New-Teacher Support Subscribe to RSS
Ten Websites for Science Teachers
February 7, 2012 | Eric BrunsellWe all know that the web is full of excellent web resources for science teachers and students. However, unless you live on the web, finding the best websites can become quite a challenge. This isn't a "Top Ten" list -- instead, it is a list of websites that I either use on a regular basis or just find interesting. From teaching resources for the nature of science and authentic field journals to wacky videos about numbers, I am sure that you will find something in the following list the works for you! Please share your favorite science web resources in the comment section!
1) Understanding Science
UC Berkeley's Understanding Science website is a "must use" for all science teachers. It is a great resource for learning more about the process of science. The resource goes much deeper than the standard "PHEOC" model of the scientific method by emphasizing peer review, the testing of ideas, a science flowchart and "what is science?" checklist. Understanding Science also provides a variety of teaching resources including case studies of scientific discoveries and lesson plans for every grade level.
2) Field Research Journals
The Field Book Project from the National Museum of Natural History and the Smithsonian Institution Archives intends to create a "one stop" archive for field research journals and other documentation. You can find plenty of examples from actual field research journals for your classes.
3) Evolution
Berkeley's Understanding Evolution website is the precursor to their Understanding Science efforts. The Understanding Evolution website provides a plethora of resources, news items and lessons for teaching about evolution. Lessons provide appropriate "building blocks" to help students at any grade level work towards a deeper understanding of evolution. The Evo 101 tutorial provides a great overview of the science behind evolution and the multiple lines of evidence that support the theory.
4) PhET Simulations
PhET from the University of Colorado provides dozens of fantastic simulations for physics, chemistry and biology. The website also includes a collection of teacher contributed activities, lab experiences, homework assignments and conceptual questions that can be used with the simulations.
5) Earth Exploration
The Earth Exploration Toolbook provides a series of activities, tools and case studies for using data sets with your students.
6) EdHead Interactives
Edheads is an organization that provides engaging web simulations and activities for kids. Current activities focus on simulated surgical procedures, cell phone design (with market research), simple and compound machines, and weather prediction.
7) Plant Mentors
Do you teach about plants? Check out http://www.plantingscience.org/ to connect your middle or high school students to science mentors and a collaborative inquiry project. From the project:
Planting Science is a learning and research resource, bringing together students, plant scientists, and teachers from across the nation. Students engage in hands-on plant investigations, working with peers and scientist mentors to build collaborations and to improve their understanding of science.
8) Periodic Table of Videos
Check out The Periodic Table of Videos for a wide array of videos about the elements and other chemistry topics.
9) More Videos!
Students can read and watch video about 21 Smithsonian scientists including a volcano watcher, fossil hunter, art scientist, germinator and zoo vet.
10) Even More Videos!
How many videos were watched on YouTube last year? If you said 22 BILLION, you are sort of correct... Those 22 billion views only represent the number of times education videos were watched! Last October, YouTube announced a project to create new video channels for education. The first channels released focused on science and math. Here are a few to start with.
- SciShow is all about teaching scientific concepts in an accessible and easy-to-understand manner. This channel includes a variety of short (3 minute) and long (10 minute) videos. New videos are released weekly.
- Former BBC journalist Brady Haran is crazy about math and science. If you love numbers, you will love his Numberphile channel, dedicated to exploring the stories behind numbers.
- And let's close with a particularly good SciShow on Climate Change:
Do you have any favorite science websites that aren't on this list? Please let us know about them.
_0.JPG){kind=small}
Comments (12)
Comment RSSSign in or register to post comments
Very good list Eric. I also
Very good list Eric. I also found this list very informative,
http://curiouss.com/science-blog-directory/
To more information about science
Thank's for kind of information to about science teacher and we have many science modules list to teach the student kind of science . https://www.lab-aids.com/catalog/kits-and-modules-list. it is very help full information for science teacher.
such a nice website.
Science Prof Online Site Great Resource for New Instructors
Blowing my own horn here, but another science educator and I have recently developed a free science ed website (Science Prof Online) that has a lot of useful resources particularly for new science teachers creating their curriculum. We developed these materials for the live courses that we teach, and thought that we might as well share what we created with other educators. A brand new addition to the site is the Instructors Corner, a SPO page that makes it easy for teachers to find the free materials they need. The site has virtual classrooms in microbiology, cell biology and (soon) anatomy and phys, as well as many other teaching resources. If you find the materials useful, we'd appreciate it if you'd spread the word :). SPO Instructor's Corner: http://www.scienceprofonline.com/instructors-corner/instructors-corner-m...
Wonderful Resources!
Thank you for providing this list of wonderful resources. As a new teacher, I am always looking for new and easy to guide through reasources. I am certainly adding these to my notebook! Some other websites that you may want to explore are www.sciencebuddies.org (great for students to use for science fair project ideas) and www.discoveryeducation.com (ideal for administrators, teachers, parents, and students). I use the Discovery Education site many times for streaming videos, lesson plan ideas, and student interaction.
Thank you!
Thanks for the list of resources. I'm always looking for great websites to add to my list.
Another resourceful website
This is a great website for information and learning. The Modules and Activities section is great! http://www.cotf.edu/ete/main.html
About Understanding Science and maybe others....
Is it scientific or even wise to teach students only the evidence that supposedly supports the absence of God? Wouldn't it be at least sensible or even democratic to let them arrive at their own conclusions after considering all the evidence? But how are they going to consider all the evidence if it is not presented to them. How are they going to dare consider all the evidence, if they are told a priori that some evidence is just "unscientific"? Is the scientific process good for some processes and not others? Only when these questions are addressed appropriately, will kids of all ages truly grasp the concept of the scientific process, which after they do, they will remember that they already knew a long time ago....before they started to be distracted from their daily experiments because they had to copy the lesson in their notebooks.
More!
If you go to www.sciencefreesources.com there are catalogued free things to use with Biology, Chemistry, and Physics classes.
I think these are wonderful
I think these are wonderful resources. Thanks! I'd like to add other quite brilliant and free resources to your list - Khan Academy and CK-12 FlexBooks, www.ck12.org/flexbook. I don't know if you've tried them, but if you are looking for high quality educational videos the Khan academy is great. On other hand if you are looking for digital open content textbooks for STEM, especially, then these CK-12 FlexBooks are superb. They are customizable so you can personalize the content to your students needs. Also they have embedded multimedia supports and interactive exercises. Also because they come on such a flexible platform , you can even add literacy scaffolds to the content if you need. Plus, its downloadable on almost any platform, pc or mobile. I suggest you give them a shot. They are quite brilliant, especially if you want to blend academic rigor with an engaging learning experience.
Thanks for providing the list
Thanks for providing the list of websites. Just want to mention another one: http://www.wisteme.com. It has over 25 K science related, high quality, well organized questions and answers. A superb site to stimulate students' curiosity and interest.