Empirical education through built-in smart device sensors in phones

Intro

Smart devices are flooding our classrooms. iPads, Droids, iPods are being used as a way to communicate, take notes, access resources and simulations on the Internet. But perhaps their greatest education value is not being tapped. With no additional hardware, these devices are capable of deploying a broad set of sensor arrays within the devices to help students understand and interact with the world around them better. In reference to the TV show StarTrek (tm), we are often using smart devices as communicators and library pads, when perhaps the greatest functionality of these devices is as a tricorder, able to help us see directly into the geology, meteorology, and biology of the world around us.

Origami Microscope = Foldscope!

Cardboard Microscope for $1.00

Check out this foldable microscope from Standford that is about the size of a large bookmark and is a fully functional microscope. It can let you look closely at biological, minerological or other specimen and can even facilitate images with a smart phone and projection with a light source! Check out the cool video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yyRnLh_c4Hg and the site for the Foldscope at http://www.foldscope.com/