Giving Compass' Take:

• The author provides a list of science tools that are web resources for engaging in student online learning and promote independent and interactive study. 

• How can games be helpful in advancing STEM education? 

• Read about the five ways that video games can transform learning and help prepare students for the future workforce. 

In a time when there’s a lot of focus on STEM education, finding great resources for students is important. A great resource for students is engaging, informative, and fun—it makes sure they keep coming back. At CalPac (the public, online California charter school I lead), our team of science teachers has experience in teaching and private industry science labs, and we wanted to take a moment to share our top list of web resources that we use in the online classroom, for independent student learning, and when tutoring.

  1. Kahoot! This tool can be used in a classroom to pit students against one another in a game setting. Or students can play by themselves to test their own knowledge.
  2. Discovery Education. If you are looking for free, standards-based digital content, look no further. This website has resources for students, parents, and educators. On this site, you’ll find games and get homework help.
  3. Froguts. If you don’t want to cut open a frog on your dining room table, this software has incredible virtual dissection labs that bring science into your home (but not on your table).
  4. The Physics Classroom.  Their website features tutorials, interactives, concept builders, and teacher resources.
  5. Science Friday. Want to tap into podcasts as a medium for your students? Science Friday produces a weekly podcast that tackles various scientific topics.
  6. PBS Learning Media. This website is multisubject, but can be sorted by grade level and subject. Resources include audio, video, images, PDFs, etc.
  7. Cells Alive! If cells, microbes, and the immune system are your thing, this website has games, puzzles, and models to help students interact with science.
  8. Periodic Table of Elements. This online resource puts everything you ever need to know about the elements in one place. It will link every element to its Wikipedia page, give the electron count, state the properties of each element, and more.
  9. Live Science. The website covers the latest scientific news, and includes other topics such as health, technology, earth, space, etc.
  10. Science Buddies. This resource rounds out the top 10 with a focus on Careers in Science.  This is a crucial resource for College and Career Readiness standards.

Read more about each of these helpful science education tools by Christine Feher at Getting Smart