Laplace Apparartus

 

The Laplace apparatus is an excellent start to electromagnetism. Plug in, and the rod moves. Why is the question? The answer is to motivate students to look up and learn about a topic as we get started. And it always seems to work even for the reluctant.

Learning Aseptic Technique

The students are learning to sterilise, make and pour their own plates, ready to pour a culture of bacteria that they can then test with different concentrations of natural antiseptics such as mint and garlic.

First Network

My first Network was at British Shipbuilders teaching on BBC B computers with an Econet Network. Controlling screens and all controlled by a Second Processor Unit on the Master computer.

All the computers had word processor and spreadsheet chips which I had to burn onto EEPROMS using a EEPROM controller.

The BBC computers were linked to a couple of printers , a dot matrix and a daisy wheel printer.

We even had a modem to access Prestel and the early internet. In the days before the web and the browser, we used email and IRC to chat and FTP to access files.

 

Student Set up

 The student set up. A good faster computer i7 with 32Gb RAM, a large disk, a Wacom Tablet screen with Pen, and a monitor. A couple of calculators, one graphic, the other a standard calculator, and access to hundreds of experiments and scientific equipment.

Electrolysis

 Electrolysis is a complex subject, and it is important to understand working out which substance will appear at which electrode and why. Relating reactivity series and electronegativity to real-world examples.

Wireless pH Sensor

The @pascoscientific wireless pH sensor is great for both Biology and chemistry. The sensor can easily be used out in the field measuring river samples connected to an iPad with Sparkvue.
 

Careless Work

 Long gone are the days of penalising careless and untidy work - until you get into business.