Science Bits!

"Science Bits provides teachers with lessons that help them teach science in a way that engages their students. Based on the constructivist 5E Instructional Model, Science Bits lessons use high quality multimedia interactive content to develop an inquiry-based, learning-by-doing method. Science Bits can be used either as a substitute for textbooks or as complementary material."


In a biology classroom, Science Bits can be very helpful in planning and supporting a science lesson. As schools and curriculum move more towards incorporating and mandating technology in the classroom, an application like Science Bits becomes highly useful. Science Bits works perfectly with smart boards and allows students to interact with the lesson in place of traditional oral dictation. The app also allows the instructor to post lessons online with corresponding activities so that students can be active learners at home as well as in school.


As with most technology, the biggest obstacle to using this app would be whether or not students have the access to the technology at home. The benefit of this app is that it can be used primarily in the classroom if your students don't have the access at home.


View below for some sample screen shots and for the link to the app!
















The link to Science Bits: 

http://www.science-bits.com/en/

Flipped Lesson: Clean Coal

For my flipped lesson I decided to pick the topic of "Clean Coal." In my theoretical biology class, my students are learning about sustainability and how we can become more sustainable as a society. In order to do that, they need to learn about different natural resources that we use and their impacts on the environment and communities. Since coal is the cheapest, most widely used and abundant resource, it is a crucial resource to cover. The fact that there is so much information that is easily accessible to students about coal also makes it an ideal topic to want to flip a lesson on.

During the day of my lesson, I am having my students work with a partner for a pair activity. I will be presenting them with a theoretical community which is in need of a power source. They only have the capabilities to use either coal or nuclear power. Using their prior knowledge about nuclear energy and their new found, self-taught knowledge on coal, the students are responsible for choosing one method of energy to provide power to the nearby town. They are then to write a short report on what type of implications the new plant will have for the surrounding environment and nearby town. This will serve as their exit ticket for the day. During their partner time, I will be walking throughout the classroom ensuring that each pair is on the right track and providing prompts for them to think about while working on their report.

The idea of a flipped classroom is a great one. I believe this idea will work better with more simple topics and concepts which don't need extensive scholastic support. Student demographics will also be a concern as if you work in a lower socioeconomic area your students are less likely to have access to technology outside of school.

To read my Ted-Ed lesson click here:
https://ed.ted.com/on/waTIsb7a#watch

Using Padlet to Plan a Unit About Biology

This past week we planned out a unit using the bulletin-style application, Padlet. The unit topic that I chose was Sustainability, a topic that is seldom spoken about outside of consumer goods. Sustainability is perhaps one of the most important concepts to educate future generations on as our current way of life around the world is not sustainable by any means. Projections based on human population growth and consumer "needs" of an ever developing world economy show dire prospects in the near future if certain changes are not made by the upcoming generation. I planned out my essential questions so that in answering them, a student could explain whether or not a society, behavior, or resource is sustainable.

 Finding resources for a unit on sustainability was not too difficult as there are many prime examples of cities, communities, schools, and home which are becoming more environmentally friendly. A google scholar search provided me with articles to provide my students and a search on YouTube provided with the sustainable school video. As my students will be responsible for researching sources of information, I opted to use Instagrot as a research tool for my students. This tool automatically filters any inappropriate search results that may pop up. I also opted to use Kahoot! as a form of summative and formative assessment. Kahoot! allows students to build their own quizzes and administer them to the class. By using this app I can assess not only the quiz that the student has administered but also the results of the quiz itself as a form of understanding of the material.

 Check out my Padlet post below:

Created with Padlet

Pedagogy and Technology

This week I was able to create an info-graphic using the Chrome app "Venngage." The app provided plenty of pre-made layouts and templates which made the process of creating an info-graphic fairly painless and simple. My only concern was that the template that I chose was titled "fact or fiction" and attempted to pass off climate change as fiction. Perhaps if I paid for premium their templates would not come with conservative propaganda.

supporting technology in the sciencesInfographic

The info-graphic which I developed lists instructional strategies and a specific activity falling within that strategy. Another column provides a technology which can complement the strategy and activity at hand. When searching for technologies to implement in the different activities, it was important to find technologies that supported the activity instead of supplementing it to ensure meaningful technology integration. The technology used should be one tool for students to utilize in order to complete the activity and reach the goals set by the lesson. The technology should not replace student interaction and learning.

 For example, under the instructional strategy "Share ideas and opinions,"
I listed Kahoot! as an appropriate technology to use for a modified four side activity. This technology provides users the ability to create quizzes and answer them via computer or smartphone. Instead of me creating the quiz and having students take it online, I would have the students work in pairs to create quizzes and implement them in class for their classmates. This way students have to research and comprehend the material prior to creating the quiz and their quiz provides me an assessment of their classmate's understanding of the material as well as the quiz maker's understanding.

The History of Technology in Teaching Biology

Creating a Powtoon has certainly been an interesting feat. The app is really simple to use, resembling a mashup of Power Point and Windows Movie Maker. And the cartoon itself is certainly more entertaining than a regular Power Point presentation. The time constraint it puts on assembling a short video is a fallback though. My video was a little over two minutes and yet it took me almost 4 hours to make. While the layout concept is easy enough to follow, the way the program functions is incredibly inefficient. For example, I had to scroll between "styles" every time I wanted a simple rectangle if I was on a different style layout. A combined master layout would have made the process much easier of assembling characters and props. I also felt like it would be a bit difficult to come up with a science themed cartoon as their props were definitely geared more towards business than a Science classroom.  

Because of the ridiculous amount of time the very short cartoon took to make, I probably wouldn't frequently use Powtoons in my classroom. The app could be used once in a while to make mundane or dry topics a bit more interesting with the animation and added humor. I do feel that the cartoon would be better suited for younger students, maybe fifth and sixth graders rather than high school students who might see it as insulting to their age. Another way the app could be used is if I had my students use the app in school to present a project in place of power point. This scenario would play out much better in a school who's students have internet access at home rather than a lower socioeconomic status community. 

All in all the app is creative and fun to play around with albeit very time consuming. I enjoyed my finished cartoon product and I hope you do too!

PowToon Link:

https://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/dAxzfnwX7oj/history-of-technology-in-biology/