Physics Summer School - Day 2

Friday morning saw us leave Erskine early for a visit to the Physics Department University of Strathclyde. Here we were shown around the first-year labs, seeing experimental set ups used by students for finding - speed of sound in air using tuning forks and resonant air columns wave speed for wave on a string, using...


Physics Summer School - Day 1

For the last few days I've been fortunate to have been in Erskine, attending the SSERC/Institute of Physics Physics Summer School - a residential CPD event for physics teachers from all over Scotland. We started on Wednesday evening with an icebreaker session after registration and dinner. Armed with a small video camera we conducted 30...


Background Radiation Map

Whilst covering the radiation part of the S3 Health Physics unit, we got talking about background radiation. Having given up our radioactive sources this is the only kind of radiation we can now measure, so I left the GM tube hooked up to an ALBA interface for about an hour, beeping away randomly, logging the...


This is me...

Thought it might be an idea to do a quick Wordle of the text in my latest application, mainly in order to make sure I wasn't coming across too one-dimensional. Capping the word list at 50, I'm pretty happy with the result. No surprise that 'Glow' is bigger than most other words (it's been a...


CPD - SQA New AH Physics Development Forum

I went along to Jordanhill School, Glasgow, this evening to attend a 'forum' hosted by John Sharkey, who is currently working for the SQA, developing the new Higher and Advanced Higher Physics courses. John started with a quick summary of the current state of play regarding SQA Physics courses for post-16 students - New Higher...


eChalk - Online Resources

My school subscribes to an online resources site that covers most curricular areas - eChalk. I've been using one of its features, the 'Electric Circuit Builder' both on my IWB and with pupils on our department netbooks, to help them familiarise themselves with both drawing and (virtually) building circuits. This tool is also available to...


Old dog learns new tricks...

I went out for a bike ride around Whitelee Windfarm yesterday for a bit of exercise and to take some snaps. I always forget something when I leave the house and this time, although I remembered the bike, spare tubes, waterproof, camelbak, helmet and gloves, I forgot to lift my camera. Oops. I did, however...


#makeuseofglow revisited

Another demo of Glow at last nights staff meeting, this time looking at Glow Light, Glow Blogs and the National Assessement Resource (NAR). Starting with the Glow login screen, familiar to all, I asked a few questions about who was using Glow, who'd logged in recently and who'd seen the new 'landing page'. Then I logged...


Assessment, Recording & Reporting for CfE

I've been struggling of late to get to grips with assessment for our new S1 science course. I'd never been much of a fan of our old approach - 3 x 12 mark multi-choice test & 1 big KU & PS test on a whole term of work, every term in S1 & S2, up...


Brilliant CPD - Medical Physics

I went along to Yorkhill Hospital in Glasgow tonight for an IOP event in the medical Physics Department. About 70 physics and biology teachers from around the west of Scotland attended the event, staffed by some brilliant folk who had given up their time to give us an insight into the work they do in...