Journal #8

The article, Spotlight: Free Science Resources Online, by Dave Nagel is from the March 2008 issue of THE Journal and has both explanations and highlights great resources for teaching science utilizing the resources on the web. The article highlights the NASA website, MIT's website and the Smithsonian Institution's website. It is very hard to get kids attention and keep them motivated to learn when teaching subjects like science and math. Few kids realize the impact and modern day uses of science in our world. These websites offer materials and resources for elementary levels all the way through high school and secondary education. There are lectures, videos, audio clips, and animations that are avaliable on the web for both teachers and students. There are even links that offer resources for AP Calculus, AP Biology and AP Physics. Sometimes we do not have the resources in our classroom to conduct the lessons we want to give to our students but we can improvise and show videos of labs or demonstrations that are offered on MIT's website that will give our students this knowledge.

I particularly liked NASA's website resources that are offered. I think that space and the technology that is developed at NASA is so facinating that it is great to capture students interest and motivate them by showing them the different simulations and technology developed at NASA. I like the interactive links that allow students to find out fun facts like what astronauts wear in space. I hope to teach 2nd or 3rd grade and this is something I would use in my classroom. Visuals are something that allow students to get a real perspective on what is being taught and this makes learning fun.

How would I make science fun in my future classroom?

I think there are so many different ways to make science fun by getting students up and moving and having them actively learning. I liked one of the links on NASA's website that was entitled star gazing. This activity allowed students to identify different stars. I think it would be fun to incorporate this into a lesson in the classroom and have students do star gazing and label different stars that they see.

How would I utilize these resources as a teacher?

There are lectures and lesson plans online that I can use or get ideas for that will help make science fun and interesting. By continually educating myself and using technology in the classroom I can get students to be interested in science.