve, we would appreciate it if you would take a moment to send us your thoughts. Additionally, I hope you will consider sharing your favorite Common Core teaching ideas in the form of contributed lesson materials and recommendations for the Gizmos you feel really make a difference for you. With your input, we can make Gizmos an even better program for you and your students.

New lesson materials published!

We've posted 3 sets of new Lesson Materials today!  In addition, the Gizmos themselves (all 3 of these) were updated to gain some new problem types, so your students will be able to get more practice with more types of problems.  Check them out:

Dividing Exponential Expressions

Multiplying Exponential Expressions

Factoring Special Products

As usual, each set of updated Lesson Materials includes 4 documents (Student Exploration sheet, SE Answer Key, Teacher Guide, and Vocabulary sheet), all of which are available as a .doc or a .pdf.  (Note: You will need to be logged in to see all the documents.)

This brings us to 18 math Gizmos with updated Lesson Materials. We have a long way to go on the math side, but we're hard at work on it!

Hope these new materials are a help - to teachers and students alike.

New Lesson Materials - 3 "Pathfinder" Math Gizmos

We're happy to announce that today we have published new Lesson Materials to go with 3 of our "Pathfinder" math Gizmos:

Solving Two-Step Equations

Solving Formulas for any Variable

Exponents and Power Rules

These sorts of Gizmos ask students to solve problems, step-by-step, with feedback for any wrong answers along the way.  They focus on algebraic procedures, but in a thoughtful way.  The new Lesson Materials will help get students started, thinking about what they are doing, and then the Gizmo can take it from there, providing feedback for students.

By the way, we have also updated the Gizmos themselves.  You'll find a deeper bank of problems to allow for more student practice.

Give them a try!

And, as they say, "more to come"!

New Lesson Materials - more fraction fun

Three more fraction-related math Gizmos would be proud to show off their new Lesson Materials to you:

Multiplying Fractions

Multiplying Mixed Numbers

Dividing Mixed Numbers

As always, the modern version of Lesson Materials contains 4 documents per Gizmo (Student Exploration sheet, Student Exploration sheet Answer Key, Teacher Guide, and Vocab sheet). Each of these is available to you as either a Word doc (to allow you to edit it if you like), or as a pdf (for smaller filesize).

We hope the lessons in these documents will enhance the Gizmo-based learning experience for you and your students.

Expert's Corner: Fractions

Thom O'Brien has been with ExploreLearning for eight years in a variety of roles, including working with teachers to integrate Gizmos into more effective teaching in math and science. Thom has a Master's degree in Instructional Mathematics and he taught 7th grade math before joining EL.

Fractions are one of the most frequent lessons in a young student's education. Many schools introduce them in grade 2 and continue to teach fraction concepts through grade 7. In fact, the NCTM Focal Points document (2006) and the National Math Advisory Panel (2008) have both recommended that teachers spend larger portions of their time teaching this valuable topic.

Conceptual understanding of fractions is important because they play a pivotal role in higher-level mathematics. Teachers' toolkits for explaining fractions include such diverse resources as pattern blocks, egg cartons, Cuisenaire rods and candy bars. In order to build conceptual foundations, students need to "see" fractions through a variety of different models.

Gizmos are particularly well suited to helping teachers move through fraction models effectively and efficiently. ExploreLearning has many Gizmos devoted to fractions that help teachers provide multiple representations of the concept.

Here are some great Gizmos to try with your students. The Toy Factory Gizmo can be used to demonstrate fractions as a part of a whole or part of a set. The Comparing and Ordering Fractions and Fraction Garden Gizmos can be used to help students compare fractions and set the building blocks in place for adding and subtracting fractions. Also, Gizmos such as Multiplying Fractions and Multiplying Mixed Numbers help students learn to multiply fractions.

Using Gizmos when studying fractions allows teachers to concentrate on building students’ conceptual understanding. Gizmos allow students to evaluate pictorial representations of sets, manipulate numerators and denominators, and bridge the symbolic fractional representation with the abstract understanding of fractional numeric value.

Talk About a Gizmo, Win a Flip Camera

Recently we've given away a couple of top-of-the line Flip cameras with a custom Gizmos design. People have responded so well to these great little video recorders, that we would like to get more into the hands of Gizmos fans.

It's easy to enter this contest. Just go to our Gizmos Facebook page and tell us your favorite Gizmo and a few sentences about how it has positively impacted teaching and learning in your classroom. Between now and Sunday, March 6th, math and science teachers who post original entries on our wall and "Like" our page will be entered to win.

As an added incentive, if your post on our Facebook wall includes a photo of you or your students using Gizmos, you will get a second entry in the contest!

All math and science teachers can enter. If you are not a Gizmos subscriber, take a free 30-day trial today. From the library of over 450 Gizmos, you are sure to find a favorite soon.

On March 7, 2011, we will draw from all eligible entries for one grand-prize winner of the Flip camera, and three grab bag winners of assorted EL merchandise.

Of course, this contest isn't just about the prizes. We hope the feedback provided by other educators will give you ideas you can use in your teaching. We encourage you to comment on other posts: ask questions and provide your own insights.

Go Gizmos!

New lesson materials - 3 fractions Gizmos

We've added new Lesson Materials -- Student Exploration sheet, Answer Key, Teacher Guide, and Vocab sheet -- for 3 more math Gizmos!

Part-to-part and Part-to-whole Ratios

Improper Fractions and Mixed Numbers

Fractions with Unlike Denominators

As usual, these Lesson Material documents are available as both Word docs and pdf's.  (Word doc form allows you to edit the documents yourself.  The pdf gives you the same document in a smaller filesize, but it is not editable.)

Hope these new materials enhance your use of Gizmos! More to come.

Expert Corner: Piecewise Functions

Betty Korte is a Regional Professional Development Manager for ExploreLearning. Her credentials include 17 years teaching mathematics, with 14 years as the department chairperson, and a M.S. in Education with an emphasis in teaching mathematics.

One of the most exciting aspects of Gizmos is their versatility. I recently watched a colleague demonstrate the Rainfall and Bird Beaks Gizmo and participated in an excellent discussion on natural selection. I thought that a statistics teacher could use the very same Gizmo to study distribution and variance. I worked with the Fraction Artist Gizmo at the elementary math level recently as well, visualizing a high school teacher using the simulation to introduce infinite geometric series (with |r| < 1) in Algebra II.

The Distance-Time Graphs Gizmo has a seemingly endless array of pre-Algebra and Algebra applications, from graph sense to linear theory. Its strength lies in its simplicity. Students discuss (or model) the actions of the runner relative to the graph. Through these discussions, they construct meaningful definitions for such abstract concepts as rate of change, y-intercept, and parallel lines.

Because the runner can change speeds and direction during the simulation, higher-level concepts can also be introduced. For instance, an Algebra II topic that challenges many students is piecewise functions. A piecewise function is simply a function whose definition changes depending on the input value. In theory, this is not difficult for students, but the notation can be overwhelming, especially if it is presented too early in the learning process. A better way to structure the learning is to allow the students to develop a concrete understanding of the function and then move to the abstract formulation.

Students first create a scenario where the runner changes speed or direction during the simulation. They describe what they see in words then translate these descriptions into algebraic sentences with increasing precision. Once this step is complete, they are ready to use the complex notation that defines the function. Because they construct the notation themselves, it no longer seems difficult. Students should also be able to come full circle and create a graph or scenario from the notation.

Watch the video "Using Distance Time Graphs to Study Piecewise Functions" for further details.

Apart from the stated lesson objectives and the curriculum correlations, there are many more "outside the box" uses for Gizmos.

A Great Year for Gizmos

We stepped back to look at what we had accomplished in 2010, and we found it was a banner year for Gizmos!

Last year our dedicated Professional Development staff trained almost 14,000 teachers. They either took part in one of our recommended initial training sessions or helped build their ability to integrate Gizmos into their curriculum. These customized programs of support now include onsite consultations, curriculum alignment assistance, and project management services. Visit our Training page for more information. 

Gizmos are now helping to improve instruction in classrooms all over the world. We are in all 50 U.S. states and more than thirty other countries. We hope 2011 will be even better!

Gizmos Subscribers: Contribute Lesson Materials and Win a Flip Camera!

Gizmos subscribers: if you have a new angle on math or science concepts covered by Gizmos, we encourage you to share your lesson materials (lesson plans, worksheets, etc.) with the ExploreLearning community!

As added incentive, subscribers who submit new and original lesson materials between now and January 31, 2011, will be entered in a drawing to win a top-of-the-line Flip minoHD 8GB camera. It even has a unique Gizmos cover design.

Here are the specific requirements for contest entry:

1) Login to ExploreLearning.com and make sure you have a User Picture posted on ExploreLearning.com. (You can do this from the 'Me' tab of your Teacher Homepage.)

2) Navigate to the Gizmo for which you have new and original lesson materials. Scroll down to the "User Lesson Materials" section, click on "Contribute Lesson Materials" and upload your file.

3) Complete your submission(s) by January 31, 2011. You will receive one entry into the contest for each lesson that is accepted.

Submitted materials will then go through a quick internal review and, if approved, will be posted on our website. A drawing will be held on Friday February 4, 2011 for one grand-prize winner of the Flip camera, and three grab bag winners of assorted EL merchandise.

If you're the lucky winner, we hope you'll use your new Gizmos Flip camera to contribute classroom video to the ExploreLearning Facebook or YouTube pages as well!

More new math lesson materials

Three more math Gizmos have a brand new set of Lesson Materials!  (As a reminder, "Lesson Materials" include a Student Exploration sheet, an Answer Key, a Teacher Guide, and a Vocab sheet.  You'll need to be logged in to see all of those documents, and students will not see the Answer Key or Teacher Guide, for obvious reasons.)

The 3 Gizmos with the new Lesson Materials in this batch are:

Sums and Differences with Decimals

Percents, Fractions, and Decimals

Ordering Percents, Fractions, and Decimals Greater than 1

Hope you and your students enjoy!  And of course, stay tuned for more to come.

New math curriculum materials published!

Good news, math Gizmo fans - we're updating the curriculum materials for all the secondary math Gizmos now also!  Gradually, over the coming months, you'll see the venerable old Exploration Guides replaced with our updated 4-document set of curriculum (Student Exploration sheet, Student Exploration Answer Key, Teacher Guide, and Vocabulary sheet).

The first 3 sets are now live!  You can find them by clicking on the "Lesson Materials" link above these Gizmos:

Comparing and Ordering Decimals

Linear Functions

Points, Lines, and Equations

(Note: That last one is a title change.  This Gizmo was formerly called "Using Tables, Rules, and Graphs.")

We hope you enjoy the new, enhanced materials!  Much more to come...

Expert's Corner: Understanding Hurricanes

Mario Junco has been with ExploreLearning for four years as a project manager in Miami, Florida. He holds a bachelors degree in Meteorology from Florida State and a Master's Degree in Science Education from Florida International University. Mario taught science for eleven years in Miami Dade and has achieved National Board Certification in Early Adolescent Science.

The Atlantic hurricane season starts June 1st and extends through November 30th each year. Here in Florida, and in other parts of the southern and eastern United States, tropical storms and hurricanes are a threat each year during this time period. The most notable recent example was the 2005 Hurricane Katrina: the sixth strongest overall hurricane in recorded history. It was the most costly natural disaster to date in the United States, causing an estimated $81 billion in property damage. More than 1,800 people lost their lives during the hurricane and subsequent flooding, making it the deadliest U.S. hurricane since the 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane.

Many people in the United States live on or near coastal areas and have to contend with the possibility of these destructive storms each year. Students may wonder how hurricanes form and why their destructive potential is so high. We have several Gizmos that can help you explain concepts related to hurricanes to your students. The Hurricane Motion Gizmo teaches students the real-life skill of tracking hurricanes using latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates.

As a hurricane approaches landfall, weather changes, such as cloud cover, wind speed, wind direction and barometric pressure, start to occur. (As an example, during hurricane Wilma in 2005, the lowest ever recorded barometric pressure of 882 mb was attained). Your students can see how barometric pressure changes by moving a hurricane closer to and further from specific weather stations on the Hurricane Motion Gizmo.

Once students learn about the variables involved in an approaching hurricane, they can conduct an experiment where they attempt to ascertain where an "invisible hurricane" is positioned based on given meteorological data. Teachers can also have students investigate these different weather variables further in the Weather Maps Gizmo and the Coastal Winds and Clouds Gizmo.

The 2004 and 2005 hurricane seasons were extremely active, and many debate hotly whether this increase was due to something meteorologists call a multi-decadal cycle of active seasons or global warming. This topic could be fodder for a great discussion in the science classroom after the students have learned about increasing temperatures in the Greenhouse Effect Gizmo.

Making connections that link current events to science curriculum helps students understand both what's happening in the world and the science behind such events better. For more learning activities related to hurricanes and other weather factors, take a look at the Teacher Guides and Student Exploration Guides with any of the Gizmos mentioned above.

Expert's Corner: Conceptual Foundations in Math

Thom O'Brien has been with ExploreLearning for eight years in a variety of roles, including working with teachers to integrate Gizmos into more effective teaching in Math and Science. Thom has a Master's degree in Instructional Mathematics and he taught 7th grade math before joining EL.

Have your students worked through math problems, performing the mechanics of each step, but not having the foggiest idea why that procedure works? Some students have become masters at solving problems just by mimicking steps, rather than by really understanding what they're doing, and why. This disconnect can be the result of a lack of a deep conceptual understanding of the topic. Providing students opportunities to visualize the concepts, discuss their thinking, and work in small groups can help students build these conceptual foundations.

Today's mathematics teachers can infuse lessons with practice that supports conceptual learning. A great way to do this is with visual models of mathematical concepts and problems. Obviously, Gizmos are a great support for visual learning. Try just about any math Gizmo — for example Comparing and Ordering Fractions. This Gizmo helps students develop a visual representation of least common denominator and gives them a basis for understanding how to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators.

In addition, teachers can move math classrooms towards conceptual problem solving with the language used in the room. Mathematical communication is saturated with "doer" verbs; write, draw, build, graph, multiply, for example. Simply adding in some "thinker" verbs such as think about, decide, explain, reflect on, and consider, help teachers take students down the road toward more complex mathematical thinking. As an example, try the Quilting Bee Gizmo. As a warm up activity, ask students to reflect on symmetry by having them find it in the world around them or in magazine pictures. Then with the Gizmo, ask them to extend their thinking by considering additional lines of symmetry in the quilts they have been working with.

Read the research behind Gizmos for more information on how simulations can be powerful tools for improving student learning.

Go go GIZMOS!!!

Shockwave and Snow Leopard (64-bit) Update

Adobe released an updated version of the Shockwave Plug-in that is compatible with Safari on Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6). In the past you had to set up your browser to run in 32-bit mode, but this is no longer necessary.

However, there are a few issues with this most recent release that will affect a small number of Gizmos. We are working with Adobe in an effort to correct the problems. There are about five Gizmos related to 3D seasons that may cause problems, as well as a two math Gizmos that won't show an animation correctly. For several Gizmos the "Copy to clipboard" feature will not work properly.

Hopefully these issues can be cleared up in the near future. We'll keep you posted as new information becomes available, and we will also be working to clear up any other problems that are found.

Please note: This is only important to those running OSX 10.6 in 64-bit mode. If you run in 32-bit mode you will not see any of the problems described here.

Update (Oct 1, 2010): Adobe has released an updated version of the Plug-in which resolves the issues with 3D content. There are only a few minor remaining issues that we are working on.

Expert's Corner: Back-to-school Inquiry Activities

Bridget Mulvey is a science education doctoral student at the University of Virginia. Bridget holds a master's degree in geological sciences from Indiana University at Bloomington, and she taught middle school, high school and college science before starting her doctoral program. Bridget has taught professional development workshops on scientific inquiry and the nature of science and has presented research on whole class inquiry and the nature of science to researchers and teachers at national conferences.

As school gets back into full swing, teachers seek ways to engage students in science and set the tone for the year. One great way to do this is through scientific inquiry instruction using Gizmos!

Whether you're a pro or just getting started, Gizmos support your efforts to develop a positive classroom environment that facilitates inquiry. The simple and fun Pattern Finder Gizmo is accessible to young students yet can still be a great whole-class warm-up activity for older students.

Students observe, predict and then test predictions to identify patterns in frogs' jumps from lily pad to lily pad. Framing students' investigation with a research question such as, "What patterns can you identify in the frogs' jumps?" is a great first step toward inquiry. Students use observations as evidence that they analyze to answer the initial question.

This minds-on activity requires almost no initial scientific content knowledge and therefore offers all students a chance to be meaningful contributors to the class. This helps students see that science is fun and that they can do it.

Because pattern identification helps us make sense of the natural world, this activity can spark great discussions about the nature of science. For example, you could ask students if it is always possible for scientists to perform experiments. This discussion can highlight that direct experiments are not the only way we learn about the natural world. To learn about things out of our immediate reach, such as Earth's history or the cosmos, we can't control variables to actually experiment. When experiments can be performed, however, they are an essential part of science.

For more content-specific Gizmos appropriate for the beginning of the year, try Density Experiment: Slice and Dice. This updated take on a density lab lets students explore a big misconception about density — that size matters. To make this activity inquiry, pose a question such as, "What relationship does size have to mass, volume and density?"

In this Gizmo, students "slice" off portions of aluminum, wood or other material and compare volume, mass and density for different-sized pieces. Students analyze this information to determine the relationships and thereby answer the research question.

These Gizmos support minds-on investigations that involve students in the processes of science. They also encourage students' input, helping students gain confidence in their scientific abilities. What a great way to begin the school year!

Gizmo demo movies are live!

Who says that all the blockbuster summertime movie action is only taking place on the big screen?

We're happy to announce that all 80 Gizmos with the "purple bar on the left side" appearance have a demo movie!

These Gizmo demo movies are quick (~3 minute) how-to movies that show you what each Gizmo can do, and how you can interact with it.  The movies don't teach the lesson (see the Lesson Materials or Exploration Guide for that), but they should help get you comfortable with that Gizmo.

Demo movies come with voice-over narration, so be sure you have your sound turned on.  (We recommend using headphones if in a lab setting.)

Movies are appropriate for teachers or students.

To access the demo movie, click on the "Demo" button in the purple bar, at the lower left corner of the Gizmo.

Expert's Corner: Earthquakes

Pam Larson is the PD Manager and a national training consultant for ExploreLearning. Pam holds a Master's Degree in Science Education from Northwest Missouri State University and she taught middle and high school science before joining ExploreLearning.

On January 12, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake struck near the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. The earthquake caused buildings to collapse throughout the region, including the National Palace, National Assembly, and the Port-au-Prince Cathedral. Estimates of fatalities are higher than 200,000, making it one of the deadliest earthquakes in history. Weeks after the disaster, Haiti still faces a vast crisis in housing and distribution of food supplies.

In the aftermath of the Haiti earthquake, your students may be wondering why an earthquake struck Haiti, and why so many lives were lost. Haiti occupies the western side of the island of Hispaniola. Hispaniola lies on the northern part of boundary between the North American Plate and the Caribbean Plate. This is an example of a transform boundary, where the North American Plate is moving to the west and the Caribbean Plate is moving to the east. Use the Plate Tectonics Gizmo with your students to illustrate four types of plate boundaries and where they occur in the world.

In Haiti, the plate boundary is marked by two parallel faults: the Septentrional Fault and the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden Fault. Like the famous San Andreas Fault in California, these faults are the source of frequent seismic activity. A magnitude 7.5 earthquake struck near Port-au-Prince in 1770, and a magnitude 8.0 earthquake hit the Dominican Republic in 1946.

As the North American Plate grinds past the Caribbean Plate at a rate of about 2 cm per year, stress can build up on faults that are “locked.” Almost 240 years had passed since a major earthquake occurred along the Enriquillo Fault. At the epicenter of the quake (marked in red on the map), the ground ruptured over 4 meters (13 feet)! To help your students learn more about finding the epicenter of an earthquake, use our the Earthquake-Determination of Epicenter Gizmo, which teaches students how to determine the epicenter of the earthquake with real-time charts and the Earthquake-Recording Station Gizmo, which allows student to determine the distance between the recording station and the earthquake, based on timing between seismic waves.

The 2010 Haiti earthquake is comparable in size to the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake that struck northern California in 1989. But, the Loma Prieta earthquake resulted in less than 100 fatalities. Your students may wonder why there was such a disparity in fatalities between the two earthquakes. First, the epicenter of the Loma Prieta earthquake was located in a thinly-populated region north of Santa Cruz, so major population centers were spared the most powerful shaking. Second, buildings in the U.S. are less likely to collapse because of stricter construction rules.

Making connections that link current events to science curriculum helps students understand both what’s happening in the world and the science behind such events better. For more learning activities related to earthquakes, take a look at the Teacher Guides and Student Exploration Guides with any of the Gizmos mentioned above.

ExploreLearning’s parent company, Cambium Learning Group, has responded to the call to support Haiti’s recovery and rebuilding efforts, by contributing $5,000 to the American Red Cross.

Expert's Corner: Function Machines

Dan Moriarty is a curriculum writer and editor for ExploreLearning, and is also our chief Gizmo video producer. He holds a Master's degree from the University of Virginia in secondary math education, and he taught high school math before joining ExploreLearning.

Functions are a topic that math teachers at many levels teach. Linear, quadratic, cubic, absolute value, trigonometric… these are all different types of functions that students encounter as they advance through their studies.

But what is a function? All too often, the definition sounds something like this: "A function is a relation between a set of elements called the domain and a set of elements called the range (or co-domain), that maps each element in the domain with exactly one element in the range." This definition is technically true, of course, but to most kids, it doesn't make much sense.

So, math teachers search for a simpler way to present this concept, often characterizing them as "input-output machines." An input value goes in, the function machine does something to it, and it comes out as a single output. This works well, but how do you SHOW kids this?

Three related Gizmos - Function Machine 1, Function Machine 2, and Function Machine 3 - provide a nice introduction to functions, using the "input-output machine" theme. For starters, students can select a pre-set machine and send input numbers through it as a guessing game. What is that machine’s function? What does it do to each input number?

Students can then program their own machines - but not display the function - and challenge their classmates to figure out their function. They can get more advanced as well. The machines are stackable, so they can experiment sending input numbers though multiple machines. This illustrates the concept of composite functions.

In addition, these input-output pairs can be displayed as points on a graph. This is a perfect way to begin making the connection between a data table and a graph, which is the first step toward graphing functions.

For more ideas on teaching with the Function Machine Gizmos, take a look at the Teacher Guide and the Student Exploration Guide, found in each Gizmo's Lesson Materials. In addition, we have just published a new Teaching with Gizmos: Function Machines movie on our Videos page. All of these short videos help demonstrate how to easily use Gizmos in your classroom.

Expert's Corner: Show and Tell with Rocks

Kurt Rosenkrantz is science curriculum writer and Gizmo designer for ExploreLearning. Kurt holds a Master of Science in Geology from the University of Cincinnati, and a bachelor's degree in Earth Science from Harvard. He taught high school and middle school science for eight years before joining ExploreLearning.

A couple years ago my family and I left Charlottesville, VA and moved to North Carolina, where I've continued to work for ExploreLearning from my home office. The work continues to be great, but I have to admit it does get a bit quiet working out of your house. So I was thrilled when I recently got the chance to visit my daughter's elementary school classroom and help out with a science unit on rocks.

In my garage was a large box of rocks and fossils I had accumulated in grad school and in eight years of teaching earth science. There were large chunks of granite from New Hampshire; basalt, obsidian and pumice from volcanoes in western California; and of course lots of fossils-trilobites, brachiopods, horn corals, bryozoans, gastropods, and other specimens collected from the Ordovician rocks of southwestern Ohio. I had packed them up when I left California to join ExploreLearning, and they had been sitting in garages and attics ever since.

A week later I was in the class, sharing my rocks and fossils and talking about the time I got to dig up some dinosaur bones. The great thing about elementary school students, of course, is that they are enthusiastic about everything. I did get some unusual questions, however, like "are they still alive?" and "why aren’t they still moving?"

Visiting the classroom always brings me back to my teaching days, and also reminds me of how much energy a teacher both gives to and receives from their students. Try these Gizmos to energize your classroom:

• Rock Classification
• Rock Cycle
• Mineral Identification

All of these Gizmos work well when integrated into hands-on activities with rock samples in the classroom. For example, students can practice identifying hand-samples of rocks, and then try their skills with the Rock Classification Gizmo. Alternatively, students can learn how to measure a mineral’s hardness, streak, and density with the Mineral Identification Gizmo. They can then apply what they have learned to real mineral samples. Take a look at the Teacher Guides for these Gizmos for more ideas on hands-on activities that you can use with these Gizmos as well.

Enjoy!

Remodeled Phase Changes Gizmo

Prompted by a note from a teacher, we have made changes to the Phase Changes Gizmo. In the original Gizmo, we assumed a "no stirring" scenario in which heat applied to the bottom of the beaker was transferred to the ice through natural convection -- the water heated by the burner naturally rose to melt the ice. This scenario resulted in an average water temperature above zero, even while some ice was still present.

We decided to switch the model in the Gizmo to assume "constant stirring." In this scenario, used in many textbooks, lessons, and labs, heat from the burner is instantly transferred to the ice. Noo heat is transferred to the water until all of the ice has melted. As you can see in the revised Gizmo, this results in a heating curve that is perfectly flat during melting, just as in freezing and boiling.

We hope that this change will make this Gizmo easier to understand and use. If you have comments or suggestions about any of our Gizmos, please send them in! 

Gizmos and Apple OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard)

Apple released OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard) this morning. Many software companies are working to update their products to work well with this new technology.

Here at ExploreLearning our Gizmos make use of the Shockwave plug-in. If you have already installed 10.6 you may have noticed that you can't see the Gizmos. We don't like that at all! We investigated the issue and wanted to let you know that there is a way for you to start viewing the Gizmos!

The developer of this plug-in is Adobe, and they have stated that they are working on updating the plug-in to work with the new operating system natively, but currently you will have to run in "32-bit" mode. In the future the plug-in will be updated and you will no longer need to follow these steps.

If you have already installed Snow Leopard (OSX 10.6) and previously had Shockwave installed (see further below if you don't have Shockwave installed) follow these steps to view the Gizmos:

1. Print this page (so you can quit your web browser and continue).
2. Quit the Safari browser (in menu choose Safari > Quit Safari)
3. In the dock click and hold on the Safari icon
4. Select "Options > Show in Finder"
   
5. You will now see the main Safari application
   
6. With Safari selected choose File > Get Info from the menu, or use Apple-i keyboard combination
7. You will see a checkbox labeled "Open in 32-bit mode" on the Safari Info panel
8. Select that option
   
9. Be sure that Open using Rosetta is NOT selected
10. Close the "Safari Info" window
11. Restart your computer. After the restart please check once again that Safari is still properly set to 32-bit mode by following steps 3 through 10 again.
12. Start Safari by clicking on the icon in the dock
13. You should now be able to view Gizmos!

If you have any problems following these steps you may have to talk with your technology coordinator or teacher. If you are still having any problems be sure to drop a line to customer support on our contact page and we will work with you to solve the problem.

As the software and technology associated with our content changes we will continue to keep you updated.

Note: To be sure you have the most recent version of Shockwave you can click here: Shockwave download link.

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Update: Jan. 20, 2010

If you try to view a Gizmo and see an error similar to the one below it indicates you have not yet set Safari to run in 32-bit mode. You should try to follow the steps shown above one more time.

Update: Sept. 23, 2010

Adobe has released an updated version of Shockwave (11.5.8.612) which is now compatible with Snow Leopard. You no longer need to set Safari to run in 32-bit mode (with a few exceptions - more information in this newer post).

Expert's Corner: Carnival Probability

Lisa Bickel is the National Training Consultant (Mathematics) for ExploreLearning with a background in educational publishing. Lisa holds a B.S. degree in Applied Mathematics from Pennsylvania State University, and has led the development of math textbooks and software for middle school and high school students.

When I lead Gizmo training workshops, I like to suggest ways for teachers to bring in current events and make learning with Gizmos even more fun. What better way to celebrate spring than to have a Gizmo Spring Carnival! You can challenge your students to use different Gizmos and award tickets, or prizes, for wins.

Spring carnivals are popular at many schools. Games and prizes - a great way to celebrate the end of the school year - and the end of state testing! School carnivals also offer an opportunity to talk about games from a mathematical perspective.

What makes a game fair? In a fair game, a player is equally likely to win or lose. Consider the game shown:

Double your fun! Only 1 ticket to play! Spin the spinner twice and multiply the numbers. Win 2 tickets if the product is odd.

It sounds fair, doesn't it? It's actually not. Because the player wins when the product is odd, the player has a huge disadvantage. Of the 36 possible products, only 9 are odd, so the probability of winning 2 tickets is one-fourth, or 0.25.

To make this game fair, the expected value must be zero. In this case, 3 tickets should be paid for winning. You can see this by finding the expected value of this game. Multiply the probability of winning and the number of tickets won. Multiply the probability of losing and the number of tickets lost. Then add.

Expected value = (P(winning) × tickets won) + (P(losing) × tickets lost)
= (0.25 × 3) + (0.75 × −1)
= 0

What better way to celebrate spring (and the end of state testing) than to have a Gizmos Spring Carnival! You can challenge your students to use different Gizmos and award prizes. Here are a few Gizmos that will work. Have fun!

Try these Gizmos, and others, at a spring carnival in your classroom:

Spin the Big Wheel (Probability) - Have students create a fair game and run the game with 1000 spins. Award prizes for the game with the closest experimental and theoretical probabilities.

Target Sum Card Game (Multi-digit Addition) - Have students play several times and award prizes for landing closest to the target.

Cannonball Clowns (Number Line Estimation) - Have students estimate a distance (such as from New York City to Paris). Award prizes for the closest clown launch to that distance.

Go Gizmos!

Expert's Corner: Kite Power

Raman Pfaff is a senior architect for ExploreLearning. He holds a doctorate from Michigan State University in nuclear physics, and spent time as a professor of physics and education before co-founding ExploreLearning.

When I was a child, I lived on a farm in Michigan. One of the things I most loved was going out to our "big hill" to fly a kite. I was fascinated with trying to design a kite that could climb rapidly, perform acrobatic maneuvers, or be very stable so it would lift my kite camera into the sky.

While I have little time for flying kites as an adult, I started thinking more about them as I was reading about Earth Day. About 500 million people across the planet will take part in Earth Day events this month to bring awareness to the environmental challenges we face as a society. Producing enough energy for our society is difficult without trading off affordability and protection of the natural world. Research and field tests are starting to show that kites could be part of the solution - they are inexpensive and have little environmental impact.

A number of groups are currently working on generating power by flying kites. One method that is currently being tested is called pumping. Using this approach the kite is flown about 800 meters above the ground where the wind is stronger and steadier than it is near the surface. The tension in the kite 'string' turns a generator on the ground as the wind pulls the kite away. After the kite moves away a certain distance, the angle of the kite face is changed so that it can be reeled in using less energy than was generated on its way out. The result is that each in-out cycle generates more power than it consumes. Repeat the process continuously and you have a clean renewable power source.

One group used a similar method with a single 10 square meter kite to produce 10 kilowatts of power, which is enough to power ten family homes!

Enjoy Earth Day and if it's windy, go fly a kite. Back in your science classrooms, you can explore the energy used by many household appliances and understand how that relates to consumer costs and environmental impact with our Household Energy Usage. Or, explore how energy can get converted from one form to another in the Energy Conversions Gizmo.

Expert's Corner: Darwin Day

Kurt Rosenkrantz is science curriculum writer and Gizmo designer for ExploreLearning. Kurt holds a Master of Science in Geology from the University of Cincinnati, and a bachelor's degree in Earth Science from Harvard. He taught high school and middle school science for eight years before joining ExploreLearning.

February 12, 2009 is Darwin Day, the 200th anniversary of Darwin's birth. This year also marks 150 years since the publication of Darwin's seminal treatise, On the Origin of Species, in 1859.

It is extraordinary that this rather shy, cautious, and often-sick man was responsible for the most important scientific revolution in history. Darwin studied to become a doctor and a clergyman, but never completed either of these programs; he preferred to study botany and zoology instead. Darwin's rather aimless life changed dramatically in 1831, when he was hired as ship's naturalist aboard the HMS Beagle.

During the five-year, around-the-world voyage of the Beagle, Darwin observed related species that showed adaptations to different environments. He found fossils of animals that appeared related to modern forms, and observed island animals that were physically similar to mainland forms, but which pursued completely different lifestyles. Darwin gradually became convinced that evolution was the only logical explanation for these patterns.

After returning to England, Darwin puzzled about the mechanisms that could cause organisms to change over time. Darwin found his answer in a book by the economist Thomas Malthus. Malthus predicted that as human populations grew, the competition for resources would become more intense. Darwin realized that as organisms competed for resources, individuals that were born with favorable variations would be more likely to survive, reproduce, and pass on their traits to their offspring. Thus was born the principle of natural selection.

Although he had the framework of his theory in place by 1840, Darwin did not publish his ideas until 1859. In the intervening years, he slowly accumulated evidence from a wide variety of sources, from barnacles to domesticated pigeons. Darwin may have put off publishing indefinitely, but in 1858 he received a nasty shock.

An itinerant beetle collector named Alfred Russell Wallace had written to Darwin, describing his own theory of natural selection.(Although less famous than Darwin, Wallace is generally credited as the co-discoverer of natural selection.) Darwin realized that, after 20 years of work, he was about to be scooped! To his credit, Darwin did not burn Wallace's letter or bury it in the back yard. Instead he arranged that some of his papers, along with Wallace's letter, would be presented to the Royal Society. A year later Darwin published On the Origin of Species, and the rest is history! Today the vast majority of scientists recognize evolution by natural selection as the primary explanation for the diversity of life on Earth.

At ExploreLearning, we have a strong suite of Gizmos focused on evolution. The Rainfall and Bird Beaks Gizmo illustrates how rainfall affects the finch populations that Darwin observed on the Galapagos Islands. Natural Selection allows you to play the role of a bird, hunting for moths camouflaged on the bark of a tree. Evolution: Mutation and Selection and Evolution: Natural and Artificial Selection show a population of beetles that adapt to the color of the leaves they are resting on. Microevolution explores gene frequencies in a population of parrots, and Human Evolution - Skull Analysis allows you to measure and compare the skulls of our own ancient ancestors.

So celebrate Darwin Day, and enjoy the Gizmos!

Gizmo state standards correlations updated!

Good news - our correlations pages (correlating Gizmos with existing state standards of learning) have been updated!  The correlations for the following states now include our new elementary science Gizmos.

Updated states (click on any state):

Alabama (AL)
Arizona (AZ)
Colorado (CO)
District of Columbia (DC)
Illinois (IL)
Indiana (IN)
Massachusetts (MA)
Michigan (MI)
Nevada (NV)
New Mexico (NM)
Ohio (OH)
Oklahoma (OK)
Oregon (OR)
Pennsylvania (PA)
Rhode Island (RI)
Washington (WA)
Wisconsin (WI)

We will continue to update state correlations in the coming months as we roll out new Elementary Gizmos.

Gizmos on Intel-based Macintosh

Last month Apple began selling new computers that make use of an Intel chip. Many software companies are working to update their products to work well with this new technology.

Here at ExploreLearning our Gizmos make use of the Shockwave for Director plug-in. If you have one of these brand new Mac's you may have noticed that you can't see the Gizmos. We don't like that at all! We got our hands on a new iMac last week and wanted to let you know that there is a way for you to start viewing the Gizmos!

The developer of this plug-in is Adobe (formerly Macromedia), and they have stated that they are working on updating the plug-in to work "natively" on the new Apple computers, but currently you will have to run in "Rosetta" mode which may slow down your computer a bit. In the future the plug-in will be updated and you will no longer need to follow these steps.

If you have a new Intel-based Macintosh follow these steps to view the Gizmos:

• Print this page (so you can quit your web browser and continue).
• Quit the Safari browser
• In the dock click and hold on the Safari icon
• Select "Show in Finder"
  
• You will now see the main Safari application
  
• With Safari selected choose File > Get Info from the menu, or use Apple-i keyboard combination
• You will see a checkbox labeled "Open using Rosetta" on the Safari Info panel
• Select that option
  
• Close that window and start Safari by clicking on the icon in the dock
• You should now be able to view Gizmos!

If you have any problems following these steps you may have to talk with your technology coordinator or teacher. If you are still having any problems be sure to drop a line to customer support and we will work with you to solve the problem.

As the software and technology associated with our content changes we will continue to keep you updated.

Gizmos Take Suburban Houston!

I presented Gizmos to a group of about 25 algebra teachers in Spring ISD, Texas (just north of Houston), a couple weeks ago.  They were a fun and lively group!

We talked Gizmos and how they fit into an inquiry-based classroom.  Inquiry is a term that keeps coming up for us.  It is gaining more and more attention as an effective and research-proven teaching method, and Gizmos are a perfect tool for students to use to investigate questions raised in an inquiry lesson.

From a teaching perspective, the teachers were fans of our algebra-tiles-based Gizmos such as the Modeling One-Step Equations Gizmo.  They liked how zero pairs are represented, and also how the Gizmo illustrates adding one to both sides of an equation.

From a fun/challenge perspective, the Spring teachers got hooked on the 3D and Orthographic Views Gizmo!  This Gizmo is a one-of-a-kind, and is terrific practice for students in visualizing three-dimensional figures.  The fun and addictive challenge is this: Can you build the given figures in the fewest blocks possible?  It's easy at first … until you get 3 or 4 questions in!  (Tip: Be sure to read through the Exploration Guide.  It contains many tips about how to use the Gizmo that you probably wouldn't figure out on your own.)

Anyway, I had a great time with a fun group in Spring, Texas, and it felt like a well-used staff-development day.  Good math teaching is alive and well in Spring… and we hope Gizmos can become a bigger and bigger part of it!

How do I get the most out of Gizmos?

ExploreLearning Gizmos are great learning tools, but how you get the most out of them? How do you make time spent with a Gizmo effective learning time for your students? These are questions we've heard a lot from teachers, and they are crucial questions.  No tool automatically causes students to learn.What approaches seem to work for a lesson using Gizmos?

We've put together three documents that we hope will help answer those questions.

• Part 1, The Purpose of Gizmos
• Part 2, Using the Exploration Guide and Assessment Questions
• Part 3, Using Gizmos in Different Settings

Demo Movie: Fan Cart Part 2

Our inimitable Dan Moriarty has posted a new Teaching with Gizmos demonstration movie for you: Force and Motion with Fan Cart, Part 2.

If you haven't yet checked out our other demo movies, you really should, especially if you're new to ExploreLearning or not really sure what the big fuss is about concerning Gizmos, you know all the awards and all the talk about how Gizmos are such a hit with both teachers and students in the classroom.

But even if you're an ExploreLearning Gizmo pro, it's worth taking a look at the Teaching with Gizmos series, as you may get some new teaching ideas or uncover a previously unknown feature of the Gizmo.

Now Showing: Gizmo Demo Movies!

ExploreLearning has gone Hollywood! (sort of...) We've added five demonstration movies to our site:

• An Introduction to ExploreLearning.com
• Teaching with Gizmos - Fraction Sense
• Teaching with Gizmos - Exploring Quadratics
• Teaching with Gizmos - Genetics and Mouse Breeding
• Teaching with Gizmos - Force and Motion with Fan Cart, Part 1

The introduction movie is perfect for first-time visitors to ExploreLearning.com. It answers the question, "What is a Gizmo?" and also shows how Gizmos can help improve teaching and learning. (All that in under 8 minutes -- not bad, huh?)

The four Teaching with Gizmos movies show how you might teach a specific lesson using Gizmos. Each of these movies focuses on one Gizmo and highlights what that Gizmo helps you do to enhance student learning. (These movies are about 4-to-6 minutes each.)

We hope these movies are helpful to you. Maybe they can even help you take your teaching with Gizmos to another level. Let us know what you think!

Links to the movies are on the front page of ExploreLearning.com, and also in our new-and-improved Help Center (click on the small gray '?' at the top right corner of the screen).

By the way, these movies are large files (anywhere from 2 MB to 6 MB). They take some time to download -- depending on the speed of your internet connection, of course -- so be patient. They're well worth the wait!

Seeking Gizmo Subject Ideas

For all of you teachers out there that use our site, now is your chance to speak up. The developers here at ExploreLearning are getting ready to start building lots of new Gizmos, and we want your ideas! As you use the site have you ever had the thought, "I wish there was a Gizmo that does yada yada yada." If you could drop us a line about your yada, the Gizmo idea might make it on to our list, and you could be using it in the upcoming year.

Don't miss out on this opportunity! We always want to make Gizmos that teachers want and will help students learn concepts in state standards.

You can send your Gizmo ideas to . Remember, the more details you include in the idea, the greater the chance of getting that idea turned in to a Gizmo. If possible, be sure to include your name in the message.

To get you started, here is how the idea for the Fan Cart Physics Gizmo could have been written.

I have an idea for a Gizmo that would help me when teaching about Newton's Laws. In the Gizmo, there would be a cart that has a certain mass. On the cart you could place one or more fans (which have a mass) that would cause the cart to accelerate. Fans could be switched on and off, and be placed on the cart in either a forward or backward direction. Students would be able to get data about the position, velocity, and acceleration of the cart.

If I was really a friendly teacher, I might have included a sketch of what the Gizmo would look like :) That is definitely not required though, since we know how busy teachers are every day.

Student Teacher and Gizmo Success

One of the things we've been trying to do at ExploreLearning is get our Gizmos in the hands of student teachers so that they can begin incorporating Gizmos into their math and science teaching from the moment they start their professional careers.

One such student teacher, Diana Chau, in the bachelors/masters program for future classroom teachers at the Curry School of Education at the University of Virginia, studying secondary mathematics education recently wrote of her experience with ExploreLearning:

My teaching with technology went well this semester. At the beginning when I was teaching matrices, I predominantly used the overhead graphic calculator projector to show students how to use their calculators to solve matrices. I used TI-connect to take screenshots of matrices to use in class worksheets and in guided notes. Because the students are extremely calculator dependent, it helped them to know what to expect when they entered information correctly into a calculator.

Once we started the quadratic functions chapter, our main source of technology was using ExploreLearning.com [view the Quadratic functions and inequalities Gizmos]. I used the graph screenshots from the factored, vertex, and polynomial form quadratic function Gizmos to create a sort and match graphs and their equations activity. [Note: We'll be making this worksheet available for download shortly -- ed.] Students rotated from a graphing packet station, sort and match station, and to an ExploreLearning.com station where they used the above mentioned Gizmos.

I created a worksheet that provided step-by-step directions. After using each gizmo and finishing its assessment, students using the ExploreLearning.com explanations would explain why they got a questions right or wrong and briefly state whether or not the gizmo was helpful. This was a great chance for them to explore information in pairs. … [The students] seemed to gain a deeper understanding of the topic. Many of them were able to infer patterns and rules from playing with the Gizmos. Since most of the students had been exposed to algeblocks in Algebra I, we used the Gizmo version as a class for discussing factoring. The kids seemed to enjoy it, and it reviewed the use of manipulatives for the SOL [The Virginia Standards of Learning test].

Overall, the use of technology was a great experience for me, Erik Gauss [the cooperating teacher], and the students. While the use of the graphing calculator had already been incorporated into the classroom, it did not impact the students as much as using Explorelearning.com. Using the Gizmos allowed students to discover mathematical relationship and develop their own understanding. Since it was interactive, it truly held their attention.

What I found is that even though technology is exciting to incorporate into the classroom, it presents a number of problems, including its reliability for working and students ability to understand how to use the technology. I also learned that technology cannot just be thrown into a lesson; the connection to the curriculum must be extremely obvious to the students.…

Excellent work, Diana. Thanks for the report. We all were impressed with the clever use of the Gizmo screen capture feature in the cut up/matching activity. That's a great way to make use of a built in Gizmo feature to follow up and reinforce the hands on, interactive work the students can do with Gizmos.

Using the Gizmo Screen-Capture Feature

Did you know that all the ExploreLearning Gizmos have a nifty screen-capture feature, built in? With only a couple clicks, you can place a custom, professional-looking image, taken from a Gizmo, into your worksheets, quizzes, and tests!

Here are some sample quizzes we created, with help from the Gizmo snapshot feature:

• Sample Quiz: Slope Intercept Form of a Line, download file: .pdf | .doc | shorter version (.doc)
• Sample Quiz: Introductory Physics, Freefall Laboratory, download file: .pdf

Here's how to do it:

Step 1 – Set the Gizmo up however you want.

Any snapshot you take of a Gizmo will capture the current state of the Gizmo. So, anything you can set up in a Gizmo can also become a snapshot!

Step 2 – Take the "snapshot"

fig. 1

To take a snapshot of the entire Gizmo, click the "Copy Screen" [fig. 1] button at the bottom of the Gizmo.

fig. 2

Many Gizmos also give you the option of taking a snapshot of just a portion of the Gizmo, like a graph, bar chart, etc. To copy the snapshot area, click on the camera icon (fig. 2).

fig. 3

(Note: In our older Gizmos, click the icon shown in Figure 3 to take a snapshot of the entire Gizmo, or click the clipboard icon [Figure 4] to capture the snapshot area of the Gizmo.)

Now the snapshot is stored on your computer's clipboard.

fig. 4

Step 3 – Paste the snapshot

Open a word processing document, such as a Microsoft Word file, place your cursor where you'd like the snapshot to go, and paste it.

Step 4 (optional) – Edit the snapshot

As with any other image, you can use the graphics tools in your word processor to resize, position, crop, etc. the Gizmo snapshot.

fig. 5

Resizing tip: To resize the image, first click on the image once to select it. You will see some "handles" along the edges of the snapshot. Clicking and dragging those handles resizes the image. If you drag a handle on a corner of the image (the cursor will become a double-headed arror, e.g., fig 5), it will retain its correct proportions. If you drag a handle on the middle of one of the sides of the image, it will become distorted.

 

The best thing about the screen capture feature is how easy it makes it to merge the virtual manipulative world of Gizmos with the traditional, paper-based world of handouts, worksheets, and quizzes that are part of every teacher's repertoire. Students, too, can make use of the screen-capture feature as part of homework or reports that they turn in.

ExploreLearning Job Opening

We seek to hire an experienced Teacher Training and Professional Development professional to develop, manage and coordinate a program that ensures broad and enthusiastic usage of ExploreLearning Gizmos(tm) by teachers and their students in customer school districts. More information, including application requirements, can be found here at our Employment page.

This position is an important one to our organization as it will involve developing a program to ensure the retention of existing customers as well as growth in their schools/districts and expansion into other districts.

If you believe that ExploreLearning Gizmos™ rule, or someone you know shares that belief or otherwise fits the bill, please contact us pursuant to the instructions on the web page above or pass this information to the interested party.

New Math Exploration Guides and Assessment Questions

We are pleased to announce the addition of new Exploration Guides and new sets of Assessment Questions for 11 of our math Gizmos. We now have Exploration Guides and Assessment Questions for 99% of our math library!

Here are the 11 math Gizmos that have just received the new materials:

• Solving Equations with Decimals
• Multiplying Exponential Expressions
• Dividing Exponential Expressions
• Multiplying Fractions
• Solving Using Trend Lines
• Classifying Triangles
• Surface and Lateral Area of Prisms and Cylinders
• Surface and Lateral Area of Pyramids and Cones
• Sine, Cosine and Tangent
• Arithmetic and Geometric Series
• Quadratic and Absolute Value Functions

Misconceptions About Moon Phases

There's an interesting article in the November 2003 issue of The Science Teacher (vol 70, no 8) about students' misconceptions regarding phases of the Moon. Studies have shown that only about 25-35% of students correctly answer questions about Moon phases at the middle school and high school level (Sadler, 1987; Baxter, 1989). These misconceptions seem to persist through college:

Targus (1987) conducted...research with college students and found that 65% had no knowledge and 23% had fragmentary knowledge of the phases of the Moon.

The authors of the Science Teacher article describe a lesson plan for addressing these misconceptions, which I think would work very well with the Gizmo Moon Phases. I was also excited to see the authors use a pre-test/post-test 'action research' approach to see how successful their lesson plan was — if anyone uses Moon phases (or any other Gizmo for that matter) and collects data on its effectiveness, we'd love to hear about it!

Accessible Gizmos

Accessibility is an important issue in education. As the web has rapidly expanded in recent years, it becomes more and more integrated with classroom education. Having content accessible to all students and teachers is a high priority for us here at ExploreLearning.

When browsing through our Gizmo listings, have you ever noticed the icon with the Accessibility Options text next to it? The image indicates that the Gizmo has full keyboard accessibility, along with a number of other considerations that add to the overall accessibility of the Gizmo.

If you would like more information about the accessibility of our Gizmos you can download either of the two PDF's below. The Gizmo Accessibility PDF discusses the accessibility of the Gizmos in detail, and the Keyboard Accessibility PDF provides information specific to controlling the Gizmo from the keyboard.

• Gizmo Accessibility (PDF, 244k)
• Keyboard Accessibility (PDF, 84k)

I hope you find these useful. If you have further suggestions please send us your feedback.

Update: We've modified our accessibility info for Gizmos. Please refer to our Accessibility Info Page for details.

Can't Find a Gizmo?

We have received numerous requests to publish a single list of all of our Gizmos. While many find our catalog to be a very useful tool, others - such as Pat West - simply wish to browse a list of titles.

Does there exist a list of all gizmos for math other than the categorized one? I do not find the categorized by grade level or course lists helpful when I want to find a specific gizmo for a topic I am teaching. Specific titles are more much more helpful. Thanks.

We hear you Pat!

As a result, we have prepared a series of PDF documents that list our Gizmos in a variety of ways, and include direct links to the Gizmo Details pages.

Have a look at our selection.

• All Gizmo Modules (PDF)
• Gizmo Modules Catalog (PDF)
• All Math Gizmo Modules (PDF)
• All Science Gizmo Modules (PDF)
• ExploreMath Gizmo Modules (PDF)
• ExploreScience Gizmo Modules (PDF)

Are these helpful? Can we improve them? Please send us your feedback!

Tracking a Disease

Around this time of the year many people ask the question, "Have you gotten a flu shot this year?" The flu can be considered a disease, and it is possible to track the spread of the flu.

The flu often begins in Asia and can be tracked around the world. Eventually it ends up here in Charlottesville, Virginia. How exactly does one track a disease? While reading through curriculum standards it is easy to find several key items: observe, classify and sequence, measure, interpret and analyze data, and construct graphs and tables to communicate experimental findings. Those are just a few of the skills that are developed while trying to track a disease.

In the real world investigators have spent considerable time trying to determine the cause of Hepatitis A in over 400 people in western Pennsylvania. The exact cause of the disease is still unknown, but green onions are one potential cause. Across the world the spread of HIV has been a major concern for more than two decades. The BBC News recently did a story that uses many graphs for showing the current status of the disease along with a prediction for the year 2010.

Our Spread of Disease Gizmo will let you explore three ways that disease can spread throughout a group of people in a room. With just a single room controlled environment in the Gizmo students can learn the basic skills of measurement, observing, graphing, and communicating their ideas. We have plans for two other Gizmos that will allow student to track down possible sources of disease on a larger scale than just one room, so stay tuned for those during the next year.

I enjoy using investigative skills to discover the source and cause of disease. I think I might have watched to many mystery movies and read adventure stories when I was growing up. 'Dr. Livingstone, I presume?'

Linear Regression Gizmo

ExploreLearning user and teacher Bill Grezner offers a great suggestion for using the Linear Regression Gizmo (AKA Least Squares Fit Line Gizmo) with students.

Bill writes,

Here is a spreadsheet in Excel (Download the .xls file) that I will use along with the gizmo to teach the lesson. The plan would be to introduce the idea of linear regression using the gizmo.

Then to follow up with the savings problem. I will give the students a handout of sheet 2 from the spreadsheet and have them estimate a line of best fit using a ruler. Then using this line predict the savings after 30 months.

Then I will have the students work with sheet 1 of the spreadsheet at a PC. Here they will use the equation of the line of best fit to predict the savings after 30 months. I would have them change a few points to see how it would effect their results. The spreadsheet will calculate the new linear regression equation and redraw the graph.

Possible discussion would be comparing the two predictions and discussing why they differ (probably just slightly). How do we interpret the value of the coefficient of correlation.

From there I would give the students another similar problem to develop. The spreadsheet can be used by the teacher to generate many similar but different scenarios.

What a great idea, Bill. Thanks for sharing.

We at EL are continually amazed at the ways those of you on the front lines of teaching are finding ways to take the Gizmos to another level.

A Telephone, A Computer, A Gizmo

JoAnna Allen, a teacher in our Baltimore County, MD pilot program, emails the following regarding using a Gizmos with a student at a remote location:

At Home and Hospital (where students are homebound for various reasons) I use the telephone and computer sharing simultaneously and happen to be working with a trig student who is nicely computer literate and can data-connect via cable.

We are about to do graphing (he's been hospitalized so we're way behind) and I love the Unit Circle Gizmo -- perfect for tomorrow's class. I'm able to share software and applications that I open on my computer and give him control so we are viewing the same screen constantly. This way we can discuss while it's happening. I'm psyched because he can also go into the site after class time. Up to now, I could share my software applications only while we were connected.

Since I teach science too (physics and chemistry), I'm eager to explore those too. The difficulty has always been when only a portion of the class can connect by computer, but with the after-class capability, Wowee!

We've always believed that one of the greatest strengths of our Gizmo simulations is that they can be delivered anwhere, anytime, anyplace via a web connection. It's extremely gratifying to hear confirmation of this from a teacher who is putting the Gizmos to just such a distance learning type test.

Thanks, JoAnna!