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I'm looking for good online resources for basic beginning physics, high school-ish level. In particular, just for today, I'm looking for a good definition and explanation of the different types of energy (kinetic vs potential etc). I know all this stuff, but I want ds to have a chance to read up on it himself rather than listening to me explain it to him. DS would much rather see a picture or watch a video than read a textbook or long explanation.
2nd question - how do you find good science websites (or other educational websites) when your child has an area of interest without spending a ton of time and also knowing that you're giving them a good resource? Things were so much easier back in the dark ages when I was a kid and the only answer for a parent was "look it up in the encyclopedia!". IS there a good online encyclopedia we should think about subscribing too? Is there a preferred search engine for students in their teens? And for younger students too? Is there a best place(s) to go for videos?
Here is my current Pinterest collection of science websites. I still have to go dump my old bookmarks into it-- this is just what I've gleaned from others on that site recently. There are some links there that I haven't had time to go through yet but are hubs for other sites, which may contain some early high school level material, and Khan Academy of course has some good science content. http://pinterest.com/iucounu/education-science-computer-and-video/
Striving to increase my rate of flow, and fight forum gloopiness.
There exist short videos by the Canadian Broadcasting Company, sort of like a geeky Schoolhouse Rock without the music. They are all on YouTube-- here is the first one, which links to the second, etc.
DeeDee
ETA: I also recently downloaded an app for iPad called Science360-- a curated collection of science videos. I haven't had time to play with it enough yet to say whether we like it, but it's from the National Science Foundation, so presumably not awful...
My husband teaches physics at the university level, and frequently teaches a course called Conceptual Physics. You might try searching that phrase on the internet for resources. It is the ideas or concepts of physics, but not heavy on the math. He usually teaches three different introductory classes: Conceptual Physics (for the humanity majors), Physics for the Pre-Med students (which is algebra based), and Physics for Engineers (which is Calculus based). I'm sure you can find resources on the web that fall into one of those categories.
You might try Khan Academy. They have a large section of physics videos. I can't remember how much math they use. The other resource I can think of, off the top of my head, is a collection of videos called Standard Deviants. I heard about them on this board several years ago. It is not an on-line resource, but it is not hard to find these videos at the library or cheaply on Amazon. They have wonderful physics, chemistry, organic chemistry, biology, etc. They are a bit silly and wacky, but my son loved them when he was about 8 years old. He learned a great deal of physics and chemistry from watching those videos. I found a few snippets on YouTube, so you can check them out to see if you like their style. I think my son liked the Chemistry (3 volumes) better than the Physics, though. That may be because the Physics is heavy on the math and equations.
My hubby also recommends the PhET web site for the Univ. of Colorado at Boulder. Here is a link: Energy Skate Park Simulation
Hope that helps! If you can post more info about the level of math you are interested in, then I can look for other resources that might be a better fit.
I'll list non-profit or commercial-free sources. I evaluate resources based on who is providing the digital content/source and their motive and what it entails and who is it aimed for. I view it as research/digital library skills, but then again I have a library degree (not a physics degree!) .
http://watchknowlearn.org/default.aspx - provides free educational videos for ages 3-18. They're indexed and categorized by age, topic. By contrast to Khan Academy, they may not be as good in advanced or aimed at higher levels of physics.
http://www.goodsitesforkids.org/ - is aimed at kids and is comprehensive. If you use the enter physics in the Google search engine under list of topics, you'll get the links specific to it.
Sorry I'm a little behind on this. I'm new to the board and am still kind of trying to catch up. One of the best resources I know of is hyperphysics. I don't know the URL off the top of my head, but it's easy to find on google. My advisor from grad school is the one who used to maintain it - brilliant guy, but I think he may be retired now. It just covers the basics in almost any subject in physics, without going into so much detail that it becomes tedious and confusing. (And as a bonus, you may get to see videos of some of the lab work I did while I was there. ). I also used to teach high school physics - so feel free to PM me if you need anything at all!
). I also used to teach high school physics - so feel free to PM me if you need anything at all!