MacBooks and Probeware

Phase change in states of matter, heat of fusion, heat of vaporization, and the conservation of energy are all challenging and abstact concepts. In this exhibit visitors will see how one expert teacher continues to learn new ways to engage children in science through exemplary strategies and tools. Julie Chamberlin, a 15 year veteran middle school science teacher at Clarence Middle School, was looking for ways to help her students better understand energy transfer during phase changes. The phase change lab she continually sought to improve gave wide ranges of error each year and led to many misconceptions among her students. It was impossible for her students to heat ice in a beaker with consistent temperature readings without stirring vigorously - a task impossible with standard glass alcohol thermometers. When Julie's students used the PASCO stainless steel temperature probes that are a component of the Apple Digital Learning Series they were able to monitor live data, scale their graphs, and share their work electronically. Click on the above image to hear the rest of her success story and the impact on students and fellow teachers at her school.

The students in this exhibit were making use of a mobile lab solution at their school. Laptops migrate from classroom to classroom with a full complement of tools from the Apple Digital Learning Series. For more on this specific collection of exemplary science tools promoting inquiry teaching visit this Apple website.

This activity was adapted from PASCO's collection of electronic workbooks. For more information about this curriculum collection or probe selection visit the PASCO curriculum web pages.