Featured 7-17-2014: Highlights for High School

 

Highlights for High School is a companion website to MIT OpenCourseWare* providing open educational resources for high school educators and students.

 

Highlights for High School includes content created specifically for high school students as well as resources collected from the MIT curriculum that can be used effectively in high school.

 

Available resources cover not only science and math, but also engineering, humanities, and social sciences. The material can be integrated into classroom lesson plans, shared, reused, and remixed. Though meant primarily for juniors and seniors in high school, motivated younger students can also benefit from these courses.

 

 

The website is organized into two main sections:

• The Subjects section is arranged by topics likely to be encountered in high school, such as mathematics, physics, and biology. Within each of these you will find a variety of content, such as labs, courses, and video resources.
• The Exam Preparation section is aimed at students who are preparing to take AP exams in biology, calculus, chemistry, or physics. These materials are meant to supplement classroom learning. Relevant OCW course materials have been mapped to the topics in these exams and are easily searchable.

 In addition to YouTube access, Highlights for High School has posted all of their videos to TechTV, an MIT-based video service similar to YouTube.

 

*See yesterday’s post

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Featured 3-31-2014: Next Generation Science Standards

Through a collaborative, state-led process, new K–12 science standards, Next Generation Science Standards for Today’s Students and Tomorrow’s Workforce, have been developed.

 

Rich in content and practice, the Next Generation Science Standards are logically arranged across disciplines and grades to provide all students an internationally benchmarked science education. 

 

The process for developing the science standards included having the scientific and educational research communities identify core ideas in science and integrate them across grade levels.

 

 

The scientific practices in the NGSS include critical thinking and communication skills that students need for real-world success. In the standards, these science practices are intertwined with content.

 

 See Paul Andersen introduce his video series on the Next Generation Science Standards.

 

The Next Generation Science Standards are based on the Framework for K–12 Science Education developed by the National Research Council. The writing process began in the summer of 2011, and the final version of the NGSS was released in April of last year.

 

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Featured: 1-29-2014 NOVA Education

NOVA Education is a collection of resources from the PBS science series NOVA. The purpose of the site is to bring science, technology, and engineering to life in educational settings.

 

NOVA Education’s free digital library is linked to teaching standards and includes video, audio segments, interactives, and much more. You can browse content by education topics such as Earth and space science, technology and engineering, and more. The library is also searchable by keywords.

 

You can sign up for Spark, the NOVA Education newsletter, to receive updates on new media resources for educators, upcoming NOVA programs, and on opportunities for you and your students. 

 

 

NOVA is the highest rated science series on television and the most watched documentary series on public television. Since 1996, NOVA has been working with journalists and scientists to put great original web-content online. Thousands of resources cover everything from string theory to the evolution of flight to how the Pyramids were built.

 

Note: NOVA Education is required to begin every video with a funder pre-roll, essential to supporting streaming video. For technical reasons, this has caused NOVA Education videos to be blacklisted at certain schools. 

 

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Featured: 1-27-2014 The BioDigital Human

The BioDigital Human is a virtual 3-D body that brings thousands of accurate anatomy objects and health conditions to life in an interactive online platform.

 

Students now have a powerful new tool to learn anatomy and health conditions using the latest in 3-D technology.

 

 

Quickly understand the most complex anatomy concepts through the BioDigital Human interactive visuals that make learning fun and intuitive:

• Students engage with materials that are information-rich and highly compelling.
• Difficult concepts are made easier by exceeding the limitations of illustration and video to interact with the human body.
• Customize state-of-the-art 3-D lessons, share them with a few clicks of the mouse, and collaborate with peers.

 

There is no need to download or install anything. An automatic  compatibility test will run when you first visit the site to let you know if the BioDigital Human is supported by your computer. 

 

The virtual body is completely free to explore, over 5,000 anatomical objects and animations are openly available. There is a paid version, which provides access to a suite of interactive tools, including saving and sharing functions.

 Watch a video overview of the BioDigital Human

 

The free BioDigital Human iPad app is available through the iTunes App Store. It does not include all of the features found on the web app, but it does include bookmarking, the snapshot tool, and other unique features.

 

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Featured: 1-8-2014 Big History on H2

The Big History series on H2* poses questions and mixes history and science to change the way people view history.

 

Big History takes familiar topics and, by weaving science into the core of history, examines them in new ways that will have you rethinking everything you thought you knew.

 

 

The series creates an interconnected view of things that links history to multiple fields such as astronomy, biology, chemistry, and geology.  The first season ends with a two-hour finale that pulls everything we know about science and history into one grand narrative.

 

 View Not Your Father’s History

 

New episodes of Big History run Saturdays at 10 pm EST (11 pm PST) on H2.

 

*H2 is a digital cable and satellite television network featuring historical and popular science documentaries as well as pseudo-scientific entertainment programs and is a sister network of History Channel. 

 

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Featured: 12-4-2013 HudsonAlpha iCell

HudsonAlpha iCell gives biology teachers and students a 3D view inside a cell using iOS and Android apps, as well as in a desktop browser*.

 

HudsonAlpha iCell includes examples of three types of cells: animal, plant, and bacteria. Students can learn about the various parts of the cell used by biologists, biochemists, and DNA researchers at the HudsonAlpha Institute to advance the limits of biotechnology. 

 

iCell includes accurate and realistic 3D models of cellular organelles. The iPad version also supports the ability to choose among three levels of detail in the descriptions of the cellular structures.

 

You can tap on parts of the cell to select and zoom in on that particular organelle. Each organelle comes with a name and a short description of its function in the cell.

 

iCell gives you a 3D view inside a typical plant, animal, and bacterial cell. iCell is easy to navigate and simple to use giving you an intuitive tool to compare animal, plant and bacterial cell structure.

 

For a better view of each cell, drag to rotate around the cell or selected organelle or zoom in and out. 

 

 View a video about the iCell iPad app

HudsonAlpha iCell offers a new way for students at all levels to explore the cell. 

*To access iCell from the desktop, you will need to download and install the Unity 3-D Web player plug-in.

 

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Featured: 6-27-2013 Macaulay Library

The Macaulay Library is the world's largest and oldest scientific archive of bird, animal, and other natural audio and video recordings.

The Macaulay Library's mission is to "collect and preserve recordings of each species' behavior and natural history, to facilitate the ability of others to collect and preserve such recordings, and to actively promote the use of these recordings for diverse purposes spanning scientific research, education, conservation, and the arts."

Teachers can use the accurate depictions of nature from the Macaulay Library to illustrate the natural world and create exciting interactive learning activities.

Lessons for elementary, middle, and high school use rich media including sounds and videos from the Macaulay Library to spark student interest in understanding biological adaptations. Teachers can download individual lessons or units addressing science standards about waves, forces, and motion.

 Watch a sampling of Macaulay Library video

The Macaulay Library provides training, equipment, and resources to help document the diversity of nature with sound and video. Field techniques and the technical knowledge required to record the behavior of birds and other animals in the wild are taught through workshops and informal training sessions.

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Featured: 6-11-2013 Science Museum

Visit London's Science Museum online. Find out about the museum's objects, arts projects, and medical collection, play educational games, and discover climate science, and more.

You can also check out the Science Museum blogs, a tabloid history of science, and the latest contemporary science news. The Talk Science Blog gives great ideas for promoting discussion about science in the classroom.

Science MuseumTeacher Resources include activities, videos, online games and websites, tips, tools, and demos. Browse the resources or search by age, subject, and topic.

The Science Museum was founded in 1857 as part of the South Kensington Museum, and became independent in 1909. Today the Science Museum is world renowned for its historic collections, awe-inspiring galleries, and inspirational exhibitions.

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Featured: 1/24/2013 NANOYOU [Science]

NANOYOU is a project funded by the European Commission's Seventh Framework Program that aims to increase young people’s basic understanding of nanotechnologies (NT) and to engage in the dialogue about its ethical, legal, and social aspects.



Nanotechnologies are the design, characterization, production, and application of structures, devices, and systems by controlling shape and size at the scale of individual molecules, nanometer scale.  

Through a variety of NANOYOU resources such as videos, presentations, posters, picture galleries, and art projects related to nanoscience and NT, you’ll be able to learn more about nanoscience and nanotechnologies. As well as being able to use the tools developed by NANOYOU, you will also find some nanotechnologies resources available from other websites.

From the web portal students can actively participate in virtual dialogues, experiments and games. In the virtual Nano Lab, users will be able to become a researcher and do experiments online as well as finding resources for hands-on activities. Games such as the nano-memory game and the jigsaw puzzle can enable students to see how solutions to human needs have changed over time, and which solutions NT offer us for the future.



NANOYOU plans to have a very strong school program on nanotechnologies which will be completely adapted to the educational needs of students aged 11-18. The NANOYOU school program focuses on information and communication technology, energy and environment, and medicine.

NANOYOU offers Teacher Training kits for different age groups, as well as for science centers. The modules are available to all teachers interested in organizing educational activities within their schools, and includes background materials, literature, and specific case studies.

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Featured: 1/15/2013 Understanding Science [Science]

The objective of Understanding Science is to provide a free, entertaining, and easily accessible resource that accurately illustrates what science really is and how it works.

The focus of the Understanding Science project is a re-engagement with science beginning with teacher preparation and ending with broader public understanding. The immediate goals are to:

• Improve teacher understanding of the nature of the science.
• Provide resources and strategies that encourage and enable K-16 teachers to reinforce the nature of science.
• Provide a clear and informative reference for students and the general public that accurately portrays science.

Understanding Science was produced by the UC Museum of Paleontology of the University of California at Berkeley, in collaboration with a diverse group of scientists and teachers, and was funded by the National Science Foundation.

Understanding Science gives users an inside look at the general principles, methods, and motivations that underlie all of science.

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Featured: 1/8/2013 NowGen [Biology]

Nowgen carries out dedicated education work focused on engaging directly with the formal education system – in particular, biology taught in schools.



In the education community, Nowgen strives to ensure that the biology taught in schools incorporates the latest research findings.

Nowgen works with students through hands-on workshops and other opportunities to explore genetics through practical activities and provides teachers with professional development and engaging resources to help students with contemporary biomedicine, especially genetics and genomics.



Nowgen has a wide range of resources suitable for a variety of audiences, such as videos about the influence of genes on common diseases; lesson plans about the role of nature and nurture, and policy documents, such as how and why genomics should be taught in the classroom.



Teacher resources have been designed to either support part of a lesson or be used to create an entire lesson plan. When browsing the resources, the ‘tags’ at the top of the page help narrow down your results.

Nowgen is a center of excellence in the UK in public engagement, education, and professional training in biomedicine.

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Featured: 11/20/2012 Neoroscience for Kids [Science]

Students and teachers who would like to learn about the human nervous system can find a wealth of information at Neuroscience for Kids.

Visitors to Neuroscience for Kids can discover the fascinating world of the brain, spinal cord, neurons, and the senses. Learn about the nervous system through experiments, activities, and games. And, there are lots of links to related websites to facilitate further exploration.

What you can do at Neuroscience for Kids:

• Search the web site and the questions/answers page.
• Keep up-to-date on new discoveries in brain research with Neuroscience in the News.
• Sign up for the Neuroscience for Kids Newsletter.
• Watch BrainWorks, a 30-minute TV show about the brain.

Portions of Neuroscience for Kids are available in a variety of languages including Spanish, Chinese, Portugese, Russian, and more.

Neuroscience for Kids is maintained by Eric H. Chudler and was supported by a Science Education Partnership Award from the National Center for Research Resources.

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Featured: 11/14/2012 Curiosity in the Classroom [STEM]

Together, Discovery Education and Intel have created Curiosity in the Classroom, a program designed to "guide teachers and students on a journey through life's biggest questions."

Curiosity in the Classroom helps you explore some of life's most interesting and important questions with your students by providing free, standards-aligned lesson plans and videos for students in grades 6-12 (ages 11-17).

Download free content and materials to help your students become the innovators, scientists, and engineers of the future. These lesson plans, activities, videos, and interactives can bring key concepts to life and inspire an interest in science-related careers.

Explore ways to develop students' scientific thinking using the lessons and other things available at Curiosity in the Classroom. Transition from textbook science to authentic inquiry and scientific practices with these engaging resources.

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COD - 4/23/2012 - Smithsonian WILD! [Biology]

The purpose of Smithsonian WILD! is to highlight the diversity of wildlife that exists in a variety of habitats across the globe as well as to showcase some of the research conducted by the Smithsonian Institution and its collaborators.

The more than 200,000 images highlighted at Smithsonian WILD! demonstrate the range of applications of motion-triggered 'camera traps' and how these cameras give us an opportunity to see an animal world rarely viewed by most people.

You can use the A–Z Index of Animals which is sorted by animal group, scientific, or common name to explore the site; or search by following the trail of animals that interest you.

It is the hope of Smithsonian WILD! that "while you are being entertained by the amazing photographs, you will also learn about the animals, their diverse habitats, and what is being done to conserve them."

Smithsonian WILD! plans to accept photographs from citizen scientists as well as professional researchers in the future.

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COD - 4/18/2012 - Interactive Biology [Biology]

Interactive Biology uses 21st century technology to break down the concepts in biology so that a student, with enough discipline, can understand any topic.

Right now Interactive Biology is primarily covering topics in physiology and neuroscience, but in time, they expect to include the full gamut of biology topics.

Things you will find at Interactive Biology:

• Short videos breaking down concepts of biology, one step at a time
• Lecture videos from high school Biology 1 class
• Quizzes

Leslie Samuel is the person behind Interactive Biology. He is the Foundation Science Coordinator in the Doctor of Physical Therapy program at Andrews University in Berrien Springs, Michigan.

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