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Hi Group,
Has anyone incorporated nanotechnology into units and lesson plans? I know this a huge area of interest for both my MS and HS students. I love the idea, and the students believe it will be utilize for human purposes in their generation. That is one reason I love teaching Science, the discoveries and application for my students is never ending.
Have any of you purchased books to assist you in planning/incorporating Nanotechnology in the classroom. I see that NSTA has several to choose from but would like an outside opinion.
Please check out my collection below, the Nanotechnology and Cosmetics is really interesting.
Happy Wednesday!
Liz
Nanotechnology Collection
(8 items)
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Hello I am new to nanotechnology and I wanted to build a small robotic arm. Does anyone have any useful ideas or websites that can help. I teach a small group of 14 to 17 year old children who are two to three years behind in school but like to do hands on and robotics seems like it would be fun for them! Thanks Judith Odom
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Hi Judith,
Patty Rourke has put together a Robotic Collection of resources that she shared in the General Science and Teaching Discussion Forum (under the Encouraging Girls to Love Science thread). You can also access this collection by going to the NSTA Learning Center Home page. From there if you click on the "See all FREE Resources" to the right of "Explore Learning Opportunities, you will see a new page that has three different choices on the menu bar under Opportunities:
Click on the "Collections Created by Users" button. That will take you to all of the collections that have been made public. Patty's is called:
Robotic Collection for Middle and High School. It was on the 56th or 57th page of the collections when I checked today (they are in alphabetical order by title). Alyce Dalzell had a collection posted as well.
Liz asked, "
Have any of you purchased books to assist you in planning/incorporating Nanotechnology in the classroom. I see that NSTA has several to choose from but would like an outside opinion.
I look forward to learning about how nanotechnology is being incorporated into others' classrooms, too.
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Thank you Patty, this is excellent! Judith Lucas-Odom
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by Elizabeth Dalzell, Wed Jan 12, 2011 12:43 PM
[i]Has anyone incorporated nanotechnology into units and lesson plans? I know this a huge area of interest for both my MS and HS students. I love the idea, and the students believe it will be utilize for human purposes in their generation. That is one reason I love teaching Science, the discoveries and application for my students is never ending.
[/i]
Hi Liz,
I haven't had a chance to teach about nanotechnology yet, but it's such an exciting field. I'm so glad you highlighted the relevancy of nanotechnology for our students! I know my kids get very excited when they see what we're learning in action!
Since I didn't have any resources or opinions to share with you, I did an http://learningcenter.nsta.org/search.aspx '' target="_blank"> http://learningcenter.nsta.org/search.aspx ' target="_blank"> http://learningcenter.nsta.org/search.aspx " target="_blank">Advanced Search for middle and high school level nanotechnology resources. The results returned 7 Do It Yourself learning resources and 29 books and articles. I haven't read any of the books yet, but I did notice that there are several book chapters available for $2.79. When I've purchased book chapters from NSTA, they usually include the table of contents and the complete index. Many times being able to see the contents and index helps me determine if the book contains the material I need to help me write my lesson plans.
Have a great weekend!
Maureen
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Hi Colleagues,
I downloaded the article that Liz mentioned: the September 2006 issue of the NSTA Journal of College Science Teaching, 'A Course in Nanotechnology for Nonscience Majors'. It had an extensive reference list with some suggested websites. I found this website from exploring that list: http://mrsec.wisc.edu/Edetc/curriculum/lesson.html
It has a lesson called Cutting it Down to Nano that I am going to try. I hope it will be an effective hands-on way to help understand just how tiny nano is and how to connect macroscales to nanoscales. It has an excellent visual aid that I downloaded showing color pictures and sizes of various objects – it goes from the diameter of a dime (in nanometers) to items smaller than the membrane of a cell. As I read the lesson plan, I learned that nano mean dwarf in Greek. (I noticed that the project that created the lesson plans was part of a National Science Foundation Grant.)
I am curious to learn more about this topic, and I am really looking forward to hearing about others' discoveries and ideas on this topic.
Carolyn
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Some time ago I purchased the NSTA publication Nanoscale Science Activities for grades 6-12. I love it This is an excellent collection of hands-on activities with clear instructions and student data sheets
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The National Nanotechnology Initiative provides a resource page for k-12 ed
http://www.nano.gov/html/edu/eduk12.html
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The Nanozone http://www.nanozone.org/ is designed for students ages 8 though 14 and
explores the basics of nanotechology with interactive games, videos and comics. The site
also features interviews with scientists and teacher classroom materials for lessons on
nanotechnology.
Nanooze Magazine Available in English, Spanish and Portuguese, this online publication provides games,current news and a link to scientists for motivation. It is geared for upper elementary and middle school level. http://www.nanooze.org/main/Nanooze/English.html
The Molecularium family of products and educational tools brings the nanoscale universe
to life in any situation. Zoom into the molecular level, build molecules from atoms, and
explore states of matter in the Nanolab of the interactive Kid’s Site. The experiments,
activities and songs included in the Teacher's Resource Guide are free and fun for your
home, classroom or museum. http://www.molecularium.rpi.edu/kidsite.html
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Hi Everyone!
I will take some time to check out all those wonderful resources, Pam. Thanks. As I was scanning past years of The Science Teacher issues, I came across the month of December 2006 and noticed it was dedicated to the world of nanoscience. There are several articles that may be of interest to you. You can read a summary of each article if you access this URL: The Science Teacher December 2006 – Small Science (Vol. 73 No.9.
Carolyn
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Hi, Liz.
[color=blue]You asked: Has anyone incorporated nanotechnology into units and lesson plans? I know this a huge area of interest for both my MS and HS students.
[/color]
Carolyn and Pam have given you some great resources. I did a teacher workshop about five years ago using the article from Science Scope (Sept. 05) with a group of high school and middle school teachers. It’s an inquiry activity where the students are testing stain-resistant material or material made from Nano-Tex. It introduced teachers to the everyday applications of nanotechnology. It was easy to set up, the Nano-Tex fabric is very common in jeans or shirts to make them stain-resistant, sometimes water-repellent. I know the some of the teachers in the workshop did the same investigation with their classes and it was very successful. I attached the article that I used with the activity.
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Hello all!
I love this topic in the classroom! I've included a link to one of the journal articles that is included in the first thread as I've used it in my classroom for the last two years. It's an amazing opportunity for students to look at science in an authentic way. I also use color-coded file folders to make my 'medical charts' as they are created on various levels of difficulty. Some of the solutions students come up with are simply amazing.
Nanomedicine Link
Perhaps the most impressive part of this project is that you can set it up where there is technically no 'wrong' answer. There is always a 'best' answer - but all answers are correct. Providing this scenario to students freed them from fears of failure. I was amazed how they responded and this project encouraged me to create other investigations that had 'best' answers, but no 'wrong' answers.
Enjoy!
Kendra
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Kendra, Thank you sharing your personal experience with this activity and the journal article you attached. I was very interested in seeing what it was all about, but I never imagined it would spark so much interest and excitement in me! I want to try this in my classroom, too. I don't think it will be too hard to purchase the materials and organize them, but I have a couple of questions. 1. Did you get the lung patient medical charts from another source? I couldn't find a link within the article that provided them. 2. Do you have any suggestions or words of wisdom to share as I gather the supplies,since you have conducted this activity for a couple of years now?
I went to the website that the article talked about. It was very helpful. The Ferrofluid Activity Training Video showing what a ferrofluid is and how it behaves sold me! Thanks, Kendra.
Carolyn
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Thank you, Pamela, for sharing several nanoscale science and engineering resources geared towards younger grades.
NISE Net (Nanoscale Informal Science Education Network) also has a variety of programs and activities (for K-adult). I participated in the annual meeting this past Fall and found there to be many applications for formal classroom teachers as well as informal science educators.
The organization also sponsor a nationwide NanoDays festival each Spring. The free digital guide is available for download and includes hands-on activities as well as posters and other goodies.
Has anyone participated in NanoDays before?
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Elizabeth said, nanoscale science and engineering 'is a huge area of interest for both my MS and HS students. I love the idea, and the students believe it will be utilized for human purposes in their generation.'
Your students might be interested in the PBS 4-part series Making Stuff, premiering tomorrow night (1/19/11). The second episode is dedicated to 'smaller stuff' and will introduce viewers to nano-circuits and micro-robotics. How fun it will be to incorporate video clips into class discussions and activities!
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[i]Kendra, Thank you sharing your personal experience with this activity and the journal article you attached. I was very interested in seeing what it was all about, but I never imagined it would spark so much interest and excitement in me! I want to try this in my classroom, too. I don't think it will be too hard to purchase the materials and organize them, but I have a couple of questions. 1. Did you get the lung patient medical charts from another source? I couldn't find a link within the article that provided them. 2. Do you have any suggestions or words of wisdom to share as I gather the supplies,since you have conducted this activity for a couple of years now?
I went to the website that the article talked about. It was very helpful. The Ferrofluid Activity Training Video showing what a ferrofluid is and how it behaves sold me! Thanks, Kendra.
Carolyn [/i]
Hi Carolyn,
Glad you like this project! It's one of my favorites for sure.
I made the medical charts myself and it was very time consuming. I make the 'patient's history' as heart-wrenching as possible. It really hooks my students in. One of my 'patients' is a three year old little girl with liver cancer. They have to prepare their presentations as if I'm the child's mother. Why should I choose their proposal over another group's? What makes their treatment plan better? It really grabs them. Another 'patient' is a mother of three. She's dying from an inoperable tumor in the third ventricle of her brain. These groups have to prepare their proposals as if I'm the hospital's chief of staff but the questions are the same, why is their proposal better? Obviously, the liver tumor is easier to access and the proposal will be less formal because it's supposedly to the child's mother - this one is for my struggling students. The brain tumor is a doozy...and it's presentation has to be formal for the chief of staff. My gifted students absolutely love it!
One one side of the chart I show 'scans' of the cancer. It's really just a picture I downloaded in to my computer's paint program and then I added a blob using the paint tools. I also include the patient's history on that same side. On the other side is a collection of anatomic charts. Circulatory, skeletal, nervous, etc. Students have to flip through the different charts to see how or where various systems might connect or interact. The state standard I was addressing with this project involved an understanding that the various systems of the human body work together to support life. So I wanted them to have to utilize more than one or two body systems in order to develop their treatment plan.
I make it as realistic as possible, but I also caution students that while their plans might not be 100% accurate medically, I expect them to be reasonable based on the tools they have. I also have as many anatomical charts, books, etc. scattered around the room. The first year I did this we did it right after frog dissections and I allowed kids to refer back to their frogs (we kept them in baggies). However, I found that the frogs were forgotten completely as they dove in to this project (I know, I couldn't believe it either).
My first major tip would be to laminate those patient charts. I didn't the first time I did the project, I was short on time and was sure there would be things that I would change. The project was so successful that there was little, if anything, that I changed. Laminate for sure.
The only major change I made to the project was that I required students to not only choose the method of delivering the ferrofluid, but to also detail what path they would use to get it to the site of the tumor and what path they would use to get it back out of the patient's body. I did this so they would have to consider additional body systems because of the state standard I was addressing.
Finally, the last thing I did was to draw several body outlines on my whiteboard in wet erase marker. This allowed students to come up and sketch out their plans. I found that this really helped them visualize the multiple organ systems, especially since they were working with multiple charts in their patient files.
I would be happy to answer any other questions. Just let me know. And be sure to let me know how it goes with your students!
Kendra
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Hi Everyone,
For anyone just a nano-bit curious, this discussion thread has really help me to see ways to incorporated nanotechnology into my science curriculum. I wanted a copy of all of the great ideas shared in this thread, so I copied and pasted them onto a word document. I plan to put the 6 pages into my new electronic nanotechnology folder. I have attached it in case it is of use to anyone else reading/participating. Thanks for so many awesome ideas. It will take me a while to get through all of the resources. The couple I have checked out have been outstanding. Lara, I just finished checking out the Dragonfly nano site - Wow! Kendra,thank you so much for the added suggestions for your activity.
(Sorry that I attached it twice by mistake; they are the same document with different names.)
Carolyn
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Hi Yes, I introduced nanotechnology to my whole school by way of Howard University's Nanotechnology Mobile, last spring. It was GREAT!!! Every student became interested in engineering and in nanotechnology. I don't know where you live, but see if there is a university that is very specialized in that field and invite them to become a partner with your school. I also invited engineers to my school who specialize in various engineeering and math areas, and this year, we have an engineering club for grades 4-6. You may also contact ASEE on their website and gain a lot of information. good luck
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Thanks everyone for all the great information and sources! I think it is incredible for us to explore this new area of Science that is high interest, yet not in the standard lessons/textbooks.
Liz
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Adah
Thanks for the resource, I am planning on taking a look at it this weekend. It's not even Wednesday yet :)
Liz
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Hi Liz and thread participants,
I noticed that a new book will be available on June 1st on nanotechnology. From reading the product guide summary it looks like it will have a lot of applications for life and earth science integration. It is called: Welcome to Nanoscience: Interdisciplinary Environmental Explorations, Grades 9 - 12. There are 4 lessons dealing with microbe-mineral interactions and bacteria. The Introduction to Nanotechnology chapter is available to download, too.
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Hi Everyone,
I came across an article that didn't appear to have been added to any collection mentioned so far in this thread. It is called: Bumpy, Sticky and Shaky - Nonoscale science and the Curriculum. Three activities are provided to give middle schoolers experiences with nanotechnology applications. While becoming familiar with the states of matter, student explore the molecular properties of stickiness, bumpiness, and shakiness. The integration of nanoscale science should help students better understand things like - Why does the table not appear to be moving if all molecules that make it up are in constant motion?
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I browsed through the previous posts and don’t believe I saw this link (below). It has example lesson plans incorporating nanotechnology from medicine and electronics to energy and space. It also has links for resources and articles. Although nanotech is an abstract area, the introduction of such a fascinating and relevant concept should be introduced in the middle school for exposure reasons. The more exposure students gain the more their minds will comprehend.
http://www.understandingnano.com/index.htm
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Here is my collection of nanotechnology resources
Nanotechnology Collection
(17 items)
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I attended a week long workshop on campus of the University of Illinois at Champaign/Urbana this summer on Nano technology - and LOVED IT!! So while on campus, I began to put together a collection of resources within the NSTA on Nana technology. I have attached the collection to this thread.
I also discovered that the program that sponsors teacher training on campus, also provides materials to schools and teachers - free of charge - to help promote the learning of Nana Science. Here is a link to their educational resources:
http://nano-cemms.illinois.edu/education
Please keep in mind - my collections are "works in progress" - so please feel free to check back to see what changes or additional resources I add, as I go. :-)
Nano Technology Collection
(19 items)
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Here is a small collection of resources that might be useful in developing nanotechnology lessons
Nanotechnology Collection
(17 items)
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Pam, the nanoreisen.com site is very cool! Thank you so much for sharing it here.
I decided to make my own collections for nanotechnology. I was overwhelmed with the number of resources that we have in the Learning Center. I finally stopped at 32 entries into my collection and that didn't include several more book chapters that I could have added. Nor did it include any of the podcasts (I made a separate collection just for the podcasts).
Here are the links for the two new collections in case anyone is interested:
Nanotechnology-Please Wait Just a NanoSecond
and
Nanotechnology-Podcasts
There is so much out there. It would be neat to have a separate collection for each grade level. Perhaps someone else could tackle that. If you used my comprehensive list, it might not be too difficult to download the resources and resort them by grade level into collections. Anyone game?
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