VisionLearning.com - http://www.visionlearning.com/
I believe that VisionLearning.com is a great tool for science teachers of almost any discipline. It is a website that allows a person to look up the definition of a term or biography of an important person related to science. This website allows the user to learn through reading. Like a good teacher, the website also approaches the same topic from a variety of ways. From the definition or biography, a student can be linked to a relevant module. These modules put the term or biography in the context of the bigger picture to help the student gain a better understanding of the word or person and not just the basic definition or background. The website is also setup with mini quizzes at the end of each module for self-assessment. A wrong answer will prompt the website to provide the reason why the student answer was incorrect and why the correct is answer is the right one.
PBS - www.pbs.com
PBS is an excellent resource for any classroom. Over the years they have created some wonderful shows, for example the NOVA series. PBS.com has recently added a lot of their shows to their website for public viewing. I think that this would be a great asset to my biology classroom because it provides another way of teaching a lesson. I myself am a very visual learner, so it helps a lot when I can see something in action. A discussion about the earth’s ecosystem is great, but to able to present a class with video footage taken from around the world can do wonders in aiding students to grasp the greater meaning of the lesson.
The Far Side – www.thefarside.com
This classic comic strip from Gary Larson has always been a favorite of mine. I have also had more than one teacher use it in the classroom. My high school biology teacher actually used to put them on the first page of each test. I find that humor can be a great way to gain the attention of your students. The comic can then be used to facilitate a discussion that can then lead into the main part of the lesson.
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Hey Jeff!
ReplyDeleteJust checking out some of your web resources you picked and I really liked your idea of incorporating the vision learning website. I think I searched for what seemed like forever to find a great biology website that I would want to use and I didn't come across this one. After looking at it and going through it I realized how great of a resource it is. It incorporates many different science disciplines which I feel is great because the subjects are always connected. I really liked the fact that students could quiz themselves with the material that is on the website. It adds great visuals for the students to see as well. This is definitely a website I feel I could use!