Animal Physics Live Class with NatureGlo

Animal Physics are two short middle/high school summer live eWorkshops studying animal movement, sound and bioluminescence with basic physics concepts. Younger students interested in the content are welcome to join as well. Alternatively, if students can't join us live or teachers/parents just want the content, you can purchase the Animal Physics June & July 6-week HYBRID course found here or here when in season. Our first session begins on Wednesday, June 15 at 11 - 12 pm Central. The next two live sessions occur consecutively, same day and time. The Animal Physics July 3-week session picks right up after the first June live 3-week session ends. Students can attend either or both sessions. There is no obligation to attend both. 

The Animal Physics June & July 6-week HYBRID course is kicked off on Wednesday, June 15 also at 11 - 12 pm central WITH the regularly scheduled June live class students and the HYBRID students can rejoin us with the July session live students for the last lesson on Wednesday, July 20 at 11 - 12 pm Central. HYBRID students can OPTIONALLY attend the first and last lessons live with me and complete the rest of the 4 lessons independently or with parental assistance. If students want to complete the course at their own pace, or if teachers/parents just want the content only to teach later in the school year, simply download all the files upon purchase and save for a later time! 

If students from both the live eWorkshop or HYBRID course can't join us live, no problem, as all live classes are recorded and posted up on the CurrClick Live course content page on the same day each class is taught. Students can view the recording at their convenience, but preferably before the next live class if they plan to attend the rest of the live classes. 



Also, here's the first lesson, a digital download of the Animal Physics - Extreme Flying & Gliding Animals PowerPoint with Activity Guide from the June session, if you can't/don't want to join any of the classes, but are still curious about the topic. 

What are the topics covered in the Animal Physics eWorkshops?

June Session:
eWorkshop #1 - Flying & Gliding Animals II 
eWorkshop #2 - Bird Flight
eWorkshop #3 - Gliding Mammals

July Session:
eWorkshop #1 - Zoomusicology - The study of the music of animals 
eWorkshop #2 - Song of Whales & Dolphins
eWorkshop #3 - Animal Bioluminescence

AND, did I mention that each live session is ONLY $5 and $15 for a 3-week session?! Please come join us live or if you want the content or your student wants to go through the course at their own pace, the Animal Physics HYBRID course is a great option! We'd love to have you join us for any of the summer eWorkshops or HYBRID courses, and you can have a look at the rest of the summer 2016 course line up straight from my CurrClick Live home page complete with freebies, course syllabi, my classes schedule and more! Just click on the largest sunflower labeled summer classes and have a look! As always, if any of my literature doesn't answer your question(s), please feel free to email me anytime at gab21921@gmail.com. Thank you for reading this far!! He he!

NatureGlo's eScience Summer Live Online Classes

NatureGlo's eScience (NeS) has been holding live online summer classes, adorably called "eWorkshops" going on now for six years. NatureGlo. Yes, that's me. I'm NatureGlo and thank you for reading my blog today!

The summer of 2016 marks our 6th year of summer eWorkshops. The summer eWorkshops are a short and great way to introduce my classes both for homeschoolers and schoolers. Classes begin the second week of June. We hold 3-week live sessions in both June and July and the more self-paced courses called HYBRID spanning 6 weeks in June and July and begin and end with the live classes. These classes are written for middle/high school level students, but are flexible for younger students interested in the subjects. Subjects include MathArt, Marine Biology, Animal Physics (available only during the summer), Herps (study of reptiles  & amphibians), Rocks & Minerals and Mammals (now only available during the summer). I've only given you the links to the live class subject category from my CurrClick home page, since the summer live classes will soon be starting and the enrollment links will close. I offer both live & HYBRID classes. HYBRID courses only have two live classes with me, one to begin and one to end the course with no obligation to attend live. Students can always watch the recordings. This is the same for my live classes as well. The rest of the HYBRID course content is to be completed by the student either independently and or with parental guidance. All of my latest live classes and curriculum can be found under the live class link on my CurrClick home page here.

What in the World is MathArt?

MathArt is a unique course I have been developing since 2003. In MathArt, we look at nature's most common patterns with connections to geometry and basic math. We also look at mathematics history and other connections between math, science, art and architecture. I believe it's a course that should/could be foundational for all mathematics education.

Here's the story as to how I've come to offer this course. Scroll down to the heading, My MathArt Journey.

This is me holding a red cabbage cross-section I made,
which reveals both fractals and spirals,
topics I teach in my MathArt online classes.

What are NatureGlo's live classes like?

Natureglo's eScience live online classes begin with a reading from the latest student blog entries. 1 - 2 scheduled 10 minute student presentation(s)  can follow. Next, I read a PowerPoint presentation of the class topic, followed by student/teacher discussion, and educational videos supporting the class topic.

Students are given resources from the subject's website or "virtual library" with self-guided studies. Without tests, grades, or compulsory homework, students have time to study topics of their interest within the subject. Having said that, I do offer study guides per lesson with PowerPoint review questions and activities referring to the day's topic. With student curiosity sparked, along with a banquet of resources, students come up with dynamic research projects, activities and experiences to share with their virtual classmates from around the world. Be sure to look out for NeS student projects throughout the virtual libraries using this page to guide you to the subject of interest.

2011 NatureGlo eScience student Ursa's bean MathArtwork.
This is an example of the types of projects students can do
during NatureGlo's eScience live & HYBRID courses.

You can view Natureglo's publications, live classes, summer eWorkshops and videos and freebies by visiting Naturglo's eScience home page on CurrClick.com. I also have curriculum only stores with Teachers Pay Teachers, Educents, and my two newest stores are with TeS and Teacher's Notebook, both yet to be stocked at the posting of this blog. Have any questions my literature doesn't answer about my classes and curriculum? Don't hesitate to email me directly at gab21921@gmail.com.

Dramatic Deep Sea Creatures - Latest science, Marine Biology Live Class Guest Student Blogger & Curriculum Sale!

Periphylla periphylla found in oceans worldwide at depths of 1000 - 7000 feet. Image credit: Erling Svensen.

Deep sea creatures are some of the most bazaar, ferocious looking and fascinating animals on the planet! Yet, we've only explored a very small percentage of the abyss, so think of how many more crazy, beautiful, frightening and, yes, even some adorable looking creatures yet to be discovered! However, the last few decades, with our technological advancements and a huge thanks to leading organizations such as NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) and MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute), the depths are being plumbed and new creatures are being discovered like never before! In centuries past, deep sea exploration was accomplished by primitive ways such as dredging and well....by whatever new creature happened to wash ashore dead and at least relatively intact, would be the next specimen studied.

Today, the key tool for exploring the depths, is the ROV (Remote Operating Vehicle), which is unocccupied and tethered to a host ship and operated by a crew. 

A science ROV being retrieved by an oceanographic research vessel.

An ROV suction device about to capture a deep sea octopus.

This past March and May, my live CurrClick.com homeschool students completed my Dramatic Deep Sea Creatures 8-lesson course. The course was a huge hit with 19 homeschool families joining the live class experience. We had some 5-star blogging students share some amazing posts about topics taught. Please take the time to read 5-star blogger, my spring Marine Biology Dramatic Deep Sea Creatures live class student Sophie C.'s post below!

South Pole Sauna by Sophie C. age 14

In the deep, dark and frigid waters off Antarctica, at depths of 8,000 feet, lies the most startling spa on Earth. Bubbling up from magma under the earth, the water is super heated to 721 degrees Fahrenheit. This balmy steam bath provides an irresistible draw to a host of unusual sea creatures intent on escaping the freezing waters. The vents, called black smokers, are homes to creatures never seen before: an aggressive seven arm sea star, a ghost octopus and the Antarctic Yeti crab (Kiwa tyleri). This last creature is both fascinating and plentiful in this home. It grows bacteria on its hairy chest, bacteria which uses chemosynthesis to change the toxic iron sulfide in the water into usable food. Unable to survive in the freezing water, the crabs crowd on to the vents--- 600 per square meter! This is one popular spa!

Yeti crabs crowding around a deep sea hydrothermal vent

My first paragraph provides the essential facts but let me add a few more background details here. Hydrothermal vents are created when sea water seeps into cracks called fissures in the sea floor. It encounters magma, that extremely hot molten lava that we are familiar with in volcanoes. The water becomes heated at the same time it is dissolving chemicals in the undersea floor. Ultimately, it spews upward where it encounters the icy sea water. The chemicals solidify creating vents which are warm and full of toxic chemicals. Black Smokers create the hottest water, the most sulfide and are dark because of the iron in the mix. White smokers are cooler and made up of barium, calcium and silicon. Both kinds provide an abnormal and, to some creatures, welcoming environment which results in a unique ecosystem. Chemosynthetic bacteria use the toxic chemicals as a food source, converting them to sugars that other animals can use. They are the first food source in a pyramid which includes other larger animals preying on the bacteria and then upon each other.

Deep sea black smokers

The vents in the Southern Ocean near Antarctica are unique. There are no tubeworms, mussels or shrimp which are typical in tropical vents. Instead, they are home to unusual barnacles, anemones, a very interesting snail with a one-of-a-kind shell, and ghost octopi. These vents were only discovered in 1999, first explored in 2009 and then more fully studied in 2010. There is still much research to do at this setting which one scientist described as more unusual than anything you would find on the moon.

A Ghost Octopus

Thank you, Sophie, for sharing your superb blog with us! 

Even if you can't join us for the class live in the future, now students can grab the self-paced version of the course on sale at either my CurrClick.com store (50% off) or Educents (58% off). You can check out NatureGlo's latest Marine Biology live classes from her CurrClick home page here. The course is composed of 8 PowerPoints or Slideshow lessons with accompanying study guides per lesson. A course manual is included along with a grading rubric for student projects. Some families may not have PowerPoint, so simply playing the pdf files as a Slideshow is an easy hack. Students are encouraged to follow their learning curiosity and complete an original project about their favorite deep sea creature. Have a look at the full course curriculum with previews at my Educents store below!

Sincerely, NatureGlo