September 2008 Issue

In this Issue:

	USA South Washington County Schools Gives Students Real-Life Experiences with Nova5000 Computing Devices
	Learning while Mobile in the UK
	UK User Profile: Gillian Ingram Camden
	Fourier Education Conferences October 2008
	Probe of the Month
	Free Experiment Download

Laptop alternatives from Fourier Systems offer Woodbury High School students learning tool with focus on science.

Fully committed to providing an enriched learning environment, South Washington County Schools are helping students focus on science with student mobile learning devices. Under the direction of Rick Light, a science teacher at Woodbury High School, the district purchased devices from Fourier Systems to be used in the school’s newly redesigned Physics lab. The device, the Nova5000, bridges the gap between laptops and handheld solutions, offering students a touch screen, mobile learning appliance for the classroom.

Click here to read the full article

Gillian Ingram Manager of the Camden City Learning Center (CLC) tells us "The Nova has enabled learning to take place in the children's hands with complete flexibility - A real step towards personalized learning."

The British National Curriculum teacher and student assessments at the end of Key Stages 1, 2 and 3 provide a constant formal appraisal of children and teacher performance. Key Stages 2 and 3 tests for 11 and 14 year olds focus on English, Math and Science. Ms. Ingram describes how the Nova5000 has been used so far in Key Stage 2 projects with plans to introduce Key Stage 3 projects this year and meets the Center’s aim to find a computing system that would enable handheld learning.

"As a CLC we have to keep up with all new technologies. All our teaching and learning is computer based - we try to find out how Information Communication Technology (ICT) can be used to develop learning and all its potential. We feel technology in learning can motivate students, excite them and enables them to use different types of skills and learning styles and gain learning independence from the teacher. The particular government directive that helped drive our decision was BECTA. They oversee the City Learning Centers and we must submit yearly plans with targets - incorporating handheld and other new technologies plays a big part. Since our equipment for data logging wasn't very good - this seemed a good alternative as it also fits into testing out a handheld device. We have also looked at all other devices - such as Asus, Nintendo. The Nova offers unique applications and robustness as well as being recommended by a consultant. We have found the Nova has brought flexibility and independent learning. We tend to use the data logging application and work in groups of two per Nova in the field and the classroom. For example recently the children completed a task of measuring temperature and light around the centre. We have a more ambitious project involving the local Natural Park for next year."

This month's free experiment download is: Regulation of Human Body Temperature - Heat Loss Measured at Fingertips with a Humidity Sensor.

Exposure of our body to high temperature can lead to an increase in body temperature. Blood vessels near the skin’s surface dissipate heat well. Therefore, blood flow in the skin rises in cases of increased body temperature. To help heat dissipation, sweat production increases significantly. This is done by over three million sweat glands spread throughout the skin. Sweat production and evaporation is essential to keeping body temperature but it can lead to dehydration if water loss is not replaced by drinking. In this experiment we measure the effect of increasing hand temperature on heat dissipation through sweat evaporation.

Click here to download the experiment PDF file