Learning About Energy

If you would like some ideas to explore new energy technologies with your class, visit this website for activities and ideas: Energy for Kids.

Lesson Plans from the SMILE Program

There are hundreds of free lesson plans available at the SMILE (Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement) website hosted by the Illinois Institute of Technology. SMILE was a summer program for teachers that ran from 1986 to 1996. Participants were required to present and submit a lesson. This collection of lessons is classified by subject area. There are lessons in Math and Physics as well as Biology and Chemistry available at this website.

Within each subject area, lessons are further classified by topic. To find lessons appropriate for your age group you can look at the name of the school of the teacher who submitted the lesson for the level (elementary, middle and high school.)

Visit the website: SMILE Program Lesson Plans

Adding Animation to Powerpoint Presentations

In a recently created powerpoint presentation for a physics lesson, I added some interest by using clip art and animation to show motion in my slides.

For those of you who have never used the animation feature for powerpoint, I have created a video tutorial using Camtasia Studio. Happy animating!

Educational Resources at NASA's Website

My undergraduate degree is in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, so I love to learn new things about space. I was an intern at NASA's Lewis Research Center (John Glenn) in Cleveland for the summer before my senior year.  I've also been to Kennedy Space Center with my family several times. This photograph was taken on our last visit. 

NASA has a website dedicated to educators with plenty of resources to investigate, including lesson plans and a schedule of educational programming on the NASA TV channel.

Visit the website : NASA for Educators