An ambitious summer camp and tech school for homeschoolers in Mountain View, California, is fast becoming a full-fledged mainstream school. At Quantum Camp, youngsters dive into advanced physics, math, and technology. The founders, of course, are physics and math experts. Ryan Nurmela taught entry-level physics as a lecturer at California State University, San Francisco and [...]
Archive for the ‘Online Tools’ Category
Quantum Camp Teaches Advanced Calculus and Physics to Homeschoolers
Posted by ginac on November 4th, 2011
Youngzine: Free Online Global News for Youth
Posted by ginac on November 3rd, 2011
Youngzine is a dynamic online news website designed for young people interested in technology, ecology, culture, politics, and news from around the world. Youngzine fills a niche for young people interested in news beyond Hollywood gossip and boy bands. Youngzine’s refreshing mix of content is fun, insightful, interesting, appealing, and appropriate for young thinkers and [...]
Posted in Activities, Culture, News, Online Tools, social change, technology 
Tags: News, news for kids, youngzine 
Comments OffSpottyBanana’s Top 3 Online Learning Platforms
Posted by ginac on November 2nd, 2011
A quick Google search confirms that there is a dizzying array of online learning platforms that provide everything from standardized educational courses to niche subjects and personalized feedback. Some are free, others cost money. Some are better at online education and others focus on learning. So, which online products (free or otherwise) are worth investment of [...]
Follow SpottyBanana on Facebook
Posted by ginac on November 1st, 2011
SpottyBanana’s Facebook fan page is a great place to find and share learning resources, learning news, events, insightful articles, polls, and more. If you aren’t on our fan list yet, you’re missing out on a large part of the conversation we have with our readers each day! Don’t be shy. Share your learning photos, stories, [...]
Posted in Activities, Just for Fun, Online Tools Tags: community, Facebook, Learning, social media, social networking, spottybanana Comments OffIntolerance in Alabama: Teachers as Immigration Agents
Posted by ginac on October 1st, 2011
George Santayana was a Spanish-American philosopher and writer credited with the quote “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it”. These are important words, especially when viewed through the lens of current events unfolding in Alabama. According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, Alabama law now requires not only police officers, but [...]
Cool Ways to Learn with Legos Beyond S.T.E.M.
Posted by ginac on August 29th, 2011
Most Lego fans are familiar with the connection between building with Legos and engineering, programming, and science. Lego Education products have awesome kits full of pulleys, gears, and even programmable robots that respond to light, motion, and more. But what about learning with Legos for kids who love to create stories, read, or create art? [...]
Posted in Activities, Learning Methods, LEGOs, Make, Online Tools, Reading, Science, STEAM, technology, Writing Tags: constructivism, Lego Minifigures, LEGOs, Mindstorms, S.T.E.A.M., S.T.E.M., Seymour Papert Comments OffExplore, Collect, and Organize Great Online Content with Pinterest
Posted by ginac on August 21st, 2011
Need ideas for a rainy day science or art project? Need to spark enthusiasm for the upcoming school year? Get ideas and inspirations for all sorts of projects on the Pinterest website. Better yet, set up your free Pinterest account to start collecting or “pinning” your own personal favorite articles so you can save them [...]
Posted in Activities, Art, Online Tools Tags: homeschool, ideas, LEGO, online tools, Pinterest Comments OffGoogle Maps Now Includes Weather Data
Posted by ginac on August 19th, 2011
Do you use Google Maps in your learning environment? We use it quite often and are happy to report that getting an update on the current weather in any place on Earth just got easier. Google added a weather data layer to its popular Google Maps website. Now, simply checking the weather option in the [...]
Posted in Activities, Geography, Online Tools, technology Tags: Geography, Google maps, google weather maps, maps, online tools, weather, weather.com Comments OffAwesome Stories: Quality Learning Tool Based Around Stories
Posted by ginac on August 17th, 2011
Awesome Stories is an online collection of stories around historical events and people, mostly on the U.S. Awesome Stories presents all topics in a story format, leading the learner through the subject as the story unfolds. Additionally, each well-written story includes links to primary sources like photos, sounds, articles from worldwide national archives, museums, universities, military and [...]
Posted in History, Online Tools, Unit Study Tags: Awesome Stories, Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, learning through film, Miracle on 34th Street, museums, national arcihves, Night at the Museum, Pirates of the Caribbean, primary sources, Seabiscuit, stories Comments OffLego Creator – Creative Building Ideas Using Existing Bricks
Posted by ginac on August 13th, 2011
Many Lego fans buy Lego kits and build the kits using the step-by-step instructions provided inside the box. What is the average life span of a built model in your house? Well, not very long at our place. A week is probably the very longest a kit stays built. So, if your Lego builder has [...]
Posted in Activities, LEGOs, Online Tools Tags: bricks, build, constructivism, How-to, Lego Creator, LEGOs Comments Off
