Fake iPhone Text - Fun and easy to use.

Fake iPhone Text

Lewis and Clark discover Google Maps

http://www.fakeiphonetext.com/

A while back I wrote about Fake Tweet Builder as a a fun and creative way for students to create fake Twitter conversations by historical figures, book characters, politicians, authors, etc.  

Fake iPhone Text is a similar application, and equally easy to use.  Simply type in a conversation between any two individuals and click “create.”  The names you enter don’t matter because they don’t show up in the text message. 

One down-side is that the generated image can’t be saved.  You have to capture it as a screenshot.  I’m a fan of Jing for screenshots.  Here are some screenshot directions for Windows and Mac users.  I’d love to hear some ideas on using this in the classroom.  Please share yours in the comments below.

Discover STEM at Acton-Boxborough Regional HS on November 4th

Looking for a great way to spend your Monday evening?

On November 4th come to the Acton-Boxborough Regional HS cafeteria between 6pm and 8:30pm for the 2013 Discover STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) expo!

Science on the Street will be one of over 30 groups presenting engaging and interactive STEM activities and demonstrations!

More information can be found at the Acton PIP website

Hope to see you there!

Tagxedo – Customizable Word Clouds

Tagxedo

www.tagxedo.com

Made from URL: www.edtechpicks.org

I previously wrote about Wordle, another word cloud generator that I like, but Tagxedo seems to offer a few more bells and whistles.   Both make word clouds with words sized according to frequency of occurrence in the text, but Tagxedo offers more ways to input sources of words.  It also offers many more options for customizing the appearance of your word clouds. 

News Search: World Series

Tagxedo allows you to make interesting word clouds out of any typed text (copy & paste if you like), URL, Twitter ID (I couldn’t get it to work), Del.icio.us ID, News Search, Web Search, or RSS feed.  

The site did require that I download Microsoft Silverlight (free).  It’s relatively straightforward to make a word cloud, then customize colors, and choose from a variety of shapes.  

When you’re finished you can print, save, share on Twitter or Facebook, or order mugs, t-shirts, etc. 

Made from URL: https://twitter.com/NFLaFave

Need some ideas?  Check out 101 Ways to Use Tagxedo. 

National Chemistry Week & Elements

This week is National Chemistry Week - October 20-26!

Here are some information and activities for grades 4th-6th from the American Chemical Society.

You can learn more about the chemical elements in the world at periodictable.com.  This website has fantastic images associated with each element, as well as how they are typically found or used.

The science festival also wants to get more involved with the elements for April! Please share the news below with artists and scientists!

Central Elements is a vivid streetscape of painted storefront windows representing science through the partnership of an expert, artist, and a chemical element. This event is a collaboration of the Cambridge Science Festival, Central Square Business Association, and the Central Square Cultural District to use Central Square as a cultural lab to further the CSF mission to make STEAM accessible, engaging, and fun for all!  Each window will represent different chemical elements and include a blurb with more information.

Call for Artists
Looking for artists who work in any medium that could be articulated and displayed in a storefront window.  Artist will pair with an expert on their chosen element or molecule.

Call for Experts
Interested in unique science outreach and collaborations with artists and business owners?  Help the festival team curate a list of 15-20 interesting elements and molecules for artists to depict.  Pair with an artist to take over a storefront window with art and create a blurb description of the element or molecule with the artist.

Minimum commitment: One introductory and brainstorming meeting with full group; 2-3 meetings with your paired artist/expert; stand by your piece on Sunday, April 27, 2014 from 2-4pm.

Please contact Sung Kim sungmi@mit.edu with questions or to express your interest in getting involved! More details to come at: http://www.cambridgesciencefestival.org/GetInvolved/Participate.aspx

Science on the Street, BSA, and Upcoming Events!

Over Columbus Day weekend SciStreet visited the Massachusetts Boy Scouts Jamboree at the Barnstable County Fairgrounds. Over 7,000 scouts and staff from all over New England were challenged with energy and design activities!

Among the challenges were powering a small radio with a battery made out of fruits and vegetables. Groups of scouts experimented with series and parallel circuits, and one group used a total of 8 potatoes and apples to get almost 12 Volts out of the system!

Scouts build a battery out of apples, lemons and potatoes!

Starting to string things together in series to increase the voltage.  Here are some simple instructions on how to build your own fruit & veggie battery.

Groups also tried out the Marshmallow Challenge.

Using just 20 strands of spaghetti, 1 meter of masking tape, and 1 meter of string, teams must build the tallest free-standing structure that can hold the marshmallow on top!

Teams start the Marshmallow Challenge

The winning tower measured over 100 centimeters! (Troop 14 from Holliston)

Science on the Street goes beyond community festivals. Find us organizing workshops connecting classroom teachers with scientists, and at after school events. Check out new upcoming events where you can find Science on the Street in your community!