Gaming - what's it good for?

Nothing much in real value, as according to this video. Do watch:




However, as most of you may be aware mrguay also does some occasional gaming... Okay, actually only DotA. Isn't it self contradictory?

Nope, because I do understand that playing games are just...games! They create as much value and purpose as say a cup of coffee does. But we do meet our friends for coffee, don't we? And perhaps it's not the game nor the victories but the experience and friendships that is forged along the way.

Hope you guys have a nice holiday. Now stop playing games and go out in the sun!

Are you learning what you need to survive and excel in the future?

Watch this well-made and thought-provoking video.

So what do you need to do well when you 'grow up'?

Since you ask for it - new DotA forum to organise games

Yup, I've created a forum for like-minded people to join.

Use it to discuss heroes, strategies or to organise games.

Registration is free. Join now!

http://mrguaydota.freeforums.org

My ex-students who use the other old forum, pls register in the new one as the old one is very buggy.

Interesting project for the holidays?

Watch this interesting 'diy' science project.

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

It looks simple but a lot of planning and science is involved.


Do note that it is illegal to do this in Singapore due to our very very busy sky. And also, the camera will most likely land in the sea.



Still, how about tying a camera to a kite?

Definition
Streaming:
Tracking (also called setting or streaming) the manner by which students are separated by academic ability into groups for all academic subjects within a school.

Exams:
a set of questions or exercises evaluating skill or knowledge

Difficult
unmanageable: hard to control; not easy but not impossible

Killer
a difficulty that was hard to deal with


Global Culling Blade



- a term coined by mr guay to describe the level wide differentiation of the good, average and poor students in term of Physics understanding.

I have to agree the Sec 2 Physics paper was not easy to deal with but also not impossible. Which means it did serve its purpose: a benchmark to assess the suitability of your Sec 3 subject combination choice.

On a scale of 10, I would rate it 6 and 9. 6 because it would be an average paper for Pure Physics students; 9, because it would be a killer paper for the general Science (Physics) student.

Here's the result we have been eagerly awaiting.

my rating for you guys:

• If you pass (C5-C6) - not bad but need to work harder to get an A in Pure Science


• If you just fail (D7-E8) - you're suitable for Pure Science provided you actively ask questions to clear your doubts.


• If you fail badly (F9) - taking Science (Physics) is the way to secure an A in O levels.


• If you did ok/very good (B4 and above) - don't get complacent, you still need to work hard because it is really quite tough to get an A1 in Pure Physics (most students got A2).
  

Totally unrelated to school - DotA 2 by Valve

Yes, it seems the popularity of DotA and the software limitations of the Warcraft engine has finally spawned a dedicated platform for our beloved game.

DotA 2 is a partnership between Valve (Counterstrike, Half Life etc) and Icefrog (current developer of DotA). Will it be free? Will it be better? When will it be released? Read more at http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2010/10/13/dota-2-announced-details.aspx

Sec 2 Exp Science (Physics) EOY examination - a little tad too difficult?

Seems that the EOY paper was quite a tough one, because I actually hear quite a no. of stories about students crying after the paper....

Well, it certainly wasn't my intention to make any of you cry (actually I do but only to those extremely lazy students) but I did see and I ackowledge all the effort you have put in for Physics. And in a sick way I am actually glad some of you are upset about today's paper, because it means you have high expectations of yourself - the first step of any successful person.



Look forward, concentrate on your other papers and stop dwelling on that darn Physics paper.



And try to smile when you see me, k?

All the best for EOY!

Cyanide & Happiness @ Explosm.net

My very own simple motor

Although I had learn this in my Secondary school days, this is the first time I tried it. I think it works pretty well :)



Materials:

• coil of insulated wire
• paper clips for support
• magnet
• batteries and wires
• a base to mount everything

Note: you need to strip HALF the insulation at the ends of the wire.

For more info, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it_Z7NdKgmY

Old but good video - Frames of Reference

May be too complex for some of you but do give them a try and wonder as you sit there and watch the video: are you stationary or are you actually moving at quite a fast speed?

National Day 2010 Celebration@Kranji Sec

Quite a good one. I don't think anybody felt bored :)

Physics video by UMass Lowell

A great video which I guess is shown to freshman in this university. Credits to Win? Fail? PHYSICS!

Introducing: Prezi - the zooming presenter, presenting simple Electricity

Tired of Powerpoint slides? Frustrated by the limitation of Powerpoint or MSOffice in creating large concept maps?

Introducing Prezi, a different way to present. It surely is interesting for both the presentor and the audience, as the zooming and panning effects just capture your attention much more than the Powerpoint usual fade in-out sequence. What's more, it is a great tool to present concept maps.

Created one based on Electricity. It's still kinda rough around the edges and lacking in content....cos it's not as 'user-friendly' as Powerpoint. Comments welcomed!

Electricity - Introduction and Current Electricity on Prezi

The invisible rod

Two similiar acrylic rods are placed in two different liquid. The one of the right is water, the one on the left is corn syrup. Why couldn't the submerged portion of the rod be seen in the jar on the left?

A potential CE lesson material on responsibility, integrity, RESPECT...and self-control

I didn't find this video funny but am rather apalled by the behaviour of both the girl and the raging teen..... I really do hope my students are way better than them, right?

A nice way to start the holidays....

..is to have a good DotA game with my former Sec 2s!

So my current Sec 2s, I'm waiting... :)

Cambodia Service Learning Video - draft version

After much work., finally it's almost done!

Extended version will include bloopers and more....

MYE 2010 results for my classes

Update 12 May 2010: Results for my Sec 3 Exp class is in. Not good at all...


Except for my Sec 3s where I wasn't the marker of their papers, here are the consolidated results for MYE 2010.

Click on image to enlarge:










Keep up the good effort 2A and 2F!

2C, you need to reflect what went wrong this time.... ask more questions in class! Copy down what I've said! Do a bit of memorising!

2B, quite a lot of careless mistakes but nonetheless quite well done. Failures please buck up...this is your streaming year!

3I better wake up! Grrr......

Game for Physics - 99 Bricks

How often does a teacher encourages you to play games? But here I am, recommending this brilliant online flash game called 99 Bricks.

It's essentially Tetris with a twist: the aim is to build the TALLEST structure! However, the bricks observe the laws of stability, momentum, balance of moments, forces due to weight and centre of gravity etc etc....

Link: http://www.kongregate.com/games/WeirdBeardGames/99-bricks

Spending time on youtube

Despite my busy schedule, I've been spending some time on Youtube. Partly because I'm finding interesting clips to share with my students, partly to find some inspiration for the contestants of the Amazing Science X Challenge (http://www.asxc.com.sg/).

Anyway, here's one that I really like. It's by Steve Spangler, on a popular talkshow by Ellen Degeneres.

Watch the first one here! Go check out his other videos too.!

HOM Brain Teasers

Submit your answers to me (for my mentor class 2A) by next HOM Lesson on 08 Mar 2010 and the first 8 students with the complete correct answer will win a prize!

The Questions:

1. You have a fox, a chicken and a sack of grain. You must cross a river with only one of them at a time. If you leave the fox with the chicken he will eat it; if you leave the chicken with the grain he will eat it. How can you get all three across safely?
   
2. What is special about the following sequence of numbers?8 5 4 9 1 7 6 10 3 2 0
   
3. Three travelers register at a hotel and are told that their rooms will cost $10 each so they pay $30. Later the clerk realizes that he made a mistake and should have only charged them $25. He gives a bellboy $5 to return to them but the bellboy is dishonest and gives them each only $1, keeping $2 for himself. So the men actually spent $27 and the bellboy kept $2 - what happened to the other dollar of the original $30?
   
4. You are the bus driver. At your first stop, you pick up 29 people. On your second stop, 18 of those 29 people get off, and at the same time 10 new passengers arrive. At your next stop, 3 of those 10 passengers get off, and 13 new passengers come on. On your fourth stop 4 of the remaining 10 passengers get off, 6 of those new 13 passengers get off as well, then 17 new passengers get on. What is the color of the bus driver's eyes?
   
5. An 18-wheeler truck is crossing a 4 kilometer bridge that can only support 10,000 kilograms and that's exactly how much the rig weighs. Halfway across the bridge a 30 gram sparrow lands on the cab, but the bridge doesn't collapse. Why not?
   
6. A completely black dog was strolling down Main Street during a total blackout affecting the entire town. Not a single streetlight had been on for hours. Just as the dog was crossing the middle line a Buick Skylark with 2 broken headlights speedily approaches his position, but manages to swerve out of the way just in time. How could the driver have possibly seen the dog to swerve in time?
   
7. In a small cabin in the woods, two men lay dead. The cabin itself is not burned, but the forest all around is burned to cinders. How did the men die?
   
8. Ida puts her coffee into the microwave, as she does every morning, for exactly 2 minutes. When the microwave goes off, she opens the door, but then closes the door again and sets the microwave for 2 more seconds. What good would 2 more seconds be?
   
9. I am the owner of a pet store. If I put in one canary per cage, I have one bird too many. If I put in two canaries per cage, I have one cage too many. How many cages and canaries do I have?
   
10. My daughter has many sisters. She has as many sisters as she has brothers. Each of her brothers has twice as many sisters as brothers. How many sons and daughters do I have?
    
11. What seven-letter word has hundreds of letters in it?
    
12. Tom's mother has three children. One is named April, one is named May. What is the third one named?
    
13. Two women apply for a job. They are identical. They have the same mother, father and birthday. The interviewer asks, "Are you twins?" to which they honestly reply, "No".How is this possible?
    
14. A boat has a ladder that has six rungs. Each rung is one foot apart. The bottom rung is one foot from the water. The tide rises at 12 inches every 15 minutes. High tide peaks in one hour.When the tide is at its highest, how many rungs are under water?
    
15. During WWII, there was a bridge connecting Germany and Switzerland, and on the German side, there was a sentry tower with a guard in it. He would come out every three minutes to check on the bridge, and he had orders to turn back anyone who tried to get into Germany, and shoot anyone trying to escape without a pass. There was a woman who desperately needed to get into Switzerland, and she knew she didn't have time to get a pass. It would take her at least six minutes to cross the bridge, but she managed to do it. How?
    
16. A man is traveling with a fox and two chickens, if he leaves the fox alone with the chickens the fox will eat the chickens. He comes to a river and needs to cross it, he finds a small boat that can carry only him and one animal, how does he get himself, the fox and two chickens across the river safely?
    
17. A man and his son had a terrible car accident and were rushed to the hospital. The man died on the way, but the son was still alive and a surgeon was called in to operate. However, the surgeon saw the young boy and said, "I can't operate on this boy. He's my son."How is this possible?
    
18. Two guards were on duty outside a barracks. One faced up the road to watch for anyone approaching from the North. The other looked down the road to see if anyone approached from the South. Suddenly one of them said to the other, "Why are you smiling?"How did he know his companion was smiling?
    
19. You're riding a horse. To the right of you is a cliff and in front of you is an elephant going the same pace as you and you can't overtake it. To the left of you is a hippo running at the same speed and behind you is a lion chasing you. How do you get to safety?
    
20. If eggs are 12¢ a dozen, how much would it cost for 100 eggs?

Service Learning: Sec 2A 2010 (My First Skool) - 26 Feb 2010

More photos at : http://www.4shared.com/dir/32671992/75bebfd9/Service_Learning_-_My_First_Sk.html

And a video below!

Just for humor...

Created using www.batmancomic.info

Brain Teaser

You have 12 pearls. 11 of them are real, and 1 of them is fake. They all look/feel/everything EXACTLY the same, the only difference between the real and fake ones is their density.

You are given a balance scale (one of those old school scales that compare weights. You can weigh/compare the pearls three (3) times. Describe how you would:

1) determine the fake pearl

2) determine whether the fake pearl is more or less dense than the real pearls.

Post your answer in the comments!