Mo Physics Mo Problems

Today a wonderful appsmash was launched between Pear Deck and Gimkit . This integration allows the Flashcards students create in Pear Deck’s Flashcard Factory to be exported into Gimkit for gameplay. If you aren’t familiar with Flashcard Factory, it is an app in which students collaborate to build flashcards which have multiple representations of terms and concepts. So, how does it work? The first step is for the teacher to build a list of vocabulary terms or concepts. This is done by going to the Pear Deck Launchpad and selecting Start a Vocabulary List. From here, teachers build a list of terms or concepts. If the teacher wants, the can add a definition on their own or use the Merriam-Webster Dictionary Integration to find one.The list autosaves to the creator’s Google Drive. Once the list is done, the creator can launch Flashcard Factory or come back to it later to launch Flashcard Factory. Once Flashcard Factory is launched, the projector will direct students towards joinpd.com

Last year we took a big risk in our physics classroom and decided to take on a huge project in which students fabricated chariots for Spheros. The project incorporates science and engineering standards as a part of the process and the project required students to have a chariot which had a piece that was fabricated using a 3D printer and one piece that was laser cut. Last year students collaborated on their designs with a Project Lead the Way engineering class so they weren’t required to build the 3D digital models that would be printed. This year, we didn’t partner with an engineering class and groups had to do all the work on their own from design through fabrication. Now that this 10 day project is finished, I am able to look back on the successes and challenges of the project in hopes of building on it when I have a new group of physics students in 3 months. Here’s the overall scheduling of the project.  On days 4-6, groups rotated through the print and cut process. Those not pr