Science – Page 23 – iLearn Technology

NASA Images

June 17, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment4167 views

What it is: NASA Images is a website where you can find amazing images of the universe, solar system, earth, aeronautics and astronauts. In addition to images, you will find video and audio collections in this easily searchable digital library. The site has a picture timeline of spaceflight, collections of images, audio, and video, and presentations created by users. The content on NASA images is not under copyright so it can be used without express permission. This means that you and your students can use the high quality images, HD video, and audio in slideshows, movies, classroom websites, blogs, and interactive whiteboard notebooks.

How to integrate NASA Images into the classroom: This is an incredible collection of resources. Students and teachers can use them to enhance any space unit. This site will excite students and build interest around space exploration, aeronautics, and astronomy. Create your own planetarium or journey through space and share with an interactive whiteboard or in a slide show presentation with a projector. Students could create a blog or wiki all about their ‘travels’ through space for other students and parents to view. NASA Images even offers the tools to build a presentation right on the site. Presentations can then be embedded on other websites, wikis, or blogs.

Tips: NASA Images is updated regularly, check back for the newest additions.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using NASA Images in your classroom.

The Why Files

June 11, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2169 views

What it is: Colorado has had some extreme weather conditions in the past week. With tornadoes, rain, rainbows, and hail, The Why Files seemed like a fitting site to highlight today. The Why Files bring science to life virtually. Students can make rainbows, control a tornado, play with lightning, and build a snowflake. If only the real weather was this easy to control! The Why Files begin each interactive with a brief “why” of how the weather occurrence works, students can read all about the occurrence and even get a link where they can learn more. The fun starts when the students enter the interactive where they can control the weather.

How to integrate The Why Files into the classroom: The Why Files are amazing interactives that will help your students to better understand the science behind weather. This is a great site to use with an interactive whiteboard, invite students to take turns interacting with the weather. Read the paragraph before the interactive as a class. After the students have ‘controlled’ the weather, go back to the information page and follow the link to additional information. Your students will want to know more after playing with the interactive! The Why Files makes a great science center on classroom comupters while students are learning the science behind weather. Students can visit the center in teams and take notes in an observation journal recording their experiences about controlling the weather.

Tips: Check out some of the other goodies on the site: “The Why Files produces a new story each week, alternating longer features with shorter shorties. We also post a series of interactive science animations, the ever-popular “Cool Science Images,” and a series of Teacher Activity Pages linked to the national science teaching standards. Eager to explain the science behind the news, our home page reprises older stories that become relevant to the headlines.”

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using The Why Files in your classroom.

Creaza

June 4, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments5613 views

What it is: Creaza is a suite of web-based creativity tools. There are four tools in the Creaza toolbox that will help your students organize knowledge and tell stories in new creative ways. Mindomo is the mind mapping tool. Students can use this tool to organize thoughts, ideas, links, and other information visually. Mindomo is the perfect tool for exploring new material, looking at connections, and organizing thoughts for further development. The mind map topics can contain media files, links, and text. Cartoonist is a cartooning tool that students can use to create multimedia stories. Cartoonist can be used to create comic strips or more personal digital narratives. The finished product can be viewed online or printed out. (Check out the video demo to learn how to use this tool.) Movie Editor helps students produce their own movies based on Creaza’s thematic universes, video, images, and sound clips. Students can use the Movie Editor to edit a short film, create a news cast, a commercial, a film trailer, etc. Movie Editor can import film clips, sound clips and images to tell a story. Audio Editor is the final tool in Creaza’s creative suite. Audio Editor is a tool that allows your students to produce audio clips. Students can use Audio Editor to splice together their own newscasts, radio commercials, radio interlude, etc.

How to integrate Creaza into the classroom: Creaza is a great suite of online tools that allow students to display learning creatively. The Media and Audio editors follow established conventions for sound and media editing complete with timelines. Using this online software will be a nice introduction to more robust media and audio editors. Mindomo is a great way for students connect new and existing knowledge. It is also a nice place for students to plan out a story. Cartoonist and Movie Editor are great tools that provide students with a creative outlet for telling a story. Allow students to show their understanding of a period in history by creating a cartoon about it. Display a new science concept in Movie Editor complete with voice over. Students could create a short video or radio type commercial for a book that they read in place of a traditional book report. The uses for are limitless, you will think of many ways for your students to use this creative suite to display knowledge.

Tips: Cartoonist is the only tool that has a video demo, this is a great way to teach your students how to teach themselves. Encourage students to learn how to use this tool by watching the video demo first and working with the tool. Movie Editor does take a little bit of playing with to figure out how to use it, give your students a day to play with the tools so that they get a handle on how it all works.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Creaza in your classroom.

The Hobby Shop

May 8, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments3167 views

What it is: The Hobby Shop is an amazing interactive site where students can learn about science. Students can learn about a compound microscope, dissecting microscope, catapults, chemistry, and rockets. Each section of the hobby shop is completely interactive and has students discovering learning through virtual experimentation. Students can look through microscopes, each step of the way they are taught how to do things like prepare petri dishes, and clean up properly afterward. In the chemistry lab students can create an ingredient found in chalk, make a chemical used in photography, make liquids change colors, or test chemicals for electrical conductivity. Students are led through each step of an experiment just as they would do it in an actual lab. There is an interactive periodic table of elements that students can use to learn about different elements. Students can create their own rocket in the rocket lab choosing the body, nose cone, and fins of a rocket and then test it out. Students can also test out catapults with water balloons.

How to integrate Hobby Shop into the classroom: Hobby Shop is a wonderful place for students to experiment and interact with science in preparation for doing the experiment in class. It is interactive enough to take the place of experiments where the science budget doesn’t allow for a class set of materials. I am SO impressed with the way that this site leads students through each step of the process to complete an experiment. Use this site with the whole class using an interactive whiteboard, invite students to come up to the board and conduct the experiment. This site is also perfect for use as a science center in the one or two computer classroom or for individual use in a computer lab environment.

Tips: Check out the Teacher Resources for standard alingment, correlating worksheets, and other pdf files.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using The Hobby Shop in your classroom.

Happy Teacher Appreciation Week!!

May 4, 2009Kelly Tenkely1 Comment2972 views

What it is: This week (May 4-8) is teacher appreciation week. To show their appreciation, Learning A-Z is holding an open house to their fantastic collection of learning resources. This means that for one week you can access all online resources for free from Raz-Kids, Reading a-z, Science a-z, Writing a-z, Vocabulary a-z, and Reading Tutors. Raz Kids is a student centered website where students can listen to and read books online independently. Reading a-z is filled with thousands of printable and projectable resources including books, activity sheets, and assessments. Science a-z includes multilevel books, activity sheets, process activities and more. All are categorized by grade and topic. Writing a-z is a collection of resources to help teach basic writing skills. Vocabulary a-z is a website with a word bank of more than 8,000 words. The words are categorized by content area, functional, and resource. With this site teachers can build vocabulary lessons with activities for multiple exposures to words that leads to word mastery. Reading Tutors provides online resource packets for those tutoring kids in reading. It covers key reading areas from phonics to comprehension.

How to integrate Learning a-z into the classroom: The collection of resources accessible in Learning a-z is incredible. Take advantage of this teacher appreciation week freebie and start using Learning a-z materials in your classroom.

Tips: Sign up for a free pass during this open house week. Enjoy!

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Learning a-z in your classroom.

The Children’s University of Manchester

April 30, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2690 views

What it is: The Children’s University of Manchester is a site created by the University of Manchester that has some excellent mini-lessons and interactive lessons for students on a variety of science, history, literacy, and art topics. Topics include the body and medicines, energy and the environment, ancient Egypt, the earth and beyond, teeth and eating, micro organisms, the brain and senses, talking textiles, and words. Each lesson is like an interactive text book where students are engaged in and discover learning. Each lesson includes an interactive lesson, downloadable resources, educational games, and videos. The level of interaction is outstanding for helping students to learn about each topic.

How to integrate The Children’s University of Manchester into the classroom: The interactive lessons on this site are perfect for instructing whole class using an interactive whiteboard. During the interactive lesson, students can be called on to interact with the material. Most lessons will have enough opportunities to involve the whole class. The site is also ideal for individual instruction in the computer lab setting. Introduce students to a new topic with these mini lessons, videos, and educational games that can be expanded on as part of a larger unit. These mini-lessons begin with a bio of a scientist, historian, etc. in the field of the topic. Read these bio’s together as a class and discuss these real-world applications to the topic being studied.

Tips: Computers will need Flash installed to display The Children’s University of Manchester lessons, games, and interactive activities.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using The Children’s University of Manchester in your classroom.

Popling

April 28, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments4043 views

What it is: Popling is a free website and desktop application. Their motto is “Learning without Studying”. The idea is to make your own Poplings (flash card sets) and every few minutes (you determine the amount of time) while you work at the computer, a window pops up on the screen with your question. Click on it to see the full question. That is all there is to it, studying without really studying.

How to integrate Popling into the classroom: Popling is a little goodie that could help students in their learning. Set up classroom computers with Poplings about any subject. As students are working they can also be practicing math facts, vocabulary, geography, etc. Better yet, have students create the Popling sets! In the computer lab setting, create Popling flash cards that will quiz students about Internet safety, terminology, or short cuts while they work. It is like sneaking in extra learning, gotta love that! Encourage students to use Popling as a study tool at home…they can study for tests for weeks without it feeling like studying. Install Popling on your interactive whiteboard or projector connected computer. As you are teaching, have related questions popup. This will keep your students engaged watching for the next Popling.

Tips: Tell parents about Popling, they are always looking for great ideas for helping their kids with studying.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Popling in your classroom.

Virtual Forest Challenge

April 28, 2009April 28, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments3193 views

What it is: Scholastic and Nature’s Source have teamed up to create the Virtual Forest Challenge game to help students understand how their actions have real implications in local and global ecosystems. The game leads students through a variety of virtual environments and along the way asks them to make decisions about how they would act in the ecosystem they are in. If students answer correctly (make the correct decision) they continue in the game. If they answer incorrectly, they are offered the correct answer accompanied by an explanation.

How to integrate Virtual Forest Challenge into the classroom: Virtual Forest Challenge would be a good site to use in conjunction with Earth Day. However, since the principals of Earth Day are valid year round, it can be used any time throughout the year. This would be a great challenge to take on as a class with an interactive whiteboard or projector. As students make decisions in the virtual world, discuss why one option is better for the ecosystem than another. Virtual Forest Challenge would also be a good challenge for students to take on solo in the computer lab setting.

Tips: Visit the Teacher Resource section for some great accompanying lesson plans and resources. Here you will find a Community Planting guide, a Community Planting poster, a lesson plan about the delicate balance between people and the ecosystems we are a part of, and a lesson about Our Community Past Present and Future.

Educational Videos

April 24, 2009Kelly Tenkely2 Comments4174 views

What it is: Educational videos can be expensive, out of date, or hard to find. Happily there are a few sites working to make it easier to access educational videos for free. PBS has always been known for their great educational material. They have hosted videos on their site for some time but they were not located in one place where they could be easily sorted through. Now PBS has PBS video, all the great PBS material in one easy-to-search place. You can browse these videos by program, topic, or keyword search. All videos are on demand, I have been impressed with the quality! Another great website for on demand free videos is American History in Video by History Education. American History in Video has more than 5,000 titles in its collection! The videos allow students to analyze historical events, and look at the events over time through commercial and governmental newsreels, archival footage, public affairs footage, and important documentaries. Students and teachers can search videos by year, historical event, people, places, subjects, and by keyword. This is an outstanding collection of free on demand history video!

How to integrate Educational Videos into the classroom: Video is an amazing medium for teaching. It brings textbooks to life and helps students to relate to history and science in new ways. Kids often find history boring and I believe one of the reasons is that they haven’t had enough life experiences to relate what they are learning to prior knowledge. Video helps them make connections that reading a textbook can’t do. Use these videos as an introduction to learning, as a reinforcement during learning, or embedded in lessons.

Tips: Always make sure you watch a video in its entirety before showing it to a class. Sometimes content may not be age appropriate or as on topic as you would have guessed.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Educational Videos in your classroom.

APTE Curious Minds Click

April 23, 2009Kelly TenkelyLeave a Comment2488 views

What it is: The APTE Curious Minds Click website lets students and teachers create e-puzzles that can be sent and played online. You can create your own online Crosswords, Word Scrambles, Anagrams, and Secret Codes. These puzzles can then be played online and sent as an email.

How to integrate APTE Curious Minds Click into the classroom: Create your own online puzzles for students to play based on any curriculum or subject you are studying. Puzzles are a fun way for students to practice new vocabulary, spelling words, and new content. Students can create their own puzzles based on curriculum for classmates to solve. Students will love creating puzzles for their classmates and solving puzzles that have been created for them.

Tips: In addition to creating your own puzzles, you can solve puzzles that others have created.

Leave a comment and tell us how you are using APTE Curious Minds Click in your classroom.