Science Education Idea Exchange

 I stumbled upon these free simulations from ASU while looking for another activity I had used in the past. I am so glad! The simulation demonstrates how natural selection leads to the evolution of peppered moths. Students can choose to have a light-colored or dark-colored tree. They take on the role of birds hunting for the moths. The simulation has a timer and graphs the outcomes of the moths the students find. It is simple and easy to use and requires no prep work. I would use it alongside a worksheet, or have students generate questions to kickoff a unit on evolution.

How have I never posted about this amazing website before?!?  PhET has offered free simulations for many years. I just recently subbed in a class that was utilizing the density lab. What I love about it: It's free! Models of situations that would be impossible to show your students otherwise Ease of use Many models available Reliable- As mentioned before, their website has been running and updated for many years.

I found this website in my quest for new tools and simulations. It's called Gizmos . The screenshot below shows their photosynthesis activity.  The simulations are reminiscent of PhET from the University of Colorado Boulder . They look amazing, but I do not have a paid account to delve into it. You can look at the simulations for up to five minutes per day without an account. After that, you must sign up for an account. The free trial is offered for a limited time before a paid subscription is required. What other resources have you found?

For many years, we used the PBS website on photosynthesis as a webquest to give our students background information. It does a great job of explaining the process thoroughly. We easily spent a class period exploring and would regroup on the information the students learned. Check out this classic!

 Edheads has updated their site! I have to admit I have a vested interest since I helped create some of the content that is posted. What's new? STEM Mysteries   have students look at phenomena and pieces of evidence to reason why something unusual has taken place. This could be an ideal activity for a day you have a sub or as an introduction to NGSS. Check out the hard work we've done over the last two years!

 I found this website many years ago and was recently reminded of it. EdHeads has a few free simulations dealing with STEM topics, like simple machines. They are currently working on expanding their resources, so they are definitely worth following!

I had first heard of Legends of Learning when I was on a curriculum selection committee for my school. It looked like lots of fun and they had many games for students to play to learn. Don't get me wrong, CoolMathGames is popular, but not always the high caliber learning we're looking for. I noticed recently that they have free demo games. They're easy to use and there are some gems! To get started, do a web search using their name and the subject you're looking for. (I have not found a way to search their website directly.) If you happen to figure it out, please share in the comments below. :)

I decided to compile a list of free apps that I use in my classroom on the iPad Mini. General Classroom Use: BrainPOP: quick videos on various topics with quizzes at the end YouTube: so many videos. . .  KeyNote: PowerPoint equivalent for iPad Doceri: Drawing and notes tool Educreations: Drawing and notes tool that has a website.  Videos you create can be emailed and shared online Science 360: Current news articles and videos with an eye catching display ClassDojo: Allows teachers to track student behaviors and generate reports Earth Science: QuakeFeed: Shows current earthquakes on globe with magnitude EarthNow: Shows current statistics for the globe such as temperature and ocean surface salinity Planets: Current locations of planets and constellat...

I found this website for  some free online simulations that help explain motion, position, velocity, and acceleration in simple animation.

EvoDots is a program that is offered in a variety of formats so as to work with Macs and PC's. It allows students to go through and and see how a population changes over time. It starts with dots of various colors that you can alter speed, size, or visibility. It's simple but free, cheap and quick in demonstrating evolution.