Day 3: Science Journal with Google

Science Journal with Google [LINK]

This is a SUPER recent resource I've been geeking out over. If you teach Science, "Science Journal" with Google is a M-U-S-T!!! A fellow Google Trainer reached out looking for creative ways to document lab experiments and Eric Santos offered up this one. Shout out to @SantosTechCoach Holy cow!!!! 

How did I NOT know about this?????

Ok - focus . . . the website provides a lot of good info - as well as ready to go experiments (some are to teach students how to use the app) - but if you really want the most out of this resource, you need to get your hands on phones or tablets and load the free app. I showed it to one of the 4th grade science teachers and we quickly were AMAZED with the features!

The app capitalizes on the microphone, the compass, the sensors of mobile devices to allow students to use an:

• Accelerometer X, Y, & Z (in m/s^2)
• Barometer (hPa)
• Brightness (EV)
• Compass (degrees)
• Linear accelerometer (m/s^2)
• Magnetometer (uT)
• Pitch (Hz)
• Sound intensity (db)

I'm not entirely sure where each of these will fit into curriculum or experiments, but I was blown away by the ability to hold my phone and measure the barometric pressure! I thought that was only something meteorologists did! I really was holding my phone moving it all around playing with all these measurements. 

AND ...

... not only does it measure this on your screen, you can RECORD it!

If that isn't enough, there is space to record observations right in the app! As I learn more about it, I can see it having a place in more than the science classroom. Music classrooms as well as physical education classes can absolutely use these metrics regularly. How cool would it be for the students to measure how fast they can run or how quiet they can be?!? 

More noteworthy info:

• teachers can SEARCH experiments by level, equipment, author, duration or features

• the app requires iOS 10 or later (we have some older iPads and we got lucky!)

• want to be even geekier? There is a SECTION for developers to "Think up new and innovative ways to use our code, or extend Science Journal by adding external sensors.

Please click HERE for the collection of all 15 resources.