Your students come into the classroom using technology
as an extension of themselves...

Tincan’s Science and Technology Programs

...give you the tools to bring science alive to this new generation
For middle and high school science and technology teachers

End Of Year Implimentation Forms

Each technology is learned and practiced in a year long program that includes a one week summer workshop in Spokane, teaching in a one week student summer camp, on-site implementation in your own school, monthly web conferences to support your implementation, and a year-end gathering where your students join other schools to present their work.

Teachers and Students Spend the Summer Learning to Develop Video Games

Secondary school teachers learned to develop science-based video games during two Tincan summer workshops on EWU's Spokane campus. Twenty-seven teachers first developed paper games to master the concepts of game mechanics and game play, and to get their creative juices flowing. Then they created storyboards for a video game that included environmental science as part of the action. They mastered the complexities of MultiMedia Fusion 2 to get characters to move through the game and challenge players not only to win the game, but also to learn science concepts. Teacher games ranged from Lab Safety to Animals Gone Wild and Ionic Attraction. In some games, the players had to balance energy production with environmental impact, or clean up the environment in a short amount of time. After learning the basics of video game development, teachers assisted in two teen game development camps. Students went through the same struggle to unleash their creativity while mastering the programming skills they needed to create fast-paced and interesting games. They were challenged to include science content in their games, which included titles such as Trash Planet, Genetic Colonization, Space Survival, and Space Monkey 2. Teens play-tested one another's games, scoring them for playability, science content, and, of course, fun. Probably the most common theme in the game development camps was that is a lot easier to play a game than to develop one. The games are online for you to play at our 2008 Summer Workshops & Camps page. The workshops and camps were part of a National Science Foundation-funded ITEST project. Teachers, who were from all across the state of Washington, are now implementing game development activities at their home schools.

Google Earth Goes to School

Secondary school science teachers spent two weeks over the summer learning to integrate Google Earth and environmental science to map local conditions. Working with students in the Eco-Mapping summer camp, teams went out with GPS units to learn to track way points and put them into Google maps. Then they chose projects to map, including the temperature at various points around the EWU downtown campus and its relationship to traffic, the location of graffiti, the relationship of various animal and bird populations in the area to food and cover, and the location and types of trash correlated with the number of people at different points. Some of the mapping projects can be seen at our 2008 Summer Workshops & Camps page. The workshop and camp were part of a National Science Foundation-funded ITEST project. Teachers, who were from all across the state of Washington, are now mapping the community environment at their home schools.

Forms

Student Career and Attitudes (PDF)