Blending Science

I focused my research on finding sources that included science, as many common core focused websites/account do not account for science just yet. 

Gooru is an education platform that seems similar to Edmodo to me but aligns with next generation science standards. Gooru also has an assortment of resources connected to each topic/standard. It will lead you to a variety of credible websites and puts together a good tutorial with using what they found was important to the topic from each source. I find myself doing that often in my own class where I will like one aspect of the source but not all of the information or how it is presented. This site seems to do that work for you which is pretty cool. Negatives I see with using Gooru is that it is another platform to mix in, needs a class code, but it can be connected using their Gmail that our students will be very used to. Still a source to explore (has other subjects too!), you need to sign up but its free.

Another resource that I have found but I think will be more effective and developed in the future is free virtual online labs for students. The technology is out there but for a price tag. There are a few released labs for students with sites that are promising that they are developing, but I think it may be a long process. I think it would be a valuable reteach tool if students didn’t understand the major takeaways from the lab or if they were absent on lab day, they would still be able to access the information in a lab setting without having to participate in the hands on (more fun) atmosphere.

Another source for online material Merlot II (all subjects).   

I know there is plenty more material out there to keep exploring and look forward to figuring out how to best effectively use these resources in my classroom next year.