Science+Resources

Science is valuable both in the classroom and our daily lives. Science is knowledge gained through questioning, observation, and investigation. Science enables children to discover the world around them and as teachers we can be guides for their adventures. Students are naturally curious about nature and the world around them, so science that uses inquiry based activities engages students. In the classroom, teachers teach science based on the National Standards and the State Standards for their particular state. It is important to follow the standards and create learning objectives that correlate to the standards in order to create success in the science classroom for students.
 * Science**

 The National Science Standards include:  I. Science as Inquiry

 II. Physical Science

 III. Life Science

 IV. Earth and Space Science

 V. Science and Technology

 VI. Science in Personal and Social Perspective

 VII. History and Nature of Science.

 We as teachers will not only use these standards to teach science, but will use them to incorporate technology into the classroom as well. Since students lives are surrounded by technology, using it in the classroom to enhance their learning will connect to their current knowledge and personal experiences. It will also allow them to become more engaged and interested in science.

 Using technology in the classroom will greatly enhance science content. Technology allows students to explore, engage, and elaborate on science content. This website is setup in order to allow teachers to explore different technologies to use in the classroom. The information below is arranged into different categories in order to help navigate through the materials easier.  Below you will find the following categories:
 * == Hardware ==
 * == Teacher Resources ==
 * == Student Activities and Games ==
 * == Student Resources ==

=Hardware =



The Elmo - http://www.elmousa.com/http://www.elmousa.com/
Jessica Teague - October 1st, 2009

The Elmo is great in the classroom because you don't have to use overhead transparencies, it can magnify any part of a document, and the students can watch or follow along as the teacher completes any form of worksheet including reading a book. The Elmo can be used for any paper you are trying to share during science! It is a great visual for students and it is convenient for the teacher. Many teacers today use this tool instead of an overhead transparency because of its convenience. The Elmo will greatly enhance the students engagement and excitment about learning science. The link below is to the Elmo's website which includes information about it, supports and downloads, Elmo news, and different distributors.



**The iClicker -** @http://www.iclicker.com/dnn/
Jessica Teague - October 1st, 2009

The iClicker is a great tool for science because it is wonderful for taking tolls and gathering data because it displays results instantly and it provides quick informal assessments. This is great in the classroom because it can either be a formal or informal way to assess students. Teachers could use it to just gather a general understanding of a topic, of they could use it for a formal assessment. students will enjoy using it and seeing that when they submit an answer it appears on the board, and tallies the different answers the rest of the class said. It is also great for individual and whole class discussion because students will indvidually input their answer, but once all the answers are displayed the class could discuss what the right answer is. The website above has information about the iClicker and why it is beneficial and easy to use in the classroom. It has a what's new section, how to register the iClicker and also has a bunch of extra resources for teachers.



The Computer - @http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/08/19/study-finds-that-online-education-beats-the-classroom/
Jessica Teague - October 1st, 2009

The computer is a great technology to use in the classroom because it is very convenient for conducting research, creating projects or visually displaying lessons. The article linked above talks about the benefits of using the computer in the classroom. It states "On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction." Over the past decade or so computers have greatly enhanced classrooms. Teachers rely on them for research, and students do as well. Computers enhance lessons by visually displaying them for the class to see, they allow students to take exams, and they are just an everyday part of our students lives. Incorporating the computer into everyday teaching in your classroom will greatly enhance students learning.



The iFlip - http://www.theflip.com/
Jessica Teague - October 1st, 2009 The iFlip is a great tool to have in any classroom because you can video and review experiments as well as create still shots. You can download all of the videos and pictures straight onto your computer where they can be displayed on the Smart board for the entire class to view. The link above is to the iFlip website where you can find more information on them, including prices, where to buy them, etc. They are a great asset to the classroom and could be used during any science experiment. Students will love to use them, they are very student friendly and easy to use. Also, documenting student learning is great to do, and other students in the school, parents, and administrators will enjoy to see what learning is occurring in the classroom.



The Digital Camera - @http://www.wacona.com/digicam/digicam.html
Jessica Teague - October 1st, 2009

The digital camera is also a wonderful technology to have in the classroom because it provides a visual display of students’ knowledge and it can also be used for other things such as photographing steps of an experiment or displaying final results of activities. The link above is a website about using digital cameras in the classroom. It has reasons why you should, how to get started, what you should be concerned about, and also has many lesson ideas. Documenting students work is a extremely important for both the teacher and the student. Students benefit due to feelings of appreciation, excitement, and hard work paying off. Teachers benefit because they can include parents, administrators, other classes, and can use photographs to reflect on their teaching.



Smart Board - @http://teach.fcps.net/trt27/smart_board_lessons.htm
Jessica Teague - October 1st, 2009

The Smartboard or Promethean Board are both wonderful advantages in a classroom. They do a wonderful job of engaging students in interactive lessons and they help to produce time efficient lessons. The link above is to a website with different smart board lessons that teachers could pull ideas from. Smart boards or Promethean boards are becoming more and more popular in the classroom and teachers are really beginning to understand their importance. Instead of children just looking a power point, the smart board allows students to come up to the board and interact with it. Students love to write on the board, answer questions on the board, or even play educational games.

Vernier


[] //Melanie Tucker October 20, 2009// Venier offers some really great technological products that can be used in the Elementary science classroom. A few products in particular are the different sensors they offer. They have light sensors, temperature sensors, gas sensors as well as many others you can use in the classroom. This is a great product for young students because it allows them to be really involved with the experiments. It is also a great tool for getting them engaged because they are in control of their own experiment. After being able to personally use a Vernier sensor I would definitely recommend using it in an Elementary classroom.

**Digital Microscope [[image:cutech:wikispace3.JPG width="585" height="333"]] **
//Ashley Keese October 21, 2009// The digital microscope is great technology to use in the classroom because it allows students to view a specimen at once. It also allows students to save images to the computer therefore allowing them to access and view the images later. Student can create a slide show from the images they have saved or viewed. Images can also print out. Some great qualities about the digital microscope is that it allows students to see finer depth and composition of specimen and to see specimen at different angles. The digital microscope is affordable for all teachers.



**Proscope @http://www.bodelin.com/proscopehr/**
Jessica Teague, October 21, 2009

The Proscope is an awesome technology to use in the classroom because it is of better quality than a regular microscope. It is also handheld, which allows students to move around an object and see it from all different perspectives. The students can examine an object and it will be displayed on a computer screen, which is much better than students have to take turns looking through a lense. It is big and visible for all students to see and analyze. Students could use the proscope in a variety of different science experiments and the teacher could even explain to students that proscopes are even used in real life. Tell students it is used on CSI and crime scene shows and even used in those situations in real life. Students will feel like real scientists or crime scene investigators when using the proscope. The website linked above describes how proscopes work, where you can buy them, the software needed, different lenses and kits, and provides support. Although proscopes are more on the expensive side, they are definitely engaging for students and are worth investigating and using in your classroom.

= Teacher Resources =



Our Solar System - http://www.planet-science.com/randomise/index.html?page=/planet10/
Jessica Teague - October 1st, 2009

This website would be a great resource for teaching about our solar system and the Earth. It is interactive and visual and will really help students to visualize what they solar system looks like. A lesson as about the solar system and Earth is challenging because students do not really have a concept of what they are, how large they are, or what they look like. This website allows for a virtual tour where you can visit each planet, look at the solar system from different points of view, and get a relative distance of how far away certain planets are from the sun and the Earth. There is also a tool on her called word builder. This would be a great application activity because students have to use their own knowledge and create their own worlds. This is a great activity that students would really enjoy.

[[image:cutech:Froguts.JPG width="225" height="169"]] www.froguts.com
Melanie Tucker- October 2, 2009

The Virtual Dissection (Froguts.com) tool is a cool technology to use in Science because it saves money and animals as well as giving you the opportunity to dissect multiple mediums including both plants and animals. You can also buy one program for a reasonable price that can be downloaded to every computer in the school. This activity is great for students because it always gives the results you are looking for as opposed to a Science experiment when your results can sometimes be unpredictable.



**http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/explore_by_ pic/science_nature.html.**
//Jessica Teague, October 15, 2009// Smithsonian Education is a great website for teachers and students to explore. There are many themes regarding science that students and teachers could use for their studies that would enhance their learning. Teachers could use this site as a reference and a teaching tool, while students can use it to do activities and explore certain science topics. Teachers can show audio videos of Apollo 11, virtual representations of plate tectonics, and learn about big cats and polar animals. This site can give teachers new ideas on how to discuss certain topics, and is interactive and engaging to explore.

ZOHO
www.zoho.com

// Melanie Tucker, October 21, 2009 // ZOHO is a great website to use in the classroom especially in a Science classroom. It offers so many different applications and an added benefit is that it is completely free! ZOHO allows you to create documents, spreadsheets, presentation shows, as well as display projects and reports. This would be very beneficial in the Science classroom because it would allow students to personally display their results from experiments or simulations. ZOHO is very user friendly and it is a safe site that would allow the students to manage their own projects and results. Another benefit is that it is an online program that stores all of their information online so that it can be accessed from other computers in the school.

@http://www.hometrainingtools.com/default.asp Jessica Teague November 4th, 2009

This website could be very beneficial to science teachers, as well as all teachers. Ever wonder where you can get science kits to use in the classroom? Well, here it is! This is a great website for teachers to go to and look for science kits for their classroom. There are lots of science kits to choose from located under the different strands of science: life science, earth and space science, physical science, chemistry, and technology. This is a great resource for teachers who are unsure where to purchase hands-on materials for students. What's also nice about this site, is the kits are reasonable in price. Also, students who are interested in certain science topics can use this website to purchase kits themselves or look at different books. Other neat features about this resource include, articles for teachers to read, science gift ideas, books, and science project ideas. Overall, this is a very helpful source for teachers to use to purchase science kits for their classroom.

[[image:http://fitandsexed.com/wp-content/uploads/lifehacker.png height="156"]]
__ **Melanie Tucker** __ __**November 5, 2009** __ __ **[|http://lifehacker.com/185817/the-instant-online-whiteboar]d** __

=
Another great tool to use in the Science classroom is an online whiteboard called LifeHacker. This tool is really great for Science in particular because it allows you to draw lines, create graphs, draw shapes, create stamps, and write text. This is useful when displaying data results or connecting new ideas to prior knowledge. Lifehacker also helps the lesson to move quicker. By having a program that will draw shapes and create graphs for you, you don’t have to spend class time doing preparatory tasks. A great thing about Lifehacker is that it is very kid friendly leaving room for the opportunity to have students come up to the board and interact with this really great tool.=====

@http://my.lovelycharts.com/ Jessica Teague - November 17, 2009 A great tool to use in the science classroom is Lovely Charts. This is a free online diagramming program that allows teachers to create concept maps, web diagrams, site maps, etc. Instead of struggling to make diagrams on Microsoft word, or other Microsoft applications, Lovely Charts allows teachers to create web diagrams much easier. You can easily choose what type of shape you want to use in the web, you can choose the colors you want to use, and you can insert text and images into chart. Another aspect of Lovely Charts that makes it great is when you choose a shape to insert into the web and then decide not to use it, you can just drag it back to the toolbar and it is gone. While this is a great tool for teachers to use to organize thoughts and concepts, students can also use Lovely Charts. During a unit project, an assignment, or in their free time, students can create their own concept maps or web diagrams. Overall this is a great tool to use in science especially because concept maps are important for understanding science content. In the Elementary Science curriculum there are several concepts including plant life cycles, animal life cycles, predator-prey relationships, moon phases, etc. that could be greatly enhanced with the technological tool, Lovely Charts.

= Student Activities and Games =

Addie Bowers Oct. 2, 2009
 * //__Interactive Software Site__//**

[] Sheppard Software creates educational software for the enhancement of classroom experience. This is a free site that Sheppard Software provides for students and teachers. This site contains hundreds of educational games, activities, quizzes, articles, and more. This site has a lot to offer to both students and teacher. This site was voted "Fun Site of the Week" by CNN. They called both terrific and educational. <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> //Addie Bowers October 15, 2009// <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> //[| http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/]// <span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"> Science Kids is an informative interactive site that is useful for both teacher and student who want to explore the world of science. This site has lessons, games, quizzes, videos, projects, and experiments for nearly every science topic. It caters to a wide range of age groups or skill levels. This site has a lot to offer and has tons that could be used in the classroom.

[[image:cutech:Funology.gif]]
[] Addie Bowers October 23, 2009 This site is both fun and interactive. It contains a lot of really fun activities that would be excellent for getting students involved in science. This would be a site that students could explore themselves either during stations or free time. It will allow teacher to have their students explore scientifically while thinking they are playing a game!

= Student Resources =



//Ashley Keese Oct. 2, 2009//
The Biology 4 Kids website is a cool tool to use in Science because it provides information about plants, cells, microorganisms, invertebrates, vertebrates, and animal systems. The website also provides information on some other topics such as atoms, matter, periodic table, sound waves, solar systems, and climates. The website includes activities such as quizzes, videos, and slideshows.



http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/explore_by_ pic/science_nature.html.
//Jessica Teague, October 15, 2009// Smithsonian Education is a great website for teachers and students to explore. There are many themes regarding science that students and teachers could use for their studies that would enhance their learning. Teachers could use this site as a reference and a teaching tool, while students can use it to do activities and explore certain science topics. Teachers can show audio videos of Apollo 11, virtual representations of plate tectonics, and learn about big cats and polar animals. This site can give teachers new ideas on how to discuss certain topics, and is interactive and engaging to explore.



//Ashley Keese October 23, 2009//
Zoom is a television show that has students complete and test science experiments. It also provides information about different things that happen because of science. The Zoom site an interactive site that is useful for kids and teachers. The site has games, activities, information about the cast of the show and a look at behind the scenes. The activities on this site are experiments that teachers can have their students complete in the classroom. The experiment range from chemistry experiments to experiments about water. The experiment provides instructions, materials, and results from other people who have completed the experiment. There is one game on the site that is about acids and bases that a teacher could have her students play.

[] Addie Bowers November 5, 2009

Thsi site is a classroom resource. This site provides educational videos for each of the five major subjects. The science area of this site has numerous sections including everything from famous scientist to the weather. The videos on this site are high quality and very informative. This site requires a fee, but offers a five day trial which would allow you to decide if it would be a good addition to your classroom.

<span style="color: #663300; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">

//Ashley Keese November 6, 2009//
The Chem 4 Kids website is a cool tool to use in Science because it provides information about matter,atoms, elements, reactions, biochemistry, and et cetera., The websites includes other information about the periodic table, elements, and the families the elements are in. The website also includes activities such as quizzes that teachers can used to test their students.

**http://www.koshland-science- museum.org/**
//Ashley Keese December 2, 2009// This site is the Science Museum of the National Academy of Sciences. This site provides information about the museum. It also provides information of when the museum opens and hands-on activities that a teacher could teach to her students. This site provides a way for teachers to sign up so their students could take a field trip to this museum. The trip offers a free bus ride and lots of information about scientific data and explanations.