Getting teachers to stand on chairs & play kazoos

sound sandwichAt an unassuming table in an unremarkable exhibit hall, sandwich bags filled with tongue depressors and rubber bands were an unexpectedly hot item.

The conference was the recent 2010 annual meeting of the Association of Science-Technology Centers (ASTC) in Honolulu. The table showcased howtosmile.org, the newly launched math and science portal for informal educators.

And the sandwich bags? They held ingredients–tongue depressors, rubber bands, and snippets of drinking straws– for a hands-on activity to make a primitive musical instrument called the Sound Sandwich.

The Sandwich had the jaded conference-goers tinkering, laughing, and filling the hall with bleats from the newly assembled contraptions. Many educators know that where Sound Sandwiches congregate, the inevitable orchestra erupts, sounding as if a tornado hit a truckload of kazoos.

And that was just in the exhibit hall. At the howtosmile.org workshop, it was an even wilder scene. Participants chose from six hands-on activities–from the early math gem Starburst Graph to Magnus Glider, which lets you build a glider that uses the same physics as a curve ball. Educators clambered up onto chairs to try out their gliders.

“I think people at the conference were really excited about this new resource,” says Sherry Hsi, SMILE co-P.I. and Research Director at UC Berkeley’s Lawrence Hall of Science. “Especially the fact that our activities are vetted by educators and that you don’t have to register or subscribe to access whatever you need online.

“But they also were intrigued by the array of community tools on the site–like lists, comments, and earning badges for participation–that become available when they register.” Some of the site’s other new functions include

  • an amped-up Advanced Search, (you can search by age group, subject, materials, learning time, or even learning style preferences supported by the activity)
  • greatly enhanced video capabilities (watch them or upload your own)
  • expanded list-making functions, which let you make your lists of SMILE activities into resource hubs by adding non-SMILE resources or links to outside websites.

For a light-hearted look at conference-going, check out my schwag’s better than your schwag.

Posted in Topics: Howtosmile.org Web site

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