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Temperature misconceptions? Shake it off.

Most students understand that things get warmer as temperature goes up, but it is in the science lab that we have an opportunity to really help them understand what temperature means. One of the core ideas in Physical Science is that temperature is actually a measure of the kinetic energy of the particles of the matter. But when you’ve only thought about temperature as being hot or cold, this is an especially difficult concept because the “particles of matter” are hard to visualize.

One way to bring this concept into focus is to model the sub-microscopic world with something that the students can physically manipulate. We’ll shake things up in the lab by  modeling molecules with some craft beads.

Temperature

To measure the temperature, I used a Wireless Temperature Sensor and SPARKvue software. After placing sensor into an empty jar with the beads, I just needed to add some energy. Next step… just shake that jar thing. With a wireless sensor this is easy—just put the lid on and shake it up

Temperature Graph

I imagine that an entire class of student shaking these beads could be quite a cacophony. These engaged students would definitely see (and hear) the motion of the particles inside their sample of matter. You may need to reign them in a bit and remind them that they should “shake it, don’t break it.”

We know the dancing around turned up the heat in your class, but did all of this movement affect the temperature in the jar? Let’s take a closer look at the data.

One way to bring this concept into focus is to model the sub-microscopic world with something that the students can physically manipulate. We’ll shake things up in the lab by  modeling molecules with some craft beads.

They say fakers gonna fake, fake, fake, fake, fake, but the data doesn’t lie. While the temperature increase was small, we can clearly see that the sensor did measure a steady increase in the temperature.

Now that they have the basic idea of temperature, you can have the students tune their own own investigation to determine the relationships among the energy transferred, the type of matter, the mass, and the change in the average kinetic energy of the particles as measured by the temperature of the sample.

While the students are devising plans (and of course competing to see who can change the temperature the most), you can rest assured that they are understanding disciplinary core ideas and incorporating engineering practices and cross cutting concepts.

AST 2016 – Nova Scotia goes with PASCO!

AYVA was proud to participate in the annual Nova Scotia Association of Science Teachers science conference (AST) again this year. The conference offered a broad range of sessions pertaining to the many disciplines of K-12 science. This is a particularly exciting year for science students in Nova Scotia since the Department of Education & Early Childhood Development provided nearly 300 local elementary schools with SPARKvue software and PASCO sensors for hands-on, inquiry-based learning.

Three PASCO workshops were offered over the course of the conference, enabling teachers to become acquainted with their new datalogging technology which pairs seamlessly with the Chromebooks and iPads. Probeware allows students to collect, manipulate and analyze data from various sources to support observations and help make inferences and conclusions about the world around them. Participants were able to observe how true open-ended inquiry becomes much easier when real world data is collected in a timely fashion. Teachers had a chance to demo the new line of wireless sensors and were given several streamlined curriculum activities to take back to their classrooms. Many instructors stopped at the AYVA booth to ask about the new equipment and to talk about the new materials that were sent out to grades 4-6 this year. Our special thanks go to all the attending teachers and our amazing team of presenters: Wes Leblanc (Chemistry Teacher, HRSB), Mark Richards (Consultant of Technology Integration-AVRSB) and Nancy Chisholm (IT Consultant).

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Durham DSB – PASCO PD Session

Professional Development is a career-long endeavor and AYVA Educational is always happy to help. Quentin Dus and Jason Peng represented PASCO Scientific at the Durham District School Board on Friday October 7. The two hosted several information sessions to help teachers at the board familiarize themselves with PASCO’s newest wireless sensors. The sessions also engaged teachers with demonstrations and hands-on experience where teachers had a chance to perform the Ice and Road Salt Experiment using PASCO’s Wireless Temperature Sensor and SparkVue software.

Quentin and Jason also demonstrated the Smart Cart and performed the Alka-Seltzer in Fruit Juice Experiment with the PASCO Wireless pH and Temperature sensors. As always, the teachers successfully predicted the results for pH and temperature changes (we even tried throwing them a curve-ball with this endothermic reaction!). Among the most engaging demonstrations was a simple pressure activity where we had volunteers capture as much air as possible in a clear garbage bag. Then, the volunteers squeezed the bag and we were able to visualize the pressure change using the PASCO Wireless Pressure Sensor and SparkVue software. This simple activity is a fun example of thinking outside the box to implement some creative ways to take advantage of PASCO’s wireless sensors.

We would like to thank Beth at Pickering High School for organizing the successful event! It was a pleasure to meet all the teachers.

Durham training2016

The first week of the Nova Scotia Training road show was a great success!

Facilitated by veteran PASCO trainer Glenn Starkey, the grade 4 to 6 teachers – representing over 20 schools per session – had an engaging time investigating temperature changes in water and reflective properties of light, as well as learning how to collect measurements with their own weather station. Helping to support Glenn at each session were Craig Ecclestone from AYVA Educational Solutions, and Eric Therrien and Christine Christensen from the Nova Scotia Department of Education.

Over the course of the week, eight separate 3-hour hands-on training sessions were conducted, with representatives from nearly half of the elementary schools across the province. The training was based on the Airlink, the general science sensor and the weather anemometer. The post training feedback was overwhelmingly positive with many teachers commenting that it was the best professional development they ever had to promote scientific inquiry.

Teachers at the Strait regional district school board were surprised and intrigued to discover that contrary to their predictions, a standing cup of water will almost always be lower than the surrounding air.
Teachers at the Strait Regional District School Board were surprised and intrigued to discover that contrary to their predictions, the temperature of a standing cup of water will almost always be lower than the surrounding air.
Reaching towards the ceiling a participant at the Halifax regional district school board investigates variations in light levels throughout the room.
Reaching towards the ceiling, a participant at the Halifax Regional District School Board investigates variations in light levels throughout the room.
With Glenn Starkey at the front of the class a teacher at the Strait regional district school board contemplates the effect of a drop of water on the probe's measurement of temperature.
With Glenn Starkey at the front of the class, a teacher at the Strait Regional District School Board contemplates the effect of a drop of water on the probe’s measurement of temperature.

PASCO Scientific Wins the ‘ISTE 2016 Best of Show Award!’

banner-composite_sized_4On August third, PASCO Scientific won Teach & Learnings  ‘International Society for Technology in Education 2016 Best of Show Award’ for their cutting edge wireless sensors. These sensors connect directly to computers, tablets, smart phones and Chromebooks which provide the freedom and flexibility without compromise for a lower price.

You can read the complete article here or find out more about PASCO’s range of wireless sensors here.

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IB Conference of the Americas

IB Conference of Americas
Pictured above: Dianne Beveridge, President of AYVA Educational Solutions, Craig Ecclestone, PASCO Product Specialist at AYVA and Humberto Medina, Export Manager for the Americas,PASCO Scientific

The IB Conference of the Americas, organized by the International Baccalaureate Organization, was held July 14-17 at the Sheraton Centre in Toronto. PASCO, together with AYVA, was proud to showcase their new wireless sensors and dataloggers – a key requirement in the IB curriculum where students are encouraged to make connections between their studies and the real world. It was a fabulous professional development opportunity for coordinators, teachers, district and school board representatives to promote best practices and to develop ideas to foster inquiry-based learning. We too enjoyed the inspiring featured speakers and breakout presenters.

STEM Learning Must Go Beyond Memorizing Facts and Theories

Read Steven Korte’s article ‘STEM Learning Must Go Beyond Memorizing Facts and Theories‘ recently posted in ‘The Edvocate‘.  In this article, Steven Korte – PASCO Scientific’s CEO – offers 9 points to consider when a school or district implements a STEM program.

STEM

Access the full article here: http://www.theedadvocate.org/stem-learning-must-go-beyond-memorizing-facts-theories/?utm_campaign=shareaholic&utm_medium=email_this&utm_source=email

PASCO Wireless Sensors & SPARKVue – Changing the Way Teachers Teach Science

Capture“For science teachers who are looking to change their classroom practices and give their students more hands on experience, you need to consider using the latest wireless temperature sensors from PASCO. Using the PASCO Wireless Sensor technology will change the way you teach ….”

Read the entire review blog by Brian Friedlander from Assistive Tek LLC here: http://assistivetek.blogspot.com/2016/06/pasco-scientific-wireless-sensors.html

2016 Global Partners Conference at PASCO

Once again, the AYVA Team had the opportunity to network with PASCO distributors from around the world. This year’s theme was Re-Imagine the Science Classroom and we were excited to share stories of how PASCO’s new wireless sensors and dataloggers are fostering STEM education and engaging more students.

During the Awards Ceremony, AYVA was honoured to have our efforts recognized by PASCO’s Management Team. We want to thank everyone at PASCO for their hospitality and we can’t wait until next time.

Ayva Sales Meeting Collage
AYVA Sales Meeting Collage

 

 

 

 

 

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