Content area project I - Mathematics & Science
The information below reviews four online resources for teaching Science and Mathematics through digital simulations or learning objects.
Each resource has been reviewed briefly making general observations of ease of use, educational value, age appropriateness and my personal views as an educator. In addition more specific comments are made about the resources applicability to the content area, how it could be integrated and it's cost.
(1) Gizmos (https://www.explorelearning.com/) - NOT FREE ($$$$$)
This resource has been reviewed with a short video. Further to this review I signed up for a 30-day free individual account and have accessed some of the previously locked resources such as the Teacher Guide, Vocabulary Sheet and Student inquiry worksheet. I can add that these resources are fantastic, absolutely 10/10 tools to teach these concepts using an inquiry approach that any novice teacher to pick up and run with. They also provide the same sheets in Word format so experienced teachers can edit them. See samples below, including an instructional theory sheet with links to further web resources for investigation. What a resource! |
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| Student worksheet.pdf Download File Teacher guide.pdf Download File Student vocabulary sheet.pdf Download File |
(2) Edheads (http://www.edheads.org/) - FREE !
What an amazing little simulation game-based tool for STEM and careers education in high school. This site covers a long list of different careers in the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) field and ACTUAL jobs that you may perform in those roles. The games are FLASH based so would need to be run through a special browser (Recommended by the site - Puffin Browser) for mobile devices. The videos are categorised by grade level and have a high educational value as they are encouraging the learner to simulate real life scenarios and decision making. The games call on the learner to answer questions throughout and make judgements or comparisons based on given information - a perfect way to teach critical thinking. |
(3) CK-12 Simulations (http://interactives.ck12.org/simulations/) - FREE!
This site is another amazing find! I can't believe that these reviews just keep blowing my mind. This FREE site has the most incredible graphics, simulations and other educational resources that most teachers dream of finding online. According to my ICT director it uses a model built around OER (Online Educational Resources - shared for free online via OER Commons). You can even find a CK-12 reference in the OER information page on Wikipedia.
Okay so you've probably guessed my personal reaction, but my other general observations are also highly positive. The is a lot of variety in simulations and further resources with their FLEX textbook and PLIX math app. The FLEX seems to be a digital textbook creation tool inline with the likes of Apple's iTunes U or iBook where you can put together a course in their system. There is enormous depth to their educational tools, content is rated and tagged by concept and subject area. Tutorials abound and complete creativity exists for educators to make their own classes, their own textbooks, their own digital tools even. It truly is a hugely impressive feat what CK-12 have achieved here. In addition I discovered they have recently released integration with a popular international LMS called Canvas by INSTRUCTURE (we use that at my school) and also Google Classroom. That is powerful.
Below is a quick video review of one of the simulations along with a tutorial video from the site itself. Lastly there are some images of information about integration and demonstrating the class/group setup interface. The only downside for me at the moment is that it is solely US based and mapped only to the US Common core. But the positives far outweighs that little negative.
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(4) PhET (http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/math) - FREE!
The PhET simulations site is another fantastic resource for teachers. SImulations are categorised by Science area, Math, device availability and educational grade level. Many of the simulations have been updated from Flash to HTML5 but there are still a number that are Flash based. My initial personal reaction is the site looks a bit dated, but I think that is just because it has been around for a while and it is mostly university level Science based. University apps themselves don't tend to the slickness or Web2.0 looks that many school EDU sites have, eg. CK-12. However, the site has well structured search tools, teacher guides and tips for using PhET simulations in your lessons. The educational value is very high, as if used correctly, they will allow students to "test" their theoretical understanding in a live application. The functionality and access to the simulations is also well above other sites as the user can download sims for offline use, or embed them directly in to their learning management system. This is a huge win over more modern tools like the three tools reviewed above. Lastly the site also has the creativity function that allows users to create, upload and share their own simulations with the community. |
If you liked these reviews and would like to see a list of more Science and Maths resources just click here.
