I could not help but choose two chemistry websites; one that represents the Periodic Table of Elements, and the other about Mixtures and Solutions.
http://periodicvideos.com/
http://www.fossweb.com/modules3-6/MixturesandSolutions/index.html
The former offers great videos for trials and experiments about each element in the periodic table. These experiments are conducted by professional chemists at the University of Nottinghill, UK. They perform many experiments that would otherwise be unsafe to try in the school lab, but will feed students’ curiosity. These videos reminded me of shows on Discovery Channel such as “Brainiacs” or “Myth Busters” where scientists play and learn rather than traditional ways of learning. They TRY! Showing these videos in class will be fun and educational, and while it is hard to watch them all, it will serve as a great homework assignment. These videos inspire doing many experiments and perhaps even exploring further with elements.
The second website offers many games, resources, and more important, audio stories about solutions. It would be nice to listen to these great stories as an introduction to a lesson or a conclusion. It could be a way to ask them to practice taking notes or summarizing. It is especially helpful for auditory students, and offers a change in theme to listen to a story rather than read a textbook.
The only challenge is that both websites are mostly one directional. They offer information in a creative way, but with a lot less interaction on the student’s part. However it can be easily remedied by using these websites as part of the lesson and building activities around them for inquiry.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I have used fossweb before with my foss light kit. It is a great help.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever use the Foss kits or STC kits?
I going to use your website to help me with my week 7 application on water.
Thank you for your posting.
I really appreciate the Myth Busters myself! They can do so many things that I can not afford to do at home. It helps so much to be able to witness what they explore. It would be cool to have students watch Myth Busters and then come up with suggestions of things that they would like to submit to the show. It would work great to use that at the beginning of the year so that all throughout the year they could be collecting ideas and you could be channeling them to the right spot. If there are things that you can not do in class, the students do not have to be disappointed if they can not do the experiment themselves...they can test out if it is chosen for the show instead.
ReplyDeleteI want to say I liked your choices. It will limit our need to make the students memorize the data. In this lesson they will create and explore various elements, learning new details each time.
ReplyDelete