Science Education Idea Exchange

I heard another educator say we are teaching the YouTube generation, so why not embrace it? Videos are truly powerful resources for teachers. Early in teaching middle school, I had a mentor who used Eureka! videos to teach concepts. They are a little bit dated, but they are short, easy to follow, and provide silly examples to walk students through scientific principles. The only way I have found them is on YouTube, but I am sure there are better ways that don't infringe on the rights of the creator.

One tool that offers a free introduction to try is Educreations . It allows you to create and share videos with your students. It is user-friendly and now has the capability to be shared on Google Classroom and Remind. This is especially ideal for a flipped and self-paced classrooms, as well as distance learning. The drawback is there is not too much storage on the free version, maybe a couple videos at most.

Summary: Create videos that students watch and are asked questions as they view the video. Advantages:  EdPuzzle communicates with Google Classroom and can be assigned to students through it.  Students can watch videos at their own pace.  The video will pause if the students click off the screen. There are several videos already created by other teachers that you can modify and save to fit your needs. Helps with e-Learning since you can create an interactive lesson for your students. Collaborating with other teachers in your building is easy. Disadvantages: I have not figured out how to record their scores for the videos, if that is something you are interested in. Use: 1. Create your account and search for videos on whatever topic you're interested in. (You can also upload your own video to start from scratch.) 2. When you select a video, you have the option to edit, copy, assign, or share. Editing- allows you to modify the video to your needs ...

I absolutely love creating content! Since I'm finding myself at home with some extra time on my hands, I have decided to create a Teachers Pay Teachers account that can be found clicking here . I am pretty excited. I am going to try to be more faithful about updating my blog with resources I find and to share with you current projects I have in the works. Since we are all at home, I have been creating some escape/breakout/puzzle rooms by request for my friend's children. So far, I have a Lego, birthday, Star Wars, and Disney themed games. If you are interested in a specific puzzle room idea, let me know in the comments below and I will give you free access to a copy before I post it on my store. I appreciate the help generating ideas and enjoy creating them to help get kids engaged. I have also created some very basic clip art. Maybe not the most amazing things you've seen, but once again, I had fun. If you go to my store, you can download ones like below for fre...

Another great free resource is the Teaching Channel . I used it when I was looking for ideas on teaching middle schoolers integers. On the website, I found a video and lesson plan for a scenario a teacher set up for her students to make it more tangible. They email weekly with videos on various topics, like common core.

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...

TeacherTube is a website that you can use to find educational videos for the classroom. It is one free way that you can sort through all the advertisements and unrelated to find appropriate videos.