Sign in

Monica Owens

@monicaowens.bsky.social
509 followers 275 following 215 posts

Senior Science Instructor at Culver Academies, STEP UP Ambassador, Partner Teacher SpectrumX, AP Physics Instructor, Physics First Instructor, Competency Based “Grading”

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Monica Owens
Dr Dan Jones @hookean.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Physics teachers. The latest edition of Classroom Physics is now available at the link below. The focus is on Atmospheric Physics 🙂 #PhysicsEd #iTeachPhysics #SciTeachUK spark.iop.org/sites/defaul...
Cover of June edition of Classroom Physics. Focus on the weather and atmospheric physics
295
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 15/07/2025
Our yard is blooming and growing. Some of the growth is oyster mushrooms and Concord grapes.
020
Reposted by Monica Owens
George Takei @georgetakei.bsky.social · 11/07/2025
Recently, my book THEY CALLED US ENEMY was banned – again – in Tennessee. Book bans are out of control. Huge parts of American history are being restricted. To join me in standing up for the freedom to read, go to pen.org/action. @penamerica.bsky.social @topshelfcomix.bsky.social @idwpublishing.com
12253688813344
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 12/07/2025
I haven’t been on here in months, been dealing with medical issues while juggling teaching and just trying to survive. Had my ankle replaced in March, before that lots of appts and pain, now lots of PT. Doing much better and hoping to get back to posting and interacting. Miss my physics/ed PLN!
270
Reposted by Monica Owens
Joe Cossette @cossettej.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
I'm really excited about the problem that I used for our cumulative review of mechanics. In 15 parts, students had to do a little bit of everything that we've been working on so far this year 😏 #iteachphysics 🎢 Lesson Details: passionatelycurioussci.weebly.com/blog/mechani...
5367
Reposted by Monica Owens
kruidenier physics @kruidenier.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Trying to add more quick 'analog' labs to my APP1 curriculum. 45 min, derive an algebraic expression for velocity of a pushed block using work-kinetic energy theorem. Estimate a numeric value with measurements only from this equipment. No screens. Mostly happy the with results! #iTeachPhysics 🎢
Pile of meter sticks, spring scales, friction blocks, digital scales, and bar masses.
0111
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
My physics 1st class started their home wiring design project today. Each group picked a room of a house, each room has requirements that need to be met. For example, the bathroom needs a ventilation fan that is connected to a switch, an overhead light on a different switch, a duplex outlet, etc.
1163
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
I gained followers, hello! I teach physics first to freshman and AP Physics 1 at a boarding school. Students are “graded” on competencies. If you are new to teaching physics or competencies, let me know if you need support or help. So many other awesome physics teachers have helped me along the way
190
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 15/11/2024
I’m teaching physics first to freshman this semester. Today, I gave them two circuit diagrams, each with a labeled battery voltage and resister values. The task was to write everything you know about each circuit and write any questions you have. This is called a goalless problem.
150
Reposted by Monica Owens
Marianna Ruggerio @msruggerio.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Recording this podcast for our local NPR was such a treat. I got to share the best parts of my job and the host, Peter Medlin, is just an amazing journalist. www.northernpublicradio.org/wnij-news/20...
northernpublicradio.org
A Rockford educator teaches us how to think like a physicist | Teachers' Lounge Podcast
"I don't need a student to like my class. I know that I've done my job when a student says, 'Oh my gosh, I can't drive my car without thinking about physics anymore!' or 'I'm always seeing physics thr...
0132
Reposted by Monica Owens
Physghoul 👻 🎃 @physgal.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
📍Welcome to the Women In STEM feed! 📍 Anyone can post to this feed using #WomenInSTEM Follow @afreeparticleemoji.bsky.social to post using one of these emojis: 👩‍🔬|👩🏻‍🔬|👩🏼‍🔬|👩🏽‍🔬|👩🏾‍🔬|👩🏿‍🔬
461460169
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 14/11/2024
Looks like more physics folks have found this place, hello! I need to get more into the habit of engaging on here and hopefully this is the push I need. Connections with great people on old Twitter helped me become the teacher I am today and I miss those experiences. 🎢
3331
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 13/11/2024
@jacobsphysics.bsky.social one of my students was talking about the school her brother attends… “I’m sure you’ve never heard of it… Woodberry Forest”. 😃
120
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 09/07/2024
This happened last night! So excited to have met Tatiana Erukhimova from Texas A&M.
080
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 09/07/2024
Last night was so exciting! Jocelyn Bell Burnell presented a talk “ and it was AMAZING! Also, I took a former student of mine that is doing graduate research work right now and we were able to get a picture with her. To share this experience with my student made my teacher heart full.💕
050
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 05/07/2024
Arriving in Boston today for the AAPT summer meeting. Let me know if you are also attending, would love to meet up with other physics folks! 🎢
2102
Reposted by Monica Owens
Jacobs Physics @jacobsphysics.bsky.social · 20/06/2024
I have a publication date! 5 Steps AP Physics 1 (and the C book) will be out Oct 15. Preorder here: #iteachphysics www.mhprofessional.com/5-steps-to-a...
mhprofessional.com
5 Steps to a 5: AP Physics 1
5 Steps to AP Physics 1 Exam Success!Teacher-Recommended and AP Expert-ReviewedReady to succeed in your AP Physics 1 course and ace the exam? This 5 Steps to a 5 guide is more than a review guide -- i...
081
Reposted by Monica Owens
Dan Chibnall @bookowl.bsky.social · 20/06/2024
This is such terrible news. Those researchers were indispensable in our quest to identify, understand, and fight misinformation & disinformation.
143
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 19/06/2024
Today’s adventure was a trip to Sleeping Bear Dunes. That’s a pic of Lake Michigan in the background. I did make it to the top of the climbing dune and was so proud of myself.
140
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 17/06/2024
Finished planning my trip to AAPT summer meeting. Who is going? Would love to catch up with folks. I’ve never been to Boston before and so excited! I can’t believe I get to see MIT and Harvard too!!!! 🎢
media.tenor.com
Science GIF
ALT: Science GIF
390
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 16/06/2024
Spending a week in Northern Michigan fishing with family. Too cold and windy for a day on the boat today so just enjoying down time and playing cards.
010
Reposted by Monica Owens
Rachel Lense is Professionally Curious @rachellense.bsky.social · 14/06/2024
I made this Pride flag using only NASA images and our team thought it would be cool to share on social (I work on the NASA heliophysics communications team), but it's getting all sorts of hate on the bird app and Fbook. Thought y'all might be more appreciative of it here. ☺️🏳️‍🌈💖
A pride flag with every color band represented by a NASA image. White is Earth clouds, pink is aurora, blue is the Sun in a specific wavelength, brown is Jupiter clouds, black is the Hubble deep field, red is the top of sprites, orange is a Mars crater, yellow is the surface of Io, green is a lake with algae, blue is Neptune, and purple is the Crab Nebula in a specific wavelength.
14225003919722
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 14/06/2024
Last week I finished up my first year at my new job and so grateful for the work I do there. I’m appreciated, supported, and have grown so much this year. I’m glad to find a place that has made me love teaching again! I also can’t believe it was my 27th year teaching.
140
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 25/03/2024
I’m changing out an old landline jack with a new one. I realize this has a low voltage (~48 volts). Do I need to disconnect power before working? I don’t even know how to do that since the power is from the phone company (I know this since the phone company visited our house due to an issue).
300
Reposted by Monica Owens
Misty Bentz @astronomisty.bsky.social · 17/03/2024
Happy 274th birthday, Caroline Herschel! If you don’t know her story, What'sHerName podcast tells it beautifully. whatshernamepodcast.com/caroline-her...
whatshernamepodcast.com
THE ASTRONOMER Caroline Herschel — What'shername
Hundreds of years ago, Caroline Herschel lived a real-life Cinderella story. Except instead of marrying a handsome prince, she became a world-renowned astronomer! Her brutal childhood was one of servi...
16126
Reposted by Monica Owens
caidid @caidid.bsky.social · 17/03/2024
I think this headline might be confused. He's not *predicting* it like some neutral fortune-teller, he's *threatening* it. He's telling his followers what to do if he loses.
reuters.com
Trump predicts the end of U.S. democracy if he loses 2024 election
Donald Trump said on Saturday if he does not win November's presidential election it will mean the likely end of American democracy.
1223266
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 16/03/2024
On Friday one of my students was recapping an episode of M*A*S*H. I gave him a weird look and he said “do you know that show?” And I’m like “wait, how do you know that show?”
310
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 16/03/2024
I ate lunch in 1978 today.
Pizza Hut
230
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 15/03/2024
I’m on spring break for the next two weeks! It’s a weird feeling because I wasn’t counting down the days & had slightly forgot about it. It’s an amazing (& weird) feeling, the result of switching to a job that supports me & is set up for positive mental health. I am so appreciative of this position!
030
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 15/03/2024
Tornadoes hit by my in laws and some of my friends. yesterday and it was fairly severe. They are safe but we have family that are first responders. I feel anxiety about knowing what’s going on because a lot of info is updated on FB and I don’t have my account thanks to hackers and no help from FB.
130
Reposted by Monica Owens
Spooky Back From The Dead Lazarus @jlazarus.bsky.social · 14/03/2024
Holy shit: Indiana governor signs bill tying both tenure and post-tenure review to "intellectual diversity." fox59.com/indianapolit...
fox59.com
Tenure-related Senate Bill signed by Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb recently signed Senate Bill 202, a higher education and tenure-related bill, into law. This bill, initially brought forward by the Indiana Senate, imp…
4114861
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 14/03/2024
I have a former student that wants to be an astrophysicist but doesn’t really know much about what a career in that looks like and I don’t really know either. How can I put him in touch with an astrophysicist to communicate with? 🎢
5158
Reposted by Monica Owens
Jonathan McDowell @planet4589.bsky.social · 13/03/2024
Pretty depressing day at work today with lots of staff updating their resumes as we grapple with NASA's decision to shut down Chandra, the world's only ever high resolution X-ray space telescope, still returning fabulous science discoveries. Still hoping this can be reversed
451487408
Reposted by Monica Owens
Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 13/03/2024
cosmosmagazine.com/science/phys...
3453104
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 14/03/2024
I think at this point it might be faster to get a computer science degree, work my way up (down?) to a job at FB, fix my account, and then quit. 🤣 Seriously, still need a solution… sigh…
000
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 13/03/2024
I’m teaching AP Physics 1 as a semester course and spent way more time than I intended on Unit 2. I’m so happy that extra time paid off when students showed amazing mastery of skills during Unit 3 and we were able to breeze through it. Morale of the story… a strong foundation is so important!
120
Reposted by Monica Owens
Alison Pearce Stevens @alisonpstevens.bsky.social · 13/03/2024
Just had a school cancel an upcoming author visit because my book talks about global warming. We just experienced the warmest winter in 130 years of record keeping. But we can't talk about it? 😡 My book empowers kids to take action and gives them hope. I'm so disappointed that they'll miss out.
9122
Reposted by Monica Owens
Saimi Hanma ⚔️ サイミ @saimihanma.northsky.social · 12/03/2024
Once upon a time I made a few of these completely unbiased infographics comparing invertebrates to the vertebrates that shares their name.
water bear vs brown bear infographic with key points of their life histories showing that water bears are infinitely cooler and more badass
14701208
Reposted by Monica Owens
Comfortably Numb @numb.comfortab.ly · 28/07/2023
Really good explainer why time zones really really suck.
youtube.com
The Problem with Time & Timezones - Computerphile
A web app that works out how many seconds ago something happened. How hard can coding that be? Tom Scott explains how time twists and turns like a twisty-tur...
0136
Reposted by Monica Owens
Karen Masters @karenlmasters.bsky.social · 11/03/2024
I like this school teacher friendly article about the upcoming solar eclipse. I'm planning to pass it on to the teachers at my kid's schools. 👩‍🔬🔭🎢🧪 www.edweek.org/teaching-lea...
edweek.org
The Solar Eclipse Is Coming. How to Make It a Learning Opportunity (Opinion)
The value of students observing this dramatic celestial phenomenon for themselves should be obvious, write two science educators.
23113
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 11/03/2024
I need advice. Someone hacked my FB account; bypassed 2 factor, changed the email associated with my account, changed the phone number; all of this with no notification from FB. I can’t seem to do anything to recover the account because my email & phone aren’t associated with the account. Any ideas?
231
Reposted by Monica Owens
Rhett Allain @rhettallain.bsky.social · 10/03/2024
This @veritasium video on blue led's tells an interesting story - BUT it also has the BEST explanation of semiconductors and how an LED works. BEST EVER. youtu.be/AF8d72mA41M?...
youtu.be
Why It Was Almost Impossible to Make the Blue LED
The blue LED was supposed to be impossible—until a young engineer proposed a moonshot idea. Head to https://brilliant.org/veritasium to start your free 30-da...
141
Reposted by Monica Owens
Jeanne Timmons @mostlymammoths.bsky.social · 10/03/2024
"During my 1st graduate committee meeting, just as I was starting to discuss my proposed project working w/crocodiles, a professor stopped me mid-sentence & said, 'Shouldn’t you work w/[something] more feminine? Something more cute and fuzzy?'" #WomenInSTEM #science canvasrebel.com/meet-dr-mari...
Dr. Marisa Tellez and a colleague sitting in a boat in the dark observing a small crocodile with headlamps.
44110
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 08/03/2024
My son decided he wanted to make maple syrup this year. He tapped trees, collected sap, boiled sap, and canned his syrup. This is batch 1, subsequent batches were much darker. It’s been a learning process, time consuming, and lots of trial and error but so much fun!
Boiling sapMaple syrup
020
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 06/02/2024
My AP Physics 1 class started Unit 2 today (we run on semesters) & got to see their first video with the infamous @jacobsphysics.bsky.social They really loved meeting Edna and didn’t know what to make of this photo I shared with them 🤣
Physics teachers
020
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 26/01/2024
My current Physics class started this month and is a one semester class. We have been working on Claim, Evidence, & Reasoning skills. I am beyond excited by how quickly my students are adapting & embracing CER when solving problems. I’m also impressed with their work ethic & attention to detail. 👏
030
Reposted by Monica Owens
W. Brian Lane (he/him), PhD @wbrianlane.bsky.social · 24/01/2024
Would whoever is teaching my students that any nonlinear graph is exponential please STOP 🎢
7184
Monica Owens @monicaowens.bsky.social · 25/01/2024
I am excited that my school just purchased a class set of Vernier’s Go Direct Carts and tracks. Please comment with your favorite lab, prefer AP Physics 1 activities but all are welcome. The only lab I’ve done is having two carts of different masses push away from each other, conservation of p. 🎢
551