ICT tools in teaching science and realising eTwinning projects !

1. ICT tools in teaching science and realising eTwinning projects ! • Introduction - ICT in teaching science and realising educational projects • Computer software and applications

2. There are two general ways in which pupils may enhance their learning in science using ICT. The first encourages creative ways of thinking by asking 'What if?' questions and predicting. Simulation software allows pupils to do open investigations, choosing various conditions, predicting outcomes and then running the program to check the results. The second benefit of using ICT in science improves pupils' presentation of information, allowing them to demonstrate their understanding of science.

3. The use of ICT in teaching the sciences can make the teaching process more effective as well asenhance the students’ capabilities in understanding basic concepts. Using ICT can help pupils to: ·access, select and interpret information ·recognise patterns, relationships and behaviours ·model, predict and hypothesise ·test reliability and accuracy ·review and modify their work to improve the quality ·communicate with others and present information ·evaluate their work ·improve efficiency ·be creative and take risks ·gain confidence and independence.

4. COMPUTER SOFTWARE • „HOT POTATOES” • „POLY” • „TESS” • „GEOGEBRA” • „CINDERELLA” • „C.a.R” • „WINPLOT” • „SKETCHPAD” • „MODELLUS” • „MATHJOURNAL” • OTHER APPLICATIONS

5. „HOT POTATOES” The purpose of the Hot Potatoes is to enable us to create interactive Web-based teaching exercises which can be delivered to any Internet-connected computer. The exercises use HTML and JavaScript to implement their interactivity, but you do NOT need to know anything about these languages in order to use the programs. All you need to do is enter the data for your exercises (questions, answers, responses etc.), and press a button. The program will create the Web pages for you, and you can then upload them to your server. http://web.uvic.ca/hrd/halfbaked

6. There are five basic programs in the Hot Potatoes suite gap-fill exercises matching or ordering exercises question-based quizzes jumbled-sentence exercises to create complete units of material crossword puzzles

7. The Jmatch program creates matching or ordering exercises. A list of fixed items appears on the left (these can be pictures or text), wth jumbled items on the right. This can be used for matching vocabulary to pictures or translations, or for ordering sentences to form a sequence or a conversation.

8. JMatch

10. The JQuizprogram creates question-based quizzes. Questions can be of four different types, including multiple-choice and short-answer. Specific feedback can be provided both for right answers and predicted wrong answers or distractors. In short-answer questions, the student's guess is intelligently parsed and helpful feedback to show what part of a guess is right and what part is wrong.

11. JQuiz Quiz-solids

12. JCross The JCrossprogram creates crossword puzzles which can be completed online. You can use a grid of virtually any size. As in JQuiz and JCloze, a hint button allows the student to request a free letter if help is needed.

13. JMix The JMix program creates jumbled-sentence exercises. You can specify as many different correct answers as you want, based on the words and punctuation in the base sentence, and a hint button prompts the student with the next correct word or segment of the sentence if needed.

14. JCloze The JClozeprogram creates gap-fill exercises. Unlimited correct answers can be specified for each gap, and the student can ask for a hint and see a letter of the correct answer.

15. „POLY” Poly is a program for investigating polyhedral shapes. Poly can display polyhedral shapes in three main ways: • as a three-dimensional image, • as a flattened, two-dimensional net, and • as a topological embedding in the plane. http://www.peda.com/poly

16. The three-dimensional images may be interactively rotated and folded/unfolded.

17. Physical models may be produced by printing out the flattened two-dimensional net, cutting around its perimeter, folding along the edges,and finally taping together neighbouring faces. Start „Poly”

19. Tess is a program for drawing symmetric illustrations. While you draw, Tess will automatically maintain the plane symmetry group you have chosen; 11 rosette, 7 frieze, and 17 wallpaper groups are provided. http://math.exeter.edu/rparris/ „Tess”

20. We can use for example : rotational symmetry translational symmetry, glide reflectional symmetry

22. Start Tess

23. New Heesch Tiling – we can use this window to choose a Heesch tiling to use in a new illustration , we can explore the possibilities of tiling by selecting it and editing its edges.

25. Tilings and patterns

26. „GEOGEBRA” GeoGebra is a mathematics software that joins geometry, algebra and calculus. On the one hand, GeoGebra is a dynamic geometry system. You can do constructions with points, vectors, segments, lines, conic sections as well as functions and change them dynamically afterwards. GeoGebra has the ability to deal with variables for numbers, vectors and points, finds derivatives and integrals of functions and offers commands like Root or Extremum. http://www.geogebra.org/cms http://www.geogebra.org/en/upload

27. The geometry window shows points, vectors, segments, polygons, functions, straight lines and conic sections graphically.

28. To get an impression of GeoGebra’s possibilities, let’s have a look at some examples ! Start ! In the File menu, Export you find the item Dynamic Worksheet as Webpage (html).

32. Mandalas

33. „CINDERELLA” html http://www.cinderella.de/

34. Pythagoras Theorem html

35. C.a.R. Compass and Ruler Construct and Rule C.a.R. is dynamic geometry program simulating compass and ruler constructions on a computer. http://zirkel.sourceforge.net/ On this website you can find various applications and examples for C.a.R.

37. Dancing Triangle

38. „WINPLOT” Winplot is a free windows based graphing program.  The software is unbelievably powerful and remarkably easy to use.  That it is an ideal tool for 6th Form and university level mathematics due to its dynamic nature, powerful plotting routines and it's almost inexhaustible functionality. http://math.exeter.edu/rparris/winplot.html

43. „ SKETCHPAD” Dynamic Geometry Software for Exploring Mathematics The Geometer's Sketchpad is a popular commercial interactive geometry software program for exploring Euclidean geometry, algebra, calculus, and other areas ... With the Geometer's Sketchpad, you can construct figures from simple textbook diagrams to working models of the Pythagorean Theorem, perspective drawings, tessellations, fractals, animated sine waves, etc. This program will let you experiment with complex geometrical constructions. www.keypress.com  

46. „MODELLUS” Interactive Modelling with Mathematics Modellus is designed tointroduce students and teachers in scientific computation, namely through the analysis and exploration of mathematical models based on functions, iterations and differential equations. http://modellus.fct.unt.pt

47. How to build a model? 1. Start by defining the functions that describe one or several properties/quantities of the phenomenon or mathematical object under study…For example, the equations highlighted in the figure refer to the motion of a projectile when air resistance is negligible.

48. 2. It is possible to create objects in the workspace to represent the variables of the model, either using the icons or the right button of the mouse. For example, a Particle may be created to represent the projectile.

49. 3. To each object of the workspace it is possible to assign defining properties. For example, x and y are associated to the Particle as the particle coordinates.

50. 4. Since in the model the components of the initial velocity are indicated by v0x and v0y, it is possible to represent the initial velocity by a Vector