Science Educator.net

Everything I use in my science classroom! I'm always looking to add another site here, feel free to share your sites with me.

• Cells Alive! www.cellsalive.com/ The *BEST* site to use when teaching about animal or plant cells. Includes information on size relative to other objects, meiosis, mitosis, and much more. Really really awesome site! Great for visual learners. Posted at 6:57pm on Thu, Jan 01 2009

• National Science Teachers Association~ Elementary Classroom www.nsta.org/elementaryschool/?lid=hp If you teach science, you should become a part of the NSTA. They provide amazing resources, lots of online goodies, and they strive to bring better science education into the classroom. Posted at 6:59pm on Thu, Jan 01 2009

• Science Teaching & Learning Resources free.ed.gov/subjects.cfm?subject_id=41 This Federal Government site offers a long list of great sites that covers a broad range of sciences. Posted at 8:09pm on Mon, Jul 20 2009

• Science Teachers' Resource Center chem.lapeer.org/ Provides resources on many different science labs for higher grades. Covers AP Biology, AP Chemistry, Life Science, and Physics. Posted at 8:11pm on Mon, Jul 20 2009

• AAAS's Science NetLinks: Resources for Teaching Science www.sciencenetlinks.com/ AAAS provides some really interesting topics for science teachers at this site. The site includes lessons, tools, resources, and also provides a great resource to look at learning benchmarks. Includes various inquiry-based activities for all grades K-12. Posted at 8:21pm on Mon, Jul 20 2009

• The Habitale Planet www.learner.org/courses/envsci/ The Habitable Planet is a multimedia course for high school teachers and adult learners interested in studying environmental science. The Web site provides access to course content and activities developed by leading scientists and researchers in the field. Posted at 6:06pm on Sat, May 29 2010

These are some great sites that I use to learn more about using technology in classrooms. Learn what others are doing in theirs and what research shows us about using technology.

• The Journal of Virtual Worlds and Education www.jvweducation.org/ The Journal of Virtual Worlds and Education is a peer-reviewed journal that will present the best writing and thinking available about Virtual Worlds and their applications and implications for the field of education. Posted at 3:41pm on Tue, Aug 11 2009

Technology I have found useful in my own classroom!

• Jing www.jingproject.com/ You can do so much with this! If there's an image you need, you can do a screen shot and save it to your computer. You can also do a video recording of your computer screen--- it will also record your voice if you have a mic plugged in! It's a great way to do an online lesson and share it with your students. Best of all this software is completely FREE! Posted at 12:53am on Mon, Dec 22 2008

• SimplyBox simplybox.com/main Think "visual bookmarks"! Instead of having a long list of links for students and educators to check out, you can provide little screenshots of a site that are most important to a lesson/topic. Then invite others to comment and drop in their own resources. Free accounts are available. Posted at 8:09pm on Fri, Jun 12 2009

• EverNote evernote.com/ What I really like about this is that it's a virtual notebooks of everything you can collect--- whether it be typed, images, WHATEVER! From the site: Evernote allows you to easily capture information in any environment using whatever device or platform you find most convenient, and makes this information accessible and searchable at any time, from anywhere. Did we mention that it's free? Posted at 8:10pm on Fri, Jun 12 2009

• PBWorks-- Free Wiki Site pbworks.com/ Expand your classroom to the net and start sharing with others what your students are learning. I'm using this site to provide SAFE, FREE, and PRIVATE Wiki's for my whole grade level to use in sharing science data. Posted at 5:27pm on Mon, Jul 20 2009

• VoiceThread voicethread.com/#home This is an amazing Web 2.0 tool that will allow you to post up an image/video and hold a discussion anywhere with your students about it. Suddenly discussions don't end when the bell does! Hit "Browse" at the site and take a look at what you could do with your students by using VoiceThread. Posted at 8:24pm on Mon, Jul 20 2009

To spark imagination and understanding in my students, I use alot of cool images. Here are some resources that I use to find them.

• Glitter for your Lessons dollzmaniaglitter.com/ I love flashy glittery images to make a spark in powerpoint lessons. This site doesn't have very girly glitter, so guys feel free to use it too! Cons: It only lets you type up to so many spaces Pros: You can easily save it to your computer and it doesn't stick on those annoying site banners! Posted at 12:48am on Mon, Dec 22 2008

• Google Image Search images.google.com/ The very best way to find images for your lessons. Try to be creative when you're searching--- use a bunch of different words and also turn OFF "SafeSearch". SafeSearch can sometimes take away some great images for you to use. Posted at 12:50am on Mon, Dec 22 2008

• Photobucket--- Search Images www.photobucket.com Want to see what other people are collecting for different image searches? I also love using Photobucket to find festive and educational images for my lessons. You can either save the images to your own Photobucket account --or-- save the images to your computer! Posted at 12:51am on Mon, Dec 22 2008

• Discovery Science Clip-Art school.discoveryeducation.com/clipart/category/scie0.html A free site of science related clip-art for your classroom usage. If you can't see an image for what you need, I recommend doing a search (upper left of the site). Has clip-art for other subjects, themes, etc as well! Posted at 1:58am on Sun, Jan 04 2009

Sites that meet the needs of educators, K-12, of all subjects.

• Ning www.ning.com/ We all use myspace or facebook--- why not create a social network JUST for your fellow educators in your school, grade level, or district. From what I've seen this is a new-ish web-site that allows you to have a safe community to discuss what's going on in your school and how to improve your curriculum and classroom management. It's a great tool for professional development and my academy now uses it during professional development days. Posted at 1:16pm on Mon, Mar 02 2009

• Independent School Educators Network isenet.ning.com/ Provided through www.ning.com!! Think of this as a facebook for private/independent educators. We discuss topics there, we can post pictures, network with other educators, and blog about our experiences. If you're a part of this special area of education, feel free to join and share your wisdom. Posted at 1:18pm on Mon, Mar 02 2009

• A to Z Stuff Forums forums.atozteacherstuff.com/index.php An excellent forum dedicated to educators in all grades and subjects. Includes areas for student teachers, job seekers, art teachers, subs, etc. I have received so many ideas about how to be a better teacher from this place! Posted at 11:09am on Sat, May 29 2010

Need an idea for a Homework assignment? Check out these sites! Homework should be meaningful and reinforce what was learned in class~ these sites help meet the needs of educational assignments.

• Discovery Puzzlemaker puzzlemaker.discoveryeducation.com/ Normally, I'm not a huge fan of puzzles as homework assignments. They don't always meet the needs of our students or do a good job of reinforcing what was learned in class. My suggestion is this. DO NOT GIVE THEM THE WORDS! Suggest that they go through their notes and look for vocabulary that fit the examples and definitions. You could also offer them some web-sites to visit and let them know that they can find the answers there! Posted at 2:02am on Sun, Jan 04 2009

• Google Documents docs.google.com/ I put this as a homework tool though it can be used in class and actually ANYWHERE! When my students have to complete projects together, they sign on to Google docs, start writing out their thoughts at home and it instantly shares any changes/additions with the partner. Yes, live editing! It can do spreadsheets, documents, Powerpoints, etc. It has a cool figure that you can leave comments in the document too--- have students send you their files and provide feedback right away. Posted at 8:13pm on Fri, Jun 12 2009

A collection of sites that offer excellent research-based information on what educators should be doing in their science classrooms.

• Project 2061: Benchmarks for Science Literacy www.project2061.org/publications/bsl/online/index.php?home=true Learn exactly what science content to include, when to teach what subjects, and why. Shows what students should know or do by the end of grades 2, 5, 8, and 12. Par of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Project 2061. Posted at 11:07am on Sat, May 29 2010

• National Science Education Standards www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=4962#content A definitive source for science teaching, professional development, assessment, program, and content standards. Posted at 11:11am on Sat, May 29 2010

• Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards www.nap.edu/openbook.php?record_id=9596 Gain deeper understanding of what the Standards call for inquiry-based learning means. And read about detailed examples of when, why, and how to best employ this engaging approach to teaching and learning. Posted at 11:13am on Sat, May 29 2010

• AAAS Science Literacy Maps strandmaps.nsdl.org/ A tool for teachers and students to find resources that relate to specific science and math concepts. The maps illustrate connections between concepts as well as how concepts build upon one another across grade levels. A part of the American Association for the Advancement of Science's Project 2061. Posted at 11:17am on Sat, May 29 2010

There are many valuable resources out there to help out today's science teacher. The internet is a great resource for online books and allows the teacher to save $$$.

• Rubrics for Assessing Student Achievement in Science, Grades K-12 books.google.com/books?id=mWeuiZN8cLUC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Rubrics+for+assessing+student+achievement+in+science&source=bl&ots=-tABlk7i5h&sig=GbTUSd9TlwdhJS925r-uE3unyBs&hl=en&ei=gGoBTJSoCsK88gbKtKjqDQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CC0Q6AE Author: Hays B. Lantz Jr.//Corwin Press A great book that includes many different rubrics for teachers and students to use. Many of the rubrics allow for the student to self-assess their own work, which adds to the discussion of learning between teacher and student. Posted at 3:33pm on Sat, May 29 2010

• Linking Science & Literacy in the K-8 Classroom www.isbnlib.com/preview/1933531010/Linking-science-and-literacy-in-the-K-8-classroom Incorporating science into language arts is not only possible but also practical and this online book will show you how. It describes the interdisciplinary connections, then case stories explain how teachers actually made the curriculum connections in their classrooms. Posted at 3:39pm on Sat, May 29 2010

• Stepping Up to Science & Math: Exploring the Natural Connections books.google.com/books?id=cDGDCMWNQo0C&printsec=frontcover&dq=stepping+up+to+science+and+math&source=bl&ots=AKPObsrOx8&sig=r7GxFXszPkdvru_9jBmKCCV5E50&hl=en&ei=q20BTNCCCsH78AayzpX9DQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBkQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q&f=fal This book presents 21 articles that provide interdisciplinary options for linking inquiry-based science activities to mathematics, language arts, and social studies. Each article is labeled by grade level, skills, and concepts. Posted at 3:42pm on Sat, May 29 2010

• Activities Linking Science with Math, Grades 5-8 books.google.com/books?id=q7c3f1756x4C&printsec=frontcover&dq=activities+linking+science+with+math&cd=1#v=twopage&q&f=false This books offers 20 ready-to-use, hands-on activities for teachers who want to integrate the study of science and mathematics, as well as incorporate the visual arts, social studies, and language arts. Lessons align with national science and math standards. Posted at 3:49pm on Sat, May 29 2010