The topic in the physical world that I chose to research this week is forces. I have taught this topic for three years now to grade 6 students and it is a perfect topic to teach with Web 2.0 tools and real world applications. I usually focus on forces (unbalanced forces as well as friction forces) and how they create movement in objects, which then relates to Newton’s Laws of Motion. Last year my school adopted the one to one laptop program in the middle school and it was amazing what we could do in the science classroom. Even though I used a few websites last year for students to practice their understanding of the concepts of forces and motion, I found many more today which could be used to develop their understandings even further. Below is a list of the websites that I found, each one has a different twist on how to use interactive games or slideshows to teach the concepts.
Motion and Forces website
Force, Motion, & Energy Free PowerPoint Presentation website
Interactive Game: Park World Plot
Bitesize: Forces Game
Quarked: Adventures in the Subatomic Universe
Raging Roller Coaster Web Quest
Science Online: Force lesson plans and interactive games
Science Zone: Forces and Magnets
Forces in Action Clip
I do not believe that I would use all of these websites during the unit on forces and motion, but they are a very good selection of quality programs. Along with interactive games and simulations, other programs that would be possible to use in the classroom during lab investigations would be Google Documents. Students are able to collaborate on data as well as on data analysis. They can access the lab report and data both from school and at home and they do not have to work on it at the same time either. What is great is that I can track who does the work on these documents by looking at the editing history. Other Web 2.0 tools that students may use are their science classroom blogs they set up at the beginning of the year to write reflections about their lab investigations and they upload photos or videos as well. They are encouraged to visit at least two or three other student blogs and respond to their ideas. This is really great for students who are shy to speak in class, their ideas are heard online. Cell phones are becoming more common in the science classrooms because of all the apps they have on them including a timer, camera, and video as well as others. I believe the webquest website is well organized and would really help my students to review main concepts of motion and forces, and it guides them through the roller coaster design process. Through the use of various collaborative, interactive, and internet based research tools, students become more scientifically literate as well as 21st century literate. Students learn by doing and learn to make choices quickly when using internet based programs. I believe that by using this website: http://erinschumacher.com/rcwebquest/part1.html
Raging Roller Coaster Web Quest, students will be more engaged in learning about forces and motion concepts because they can relate this to their own lives. Most children in my classroom have been on a roller coaster and this will be a great way to reinforce what they know. Also, they are supposed to design a roller coaster for the park and this is the most exciting part for my students in the past. This really sparks their interest and they are very energetic about getting it right.
Challenges around this webquest would be if some of the links do not work. Also, I have to be innovative because some of the worksheets are not available to me and so I need to create my own for my students. So, I would probably only use some of this website and then once students are engaged move them towards the design process with a small group on their own. Time constraints and materials are always a challenge, but should be fine with this project.
What a blessing it is to have student access to laptop computers and the internet. Because the budget here in California is under a state of emergency, school districts do not have the money to purchase new technology for the students (at least that's the case in my district). The possibilities are endless with this type of technological tools.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing all these websites. I also teach a unit on forces and motion and would love to feature these websites to the students. The only opportunity I have to give students access to these websites in class is to try and grab a day in the computer lab. I agree that our students find interest in roller coasters, so the website you provided would be very engaging.
Janice,
ReplyDeleteI really like how you are integrating technolgoy in your instruction, espcially with the use of the blogs and cell phones. I could see using blogs in my classes, as I have access to a computer lab. However, I do not forsee my students using their cell phones. My system has a policy against using cell phones in the school building.
The websites allow students to visualize the interactions of the physical science components when it is not physically or fiscally feasible. I would love to take all of my students to particpate in roller coasters, but that is not possible.