AI creates copyright free images

 Fair use can work with some images, but sometimes you need a specific photo or image that doesn't exist. Using AI this is now changing and images can be created at a whim to suit particular topics that are being taught. Is the AI good enough to ID the characters?

The Gas Laws

 Once upon a time, a group of scientists were curious about how gases behave. They wanted to understand how gases react under different conditions, such as pressure, temperature, and volume. Seems to be the start of a video.

Stop go animation

 Stop-Go Animation using DragonFrame 4. Lego and Stop-Go Animation seem to work well together, making some science videos, building things that I can't afford or possibly own and then getting them to work in a demonstration mode.

New CGP A level Maths Books

The New CGP Maths A-level Course Books are excellent. Very similar in format to the Pearson Books but with a few extra bits like chain rule twice. The worked solutions are at the back of the book, which is extremely helpful.

Clinostat rolling on

 A few days into the clinostat working so we should start to see the effect the rotation is having on the roots and shoots

Some many different monitors

 Online teaching started out as a laptop with a built-in camera. Now there are at least 4 cameras with remotely powered zooms, and usually more. There are graphics tablets, visualisers, hyperdecks for video playback and an ATEM and streamdeck to control it all

Setting up timelapse for the Clinostat

Trying a couple of runner bean seeds in the clinostat as a timelapse. We decided to put the clinostat in the unused fish tank so it can be left for 5 days or so. I guessed at a speed of 1 frame every 2 mins, we will see if I am right.

 

Waves and Pendulums

Waves and pendulums are both physical phenomena that have different shapes and motions. Waves are oscillations that travel through a medium, while pendulums are physical systems consisting of a mass suspended from a fixed point. Both waves and pendulums have waveforms, graphical representations of their motion over time.

 

Organ Lesson using the ATEM

Using a three-camera setup for an organ lesson, one on the manuals, one on me and the last one on the pedals. Using picture-in-picture for the manuals and pedals when playing. The sound from the organ goes directly through the ATEM

 

Experimenting with a swingograph

 Experimenting with a swingograph to see what it can do. We need to get the pen more centred to make bigger patterns. We will have to get out the 3D printer I think.

How many takes?

 Don't work with animals and children - filmmakers said, but the same can be applied to science videos. Some things are good, like the ballistic cart, which can be set to go off at a certain distance or time, other things seem to do as they please.

Colour changes in Steel

I had to drill a hole in my Mums wall to put something up. The bricks were very hard, and I could see the changes in colour on the High-Speed Masonry bit

Failure on Designing an experiment

One of my students hadn't done many experiments at school. When he came to a question in the mock exam on designing an experiment he had no idea where to start. He had no idea about what equipment was available and the alternatives. I have a lot of work to do.

Reprogramming the electronic GoDice to work as Sicherman Dice

 Reprogramming the electronic GoDice to work as Sicherman Dice. A bit of JavaScript, and now I have some electronic Dice to do all types of statistics, capturing the values of the dice and automatically plotting the data and working as D20 and D10 as well

Ripple Tank and Waves

One of the easiest ways to observe waves is by using the ripple tank. Even if you don't have one they are easy to make using a transparent box lid and a lamp. Yet most students haven't seen one either demoed or played with.

Light bouncing off a ceiling

 In some situations, light reflected off the ceiling works better than a softbox. It gives the idea of more normal household lighting and seems to be good on the white organ for playing

Redressing the practical imbalance

 I notice how little practical is done, even at A level. Many children do not even do the core practicals and only watch, in many cases, my videos. I try to do as many experiments as I can with the students, as this helps them remember and learn more effectively

Crystals

 Looking at Copper sulfate crystals under the microscope once the students have made them. They can clearly see the shape of the crystals made by their own hand.

Looking down the barrel of the lens

Looking down the barrel of the lens for online lessons. It seems strange that I want to look at the screen where the person is doing online lessons with me rather than looking down the lens so they can see me looking at them.

Should we teach Open AI

Tools like OpenAI's language model can be a valuable resource for teachers and students. As more and more people use these programs, students need to learn how to use them effectively.

One way to do this is by teaching students how to ask the right questions to get the necessary information. This could include learning how to use keywords and phrases to narrow down search results and critically evaluate the information they find online.

It's also essential for students to understand the limitations of these types of tools. While they can be helpful resources, they should not be relied upon as the sole source of information. It's essential for students to learn how to use a variety of sources and to verify information from multiple sources before making conclusions.

Students must be responsible and ethical technology users, including language models and other online resources.

Creating a radioactivity decay curve

 Creating a radioactivity decay curve - the first of the Analog Computer programs - almost a Hello World program. The Op-amp was very sensitive, but soon I got there and could dynamically change all the parameters so much easier than a digital computer for some demos the way to go

Company Ownership problems

 

One of the things you don't see advertised in owning your own company is chair mending. The fabric Faux leather has all gone and needs to be replaced

The seat needs to be taken apart, templates made and then new material cut out and sewn together to refurbish the chair. A lot of work but much cheaper than buying new and throwing away a mostly good working chair.

Analog Computer

Order of Work today. Start working on the Analog computer and learning how it works and start creating things of my own - learning about integrators and trying to write a simplified teaching model for this.

An electrical comparator is a circuit that compares two input signals. It produces an output signal that indicates whether one input is greater than, less than, or equal to the other. Comparators are often used in digital systems to compare two numbers or signals and produce a binary output. They can also be used to detect the edges of a pulse or to compare a signal to a reference level.

An electrical multiplier is a circuit that performs multiplication, a mathematical operation combining two input signals and producing an output signal that is the product of the inputs. Multipliers are often used in signal processing and control systems to scale or modulate a signal.

An electrical comparator is a circuit that compares two input signals. It produces an output signal that indicates whether one input is greater than, less than, or equal to the other. Comparators are often used in digital systems to compare two numbers or signals and produce a binary output. They can also be used to detect the edges of a pulse or to compare a signal to a reference level.