2004 Vernier/NSTA Technology Award Winners
The award, co-sponsored by Vernier and NSTA, is part of the NSTA Teacher Award Program. Each year, educators are recognized for their planned or current innovative use of data-collection technology.
Middle School
Can You Hear Me Now
- Nancy Elliott
- Science Teacher
- Chillicothe Middle School
- Chillicothe, MO
Synopsis
Nancy and her students have been working with local wildlife biologists to take Northern Bobwhite Quail population counts. In this activity, they listen for calls and map coveys. The question Nancy and her students wish to answer is whether or not the calls they are hearing are from the same bird. Nancy’s students will use a Vernier Sound Level Meter as they attempt to develop a protocol to answer this question.
High School
The Pinhole Camera
- Michael Farmer
- Science Teacher
- South Carolina Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities
- Greenville, SC
Synopsis
Michael has developed an experiment designed to be especially interesting to students who are bound for careers in the visual arts, creative writing, theater, music and dance. In this novel demonstration of the inverse square law, students use a Vernier interface and Light Sensor to study the relationship between pinhole size, pinhole distance, and light intensity.
Counting Cosmic Rays
- Eric Muhs
- Physics Teacher
- Roosevelt High School
- Seattle, WA
Synopsis
Eric and his students have designed and built two cosmic ray detectors, and are working on a third. The detectors are interfaced with Vernier LabPro®, allowing computer collection of data. With these detectors, Eric will provide his students the opportunity to detect and study cosmic rays. He intends to loan the detectors out to teachers in the Seattle area that are involved in the WALTA (Washington Area Large-scale Time-coincidence Array) project.
Bridge Swinging and The Maximum Tension in a Pendulum String
- Edward Wyrembeck
- Physics and Calculus Teacher
- Howards Grove High School
- Howards Grove, WI
Synopsis
Edward has designed an experiment to help students understand that the tension in a pendulum string, for a bob that is moving downward, is increasing and is more than the weight of the bob. Using Vernier LabPro and a Dual-Range Force Sensor, Edward’s students gather data from a pendulum experiment that features a pool ball, and compare their experimental results to theoretical results they have obtained mathematically.
College
Molar Mass Determination by Depression of a Freezing Point Using the LabPro Interface
- Michael Columbia
- Associate Professor of Chemistry
- Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne
- Fort Wayne, IN
Synopsis
Michael has modified a popular chemistry experiment to use Vernier LabPro and a Stainless Steel Temperature Sensor with a Palm™ m100 handheld. Once data has been collected it is transmitted to the campus computer network via Ethernet data ports at each lab bench. Finally, it is e-mailed to each student for computer-based analysis outside the lab. This method of data collection, transmission, and analysis has resulted in a computer-free chemistry lab.
Seven awards are available: one elementary, two middle level, three high school, and one college. The awards, each valued at $5,500, include $1,000 in cash, $3,000 in Vernier technology, and up to $1,500 in expenses for attending the NSTA convention.
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Past Winners
- 2013 Vernier/NSTA Technology Award Winners
- 2012 Vernier/NSTA Technology Award Winners
- 2011 Vernier/NSTA Technology Award Winners
- 2010 Vernier/NSTA Technology Award Winners
- 2009 Vernier/NSTA Technology Award Winners
- 2008 Vernier/NSTA Technology Award Winners
- 2007 Vernier/NSTA Technology Award Winners
- 2006 Vernier/NSTA Technology Award Winners
- 2005 Vernier/NSTA Technology Award Winners