Synergistic Lab Blog

LBC Synergistic Lab = Grand Prize Winner!

JHughes_LBC — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:40:18 +0000

I entered an animation made in our Synergistic Lab into a national contest held by Pitsco and we won!

LBC will be featured in the upcoming issue of the Pitsco magazine and our lab will be receiving a video camera and a $100 gift certificate from Pitsco!

Click here to read the rules and see the prizes:

http://systems.pitsco.com/sharedimages/resources/NetworkMagazine/Oct-Nov2009/35-oct-nov2009.pdf

There were two categories: video & non-video and we took the grand prize for the video section. On the Computer Animation module, the session calls for the students to use Gumby and Pokey bendy figures to make a stop-motion cartoon. NONE of these students know who Gumby and Pokey are (Gumby had shows from 1957-1968), so I have a box of Happy Meal toys for the students and allow them to bring in their own toys, such as Transformers and Bionicle.

These students used LEGO Batman and Robin figures to make a cartoon. They also found things in the computer which allowed them to add caption balloons and even added credits that included headshots of the students. It came out pretty cool.

Pitsco will be adding the video to www.teachertube.com , which is not blocked at Aiken County Schools, so I will add that link when it becomes available.

Johnny Hughes

LBC Middle School Synergistic Lab

Great Free Poster Set

JHughes_LBC — Wed, 20 May 2009 13:24:50 +0000

http://www.tufts.edu/as/wright_center/products/svl/posters/posts.html

Click there and it will give you the address to send a request for a free poster set. You have to send the request on school letterhead, but it is worth it. You will get several posters in a set and they are very relevant to the modules that Pitsco makes.

J Hughes

Should Lab Students Join This Blog?

pepexecdirector — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:52:33 +0000

Facilitators -
I am wondering if it might not be interesting for the students in your labs to be able to share their comments and ideas with kids in other labs across the district? Do you want to open this question up to them and see what they think?

What About the Chemistry Folks?

pepexecdirector — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 20:07:17 +0000

Would this be an appropriate chemical to use in a high school lab?

Sodium Borohydride Anyone?

JHughes_LBC — Tue, 31 Mar 2009 17:26:19 +0000

I have a couple of cans of Sodium Borohydride that I can’t use anymore. The stuff went with the Alternative Energy module, but the need for it was cancelled with the newest update.

If anyone of you want it, send me a line. Pitsco told me to dispose the material, but I would rather give it away than throw it away.

JHughes

LBC Middle

Let’s Discuss - Favorite Module

pepexecdirector — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:19:22 +0000

Facilitators - Which is your favorite module in your lab, and why?

PEP Visit to LBC’s Lab

pepexecdirector — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 14:18:28 +0000

I visited the LBC Synergistic Lab yesterday and had a chance to meet John Hughes, the facilitator who has been adding great stuff to this blog. Thanks, John. He has completely rearranged the modules in the lab to allow for better flow and safety in the room. He loves his job and is obviously enjoying working with the students.

Make a Kite - Discovery Day Project

JHughes_LBC — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 17:30:12 +0000

If you have students finish early, which is inevitable on certain modules on certain days, the below site has some good plans on making a simple kite. You can take one bridge balsa wood beam and cut it in half. Also, you will need one grocery bag per kite and some string.

This is a good mini-lesson to add to the Alternative Energy, EPM, or Physics module. Needless to say, it’s fun for us too.

http://www.my-best-kite.com/kite-for-kids.html

Good Bridges Module Resource

JHughes_LBC — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:13:14 +0000

http://okbridges.wkinsler.com/technology/index.html

That has 3 really great bridge pictures that you can print individually and make a poster out of. The 2nd pic down is a drawing of different bridge types and is PERFECT for session 1 ideas for the Bridges module.

Click here: http://okbridges.wkinsler.com/technology/truss.html for about 30 more really pretty blueprints of truss bridge designs.

J Hughes

Roly Poly/Pillbug Experiment

JHughes_LBC — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 15:11:12 +0000

I have the Weights & Measures module in the LBC lab and on session 6, it has an experiment involving the scientific process. I ran out of supplies for it, so I temporarily made an experiment using live roly-polies until the new supplies came in. In my experiment, the students have to make a hypothesis on which side of a wet/dry container the little guys will go to. I got that part from here: http://bioweb.wku.edu/courses/Biol114/Behavior/PIll_bug1.asp Then, they have to do a questionarre sheet, which came from here:
www.waycross.edu/faculty/bmajdi/Pillbug%20Experiment.htm
Also, I give a little lesson on how they are not insects and a few other things.

Sadly, most of the kids have never picked up a bug (or buglike thing) and most have never even heard of a roly-poly, cricket, or slug.

This is a fun thing to do with them, particularly if they are skittish with the pillbug.

Sidenote: my roly-poly container is doing better than expected. Yesterday, we found dozens of eggs in the container.

JHughes