New York Hall of Science Debuts Noticing Tools Apps
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 08/18/15
The New York Hall of Science (NYSCI) has
released a suite of five iPad apps designed to help students learn fundamental
math and science concepts through everyday explorations.
The suite, called Noticing Tools,
encourages students in upper elementary through high school to explore science,
technology, engineering and math (STEM) concepts through self-guided projects
that use NYSCI's Design-Make-Play approach to learning. According to
information from NYSCI, the apps are aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards
(NGSS) and Common Core Standards
for Mathematics. Along with the apps, the Noticing Tools Web site will also
feature a gallery of user-created projects and a starter pack of lessons and
usage tips.
"The most effective way to use technology for education is to treat devices
as tools for creativity rather than consumption," said Margaret Honey,
president and CEO of NYSCI, in a prepared statement. "Leveraging an iPad's
capabilities to capture data, photo and video, our Noticing Tools encourage
kids to create their own experiments, record their results, interpret the data,
and share what they've learned."
The Noticing Tools apps include:
- Playground Physics teaches the concepts of force, motion and energy by
recording play activities such as tossing a ball and then analyzing the
physics of the activity;
- ChoreoGraph teaches the concepts of rotation, translation and reflection
by creating an animated character from photos and using graphs and
coordinate geometry to choreograph the character's movements;
- Fraction Mash teaches about fractions by creating mashups of two or more
photos and then manipulating the size and number of pieces from each
photo;
- Size Wise teaches ratios and proportions by creating forced perspective
photographs; and
- Volumize teaches the concepts of area and volume by creating
three-dimensional models from two-dimensional photos.
NYSCI developed the concepts and design technology of the apps in
collaboration with Local Projects, a
media design company for museums, brands and public spaces.
Noticing Tools are available now in the App Store for $2.99 each or in a
bundle for $9.99. Educators purchasing for 20 or more devices are eligible for
a 50 percent discount through Apple's Volume Purchase Program.
Funding for the development of Noticing Tools was provided by the United
States Department of Education's Investing in Innovation Award; the National
Science Foundation; The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation; The Sara Lee Schupf
Family Center for Play, Science and Technology Learning (SciPlay); The John D.
and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Motorola Solutions Foundation and BNY
Mellon Foundation.
Further information about the apps and supporting resources can be found on
NYSCI's Noticing Tools site.
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.