Last night saw a strong turnout of teachers at our physical science evening event. Seventeen teachers as well as representatives from Metro South Education Department arrived, all interested to find out what was on offer for the evening. Before long the Open Innovation Studio was buzzing, with our guests standing in groups enjoying the snacks and chatting amongst themselves. Shortly before 7pm we encouraged everyone to take a seat so that Mark could begin his presentation.

Mark began by introducing himself and the projects that fall under Siyavula. He then went on to explain what the term “free and open” means, an important distinction from just “free”. If something, be it software or educational resources, are open, it means that they can be changed and adapted. You can go in and personalise them if you will, so that they suit your particular wants and needs. It is great that content exists that is free, but it is even better if it is both open, and free.

A wealth of educational resources exist out there, and it can be quite overwhelming for teachers to tap in to these resources, as there is just so much to sift through until you find something worthwhile. Or, you may find a number of potential resources, but you are unsure about using them in your lessons. Well, that is where we come in and why these evening events are worthwhile. We have spent hours on the internet trolling through page upon page of resources, and finding the most interesting and relevant tools we can.

Last night Mark mentioned a couple of tools that could be used to either assist with teaching, or add a bit of fun and innovation to lessons. Science class can get bogged down with the standard way of writing up the method for an experiment, so why not do something totally different that still involves science, but in a broader but highly relevant way? Why not get your class involved in Galaxy Zoo, a website where you help astronomers explore the universe, by classifying galaxies according to their shape! There are some times where the human brain is better at doing things than the world’s most powerful computer – this is one of them! These sorts of exercises are known as “citizen cyberscience”, where ordinary citizens participate in real science experiments, all thanks to the internet. You may be one of the first people in history to see the universe that you classify!

Another fun website that also requires public participation is Stardust. The Stardust mission was launched in 1999, with its destination being Comet Wild 2. Its mission was to collect interstellar dust particles before its return to earth in 2006, using a special material called aerogel. These samples will provide a window into the distant past, helping scientists around the world to unravel mysteries surrounding the birth and evolution of our Solar System.

Mark also made mention of the Khan Academy videos, which is a fantastic online resource of short educational videos, which can be downloaded and saved to your computer. Videos cover a large range of subjects, with over 1800 videos that can be inserted into most lessons due to them being short and not following a curriculum. We feel that this is an excellent resource, that could either be used in class to further explain a concept, or used by learners as a form of class preparation or revision.

We also love PhET Simulations, an educational resource that a number of the teachers present last night had heard of, which is great! PhET Simulations are fun and interactive simulations of physical phenomena, manipulated by the user with instant animated responses. One can go wild using it – set crazy parameters and see what happens! And it wont result in real life explosions or risk of injury to learners. It has been shown that when learners prepared for exams, with half using actual lab equipment and the other half using PhET Simulations, those using PhETs scored higher than those using real equipment! This shows the power of this resource and what can be achieved by using it in the classroom.

Stellarium is another great resource, which is a free and Open Source planetarium for your computer! You simply download the program, set your location, and then see the night sky as if you were stargazing outside. You can also travel all around space, as well as zoom in to stars and planets. What fun! And it’s educational!

After Mark’s presentation we gave out copies of our FHSST books, along with a form for an expression of interest. Textbooks don’t need to cost a small fortune – it’s not fair to pay all that money because someone new has written down laws and information that has been around for decades already! The cost of our textbooks simply covers the printing charge – education is all about sharing, which is what Siyavula is all about.

Next week our evening event is on open education resources in Life Sciences. Please see our online invitation here, and register if you would like to attend. Alternatively, if you know of anyone else that may be interested, please spread the word on our behalf. Lets get South Africa tapping into a wealth of free and open educational resources!

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