Science Kit I Like

Wordblur

I'm on substack

I’m starting a newsletter!

Python with trinket

Interactive Python, more of this will be coming your way soon.

lab sheets

Just a reminder that most of the practicals on this site come with a downloadable lab sheet.

The point is to have a printable page with a simple set of instructions and a place to put any measurements etc. They usually have a patch of graph paper too.

The sheets also feature a QR code which will take you to the experiment’s page on this site if you want to check the video or anything else. You can see how I did this here.

My favourite one is the pencil lead resistance one. I’ve left spaces that can be shaded in and tested for conductivity.

The practicals are all physics at the moment but I am working on it!

check out the syllabi

The plan for this site is to mingle teaching materials with the spec, making the right notes easy to find.

You’ll see links to notes and practicals show up next to the relevant sections.

It’s likely these pages will become the main way of navigating this site as it grows.

National curriculum ks3

Edexcel igcse

Oxford Aqa int a Level

Edexcel int a Level

Edexcel igcse

Edexcel igcse

super simple

Super simple robots! Here’s the first.

Don’t worry It won’t achieve consciousness and destroy mankind or anything. It may draw circles.

You can actually get these to go quite fast with a little tweaking and I’m sure there’s loads of room for developing this idea.

Have fun!

Questions, and answers

I’ve started adding questions for the practical videos. The first set for the ice experiment. My aim is to have GCSE and a-level type questions for each practical. But just one for now…

Some great books

I often get asked for book recommendations, especially for physics/maths students. Here’s a link to some of my favourites.

My online teaching setup

I’ve been tutoring online for a few years now but the pandemic pushed everything online in March and I was expecting a catastrophe. Instead, my students were incredible, it just worked.

If you’re going to make online teaching a success this is what I recommend.

(I teach one-to-one, much of this should be true for group lessons but I don’t know.)

for students

1. Your home has just become your school, have a devoted space for online lessons, a place that doesn’t need to be completely tidied away. I don’t recommend the kitchen table.
2. Charge your devices
3. Charge your devices again.
4. Have chargers for all your devices in the room. plugged in.
5. Two screens are better than one! One for work and one for video conferencing. Jumping between Skype/Zoom and another app is remarkably disruptive when you have to do it dozens of times in an hour. Also it breaks the flow of conversation.
6. useful kit
   • spare chargers, one for your room, one for your class room.
   • phone / tablet stand so I can see you
   • usual school kit
     • exercise books
     • A4 paper
     • many pens (I know this is boring but your home is a school now.)
7. Improve your WiFi Here’s a great guide. Summing up:
   • Upgrade your internet connection if possible.
   • If you’re in big flat consider upgrading your router.
   • If you’re in a big house consider a WiFi mesh kit.
8. Are you doing science practicals? You’ll need an extra space for this.
9. See this page for science kit.

for tutors

1. All of the above.
2. a downwards-phone-holding-stand-thing Use your phone as a separate participant on the Zoom/Skype call and have it pointing at your hands. This has made online teaching so much easier!
3. An online whiteboard - I prefer Miro But, I find these next to useless without an Apple pencil / stylus. Also beware that most of your students will not have a stylus and so cannot scribble along with you. Drawing with a trackpad is hell! The phone holder above is better I find.
4. 3 screens!
   • An iPad for Zoom. The iPad has a better camera than the lousy one in my MacBook Air, also Zoom has a poor security record, I feel happier keeping it on a locked-down device like an iPad.
   • A laptop for general work while teaching.
   • My 3rd screen is my downward-facing phone so my students can see what I’m writing.

Home schooling science kit

Science practical work at home can be a challenge, I’ve found these to really help:

• Mel science: Fantastic chemistry kits (physics if you’re in the US)
• Kiwico: kits to build at home, they have a huge selection for all levels. A bunch of my students love these.
• the practicals listed on this site! I’ll add to this gradually. They’ll also show up on my YouTube channel.

Motion capture with light painting

Long exposure photography is super fun, a few years ago I did a series using programmable robots to generate messy pictures like these:

First post the past

I suppose it’s time to post something; A grand total of 7 videos are live after all.

I wish I could say these were simply sitting on my computer yearning to frolic in the sunny uplands of the internet but the fact is it’s taken far longer than I expected to work these into a state fit to join the illustrious company of animated gifs, YouTube comments and these things called webinars. Yes, they’ve been languishing on my computer for up to 5 years, in no state to greet their public. Well they’re ready now. Or at least they’re ready enough. In fact they’re a little sparse if I’m honest but that’s what happens when you sketch notes down in brief moments before, during or after lessons.

Bluntly then fine! I’m admitting to real work, real work went into these: They amount to a bunch of presentable videos with precious few words, practice problems or anything handy like that. They’re animations for the most part. I’ve had so many students get stuck on these topics because they don’t have a good grip of what’s going on in a visual sense, at least I think they don’t, I’m a visual thinker so I probably tend to over-diagnose that problem.

If you spot mistakes tell me. james at this site…

I guess I also do requests… Like those pianists at fancy hotel bars. If you request a topic and it doesn’t get done then take it like the pianist’s casual nod as he tinkles away, looking at his hands, “cool man… cool…”