Shameless Plug

I've blogged about Instructables.com in the past. It's a cool site where users share detailed instructions for cool projects. Like many other web 2.0 sites, there are ways to comment and collaborate on projects. It's really cool and has some great educational potential. Projects cover many different subjects and ability levels. I've contemplated having students submit projects there as an assignment, but thus far I haven't done so. However, I have pointed them there for help doing home labs.

Today, I'm asking for your help. Currently Insctuctables is running a contest. They are creating a book of the best of Instructables. I'd really like to be in the book. Please follow the link to my "Cheap, Easy Light Probe" and vote for me. You will have to register for a free account to do this, but you should probably have one anyway.

Thanks.

Me at the NECC

I've been hurriedly getting my stuff together for the upcoming NECC. I'd be doing great as far as time goes if it weren't for the fact that I'm also working with a team of students who are trying to finish their invention project. They won a Lemelson-MIT InvenTeams grant and will be presenting their project in Boston from June 19th thru the 23rd. I'll be going with them, which will be cool, but I'm running out of time!!!

Any way, on with my stuff. I've been uploading directions to Instructables.com. This site is pretty cool and they have a competition running right now where the best project wins a laser cutter. While I don't think I'll win the laser maybe they will send me a free T-Shirt. Although if I do somehow with the laser cutter the science club next year will have the best fund raisers ever.

Below you will find links to the projects I've submitted so far. I will have at least one or two more to put up yet before I'm ready for Atlanta.

• Make Your Own Light Probe/Photogate
• Determine the acceleration due to gravity
• Find the Speed of Sound
• Capture a sound and rebuild it with Audacity.

I've been contemplating ways I can use Instructables in class. I've used some of the projects either for demos or student projects, but I haven't had students upload their own yet. Their had been a problem with the Instructables web site and our network firewall, but this seems to have been resolved. Next year I'll have to use this. I just have to figure out a good way that won't swamp the site with 90 projects for the same thing.

Instructables

I've been enjoying many of the projects on Instructables from some time. Today I contributed my first project.

Instructables is a site for people to "share what they do and how they do it." It is an incredible site. There are projects on nearly any subject you can think of including: cooking, electronics, robotics, catapult making, programming, paper airplane making... the list goes on and on. Anyone can see them, but if you create a login ID you can comment on the projects or ask questions of the project creators. A login is also required to submit your own projects.

The project submission process is no more complicated than writing a blog entry and there is the possibility to collaborate on projects through the site, although I haven't tried this yet. Even if you don't use the collaboration tools on the projects, the ability to leave and receive comments can lead to an informal collaboration. Within a few hours of posting my project it had already been commented on and I was able to elaborate a bit to make everything more clear.

My project deals with the creation of the solar cell probeware I've outlined previously. In the future I'll be adding more instructables detailing how to use the probe and software (Audacity and Visual Analyser) for a variety of lab activities or teacher demonstrations.

I'm considering incorporating this site in future student building projects. I've already referenced it for my electronics students and some students searching for good science fair projects.

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