Online Learning Resources

Online learning resources...
...can be extremely helpful in any event where you cannot meet with your students in real-time. This post will serve to keep the most up-to-date links available for teachers who are looking for ways to connect online with their students. Many tech resources are offering educators free upgrades at this time.

• Google Meet - pair this with Google Classroom so that you can share out with students
• Ditch That Textbook - 50+ elearning activities, templates, and tutorials
• Nearpod (offer for affected schools)
• edpuzzle (use this form for edpuzzle pro access for schools)
• Kahoot (free offer for Kahoot pro for affected schools)
• Quizziz
• Kami (using Kami for remote learning | offer for affected schools)
• Problem Attic (Regents/test question bank integrates with your school’s LMS)
• Castle Learning (offer for affected schools)
• Scholastic resources for learning at home
• Screencastify for Chrome
• Flipgrid
• NewsELA
• YouTube channels for educators
• Link to a Google Sheet with education companies offering free subscriptions (this is shared from a 3rd party source - for questions please reference the email in the document)
• NYC’s DOE link for learning at home resources 

Resources for navigating COVID-19:

• BrainPOP video about Coronavirus (suitable for younger students)
• Stated Clearly video - Where do new viruses come from? (suitable for grades 5 through HS)
• ISTE / EdSurge site about how schools can navigate uncertainty
• Education Week downloadable guide for schools and Coronavirus | Map of US school closures
• NYSED Guidance regarding school closures

What online science resources could be easily tailored to online learning?

Let's try to build a list of simulations, animations, and online-friendly activities for students. (Please try to replace websites using Flash with something more up-to-date and compatible across device platforms, if possible.)

• New Visions
• PhET simulations
• Mystery Science
• Digital Atlas of Ancient Life from the Paleontological Research Institution (user guide videos) 
• Science DuRoss YouTube channel (recorded class notes for MS life science | accelerated Living Environment)
• Exploring Nature 
• AACT Teaching Chemistry resources (free through March 31)
• Teaching Geoscience Online 
• Astronomy Simulations
• Concord Consortium
• CK-12 Science Resources
• Khan Academy science
• Exploring Earth Science YouTube channel 
• Compilation of teaching resources for Earth and Environmental Sciences by ES Women’s Network (submit ideas to their list via this form)
• Compilation of online resources by Infiniscope
• Gazdonian Productions Earth Science Review Videos (click for free code through May 1)

What resources would you like to share? Email sarah.3dsciencecafe@gmail.com.

P.S. We have not vetted all of these resources, we’ve simply curated them from teacher suggestions. 

Latest post update: March 15, 2020 at 8:22 pm

Biodiversity: Can science save an ecosystem from extinction?

Middle School Life Science: Matter and Energy in Organisms and Ecosystems

MS:LS 2-1 Analyze and interpret data to provide evidence for the effects of resource availability on organisms and populations of organisms in an ecosystem.

If you've never looked into the Howard Hughes Medical Institute's (HHMI) BioInteractive site, NOW would be a great time to do so. This free website is such a wealth of information, ranging from data sets to lesson plans to short videos to full-on inquiry-based explorations. Each resource specifically is linked to current scientific research and provides students with tremendous insight into what science really "looks like."

My middle school class immediately dug into the citizen-science aspect of the WildCam Gorongosa activities. There's no better way to study an ecosystem than to immerse oneself in the trail-cam photos as if we were really there (since a field trip to Mozambique was out of the question)! I could see students at any level using the built in tools (as well as this Field Guide) to key out the different species they observed. As with any citizen-science program, the students felt pretty important when they learned that what they were doing would really be utilized by scientists studying the biodiversity of the area.

While we didn't complete the entire BioInteractive WildCam Lab, we did use several of the resources available (found in their entirety here) to look at how populations changed over time due to different habitat disturbances. It was a great way to not only introduce food chains/webs/pyramids, but to look at how these relationships were influenced when resource availability changed.

Link to Slides and Student Guide we used in class

How can we help you navigate the NYSSLS transition?

Do you or your colleagues wish there was someone to help with the NYSSLS transition? We've been working with local schools in the North Country, and would love to help others across New York State. We would love to hear from you!

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Twitter: Be a follower!

One of the most exciting ways to engage in professional development is by employing the power of social media. Educators from around the country can connect about the subject of NGSS because it is a national set of standards that varies only a little (if at all) from state to state.

It's super easy to build your professional network through Twitter; dedicate as much time as you wish, whenever you wish to connect.

If you're completely new to the social-media scene for professional networking, check out my other blog post here.

Here's a "who's-who" of NGSS educators and resources on Twitter:

Next Generation Science Standards - Twitter @OfficialNGSS | Website link

Ted Willard (Director of NGSS at NSTA) - Twitter @Ted_NSTA

NGSS Tweeps - Hosted by rotating group of educators to showcase NGSS work in the classroom - Twitter @NGSStweeps (last host in 2016 was the North Country's own @Chemteach201!)

NGSS Professional Learning Network

• NGSS Chat - Twitter @NGSSchat | Website link for NGSS PLN's #NGSSchat (1st and 3rd Thursdays at 9 pm - check out the website if you've never participated in a Twitter chat)
• NGSS Blogs - Twitter @ngssblogs
• Tricia Shelton (Co-moderator of NGSSchat, NGSS PLN website, Connect Think Learn website) - Twitter @TdiShelton

STEM Teaching Tools - Twitter @STEMTeachTools | Website link

Phenomena for NGSS - Twitter @NGSSphenomena | Website link

• TJ McKenna (Curator of NGSS Phenomena) - Twitter @tjscience

There are lots of hashtags to search and use... here are just a few popular ones:

#phenomena #ngss #ngsschat #scichat

Who would you suggest to "follow?" Leave a comment below!

Cookie's Go-To Resource - NGSS Hub

NSTA's Go-To Resources for the NGSS - NGSS Hub

Lesson Plans, Videos, Performance Expectations, Evidence Statements
The site continues to grow - all materials are vetted - Awesome Resource 👍