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How can students engage in an interactive science lesson through remote learning? Any recommendations for interactive science websites?

Thanks Lianne for getting us started.  At NSTA we compiled a list of resources suggested by educators. The list can be accessed at the collection below. This may be just a starting point...hope it helps.

https://learningcenter.nsta.org/mylibrary/collection.aspx?id=R2UEnDteWYQ_E

Could others share additional resources/strategies regarding remote teaching?

Take care,

Flavio.

Thank you for offering this forum.  Any resources and counsel on the handling of remote labs?

Thank you for creating this list.

I work on a website about water footprints that has been a big hit with teachers. It has lesson plans (with both in-class and out-of-class activities) for middle- and high-school students that could be easily adapted for younger or older students. I'll post some links to the different types of content below. Check it out if you get a chance.

watercalculator.org - links to the water footprint calculator

water footprint lessons - links to middle-and high-school water footprint lesson plans

educator resources - links to information for teachers, students and younger kids, and includes lists of websites about water

Aqua: Save Water - links to a youtube video about about a girl and her dog who help their family save water when their reservoir runs low

We also have tips and losts of content about the connections between water, food and energy systems. Enjoy!

At the UCAR Center for Science Education, we surveyed all our existing educational resources to identify which ones would work with students learning at home. Here's the link to the resource collection: Help K-12 Students Learn About Earth from Home. There is a lot for middle school in this resource page.

I would recommend zoom, it is a great resource and is very easy to navigate. In particular, I have been receiving university courses using this platform and it has been going really well because the teacher can engage with students and everyone can participate. Similarly, a great feature that I love about zoom is that it allows you to share your screen, meaning that you can display powerpoints and videos during your sessions and  this really promotes student learning. The only concern that I see with zoom specially with the younger students is that everyone has an access to internet and a device, other than that I consider is agreat tool that can be use from elementary all the way to the university courses. 

Hope that my advice helps. 

With everything that has been mentioned, I highly recommend all of those resources.  Something that I've always found useful though, is that students gain a much deeper understanding once they get their hands on these investigations and experiments.  With the whole distance learning going on, it is much more difficult to get materials especially those related to science which can be more expensive.  There are always experiments and investigations that can be done at home and that are safe for the students.  Have them create their own experiment or replicate one with materials they can find at the house or purchase from a Dollar General, etc.  Make sure they record their demonstration and reflect upon their findings.  Then you can review the videos they submit using GoReact or Flipgrid.  There are tons of experiments that can be done at home, you just have to google them or most of the time I can find them for free on teachers pay teachers.  Hope this helps!

When working with remote teaching and learning, what are good strategies that work for students who have IEPS or 504 plans? 

Gizmo (under ExploreLearning) has some in depth virtual labs that are free to use, however this is a great time for student directed experimentation! One lesson I am working on is in conjunction with our math department where we will have students design a garden in their backyard or in an empty space. Students will have to create a sun map of their location along with documenting any plants or animals that may affect their garden. Although students may not be able to actually make their garden, it has students considering biotic and abiotic factors that could affect crop growth through their own discovery.

At the middle school level, I recommend using Legends of Learning. This is a standards-based platform that allows students to learn/ review information in a fun and creative way. Students are able to apply the knowledge that they have acquired in this online scenario. Often times the games bring a real-world aspect to the science. For example, I recently covered land and sea breezes with my 6th-grade students. The Legends of Learning game involved the student transporting people in a hot air balloon. They had to use their knowledge of land and sea breezes to transport the people in time. Great and fun resource!

If possible you can even video tape yourself doing these interactive activities. This will help with any frustration for those visual learners in your class as well as parents who want to provide the necessary tools for their children. Hope this helps and maybe sparks some ideas!

Considering that Science is very dependent on hands-on activities, I think that remote learning poses a challenge for teachers to keep the authenticity of the Science core curriculum. However, going through this experience with the Coronavirus and relying on remote learning as the only way to educate students it is important to think about strategies that can help students engage in hands-on activities. In order to do this, I think that teachers can provide videos of easy at-home experiements that students can do on their own, provide an instructional video that students can follow from the comfort of their home, or have them complete an interactive lab online! 

I have biology classes that were getting ready for dissections.  I found the Glencoe Virtual Lab site and it has virtual labs for more than just the one discipline.

https://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/virtual_labs_glencoe.html

My students appreciate the change.  I also have Pearson online license that I have used the last two years.  Great series K-8; Elevate Science.  

I think now is a great time to get students doing observations outdoors. There are so many things they can learn from just taking a walk around their neighborhood or looking in their own backyard. They can create their own research paper from what they observe. Allowing the students to pick the topic may really help grow their interest in the sciences.

When working in a remote learning setting what is one way to ensure that students are understanding the concept and incorporate all students? 

Here is a list of games, simulations, and virtual labs for assorted science topics, from a variety of sources, with brief reviews and screenshots; suitable for use in an online curriculum: https://flyrussell.com/reviews

I recommend a lot of the interactive, low-cost or free, and already prepared Nearpod science activities. My favorites have the 360 degree view in Nearpod VR, such as the bumper car one featuring the concept of force.

Here are a few websites I have seen preservice teachers use remotely with their mentor teachers when they co-taught lessons either asynhronously, via videorecording using https://edpuzzle.com/, or synchronously during a zoom class/office hour: 

https://phet.colorado.edu/ (Hooke's Law and more)

http://virtualbiologylab.org/ (population genetics)

https://www.decodingcancer.org/resources (virtual precision medicine lab)

 I agree with previous posts about trying simple at home experiments that can be done with minimal supplies outdoors.

I really like Kahoot and Quizlet live to get students involved. It makes it fun for them and they are still learning something. 

I don't have a specific science website but I agree with what some others may have said. I think that the typical Kahoot and Quizlet are great websites to keeo students interactive! You could have the procedure steps as the questions on kahoot and have the students answers be the correct thing to do during each step, or something to that effect! I also think that creating/thinking of some activities where the students might have the things already at their home or are available to get outside (leaves or anything in nature) would be a great way to keep them interactive for science lessons! 

I actually have found quite a few games relating to science on pbskids.org!! One I really thought was interesting was the plant growing one! 

Here are some resources we have discussed a fair amount at my school. They are not science specific, but should help make remote learning more interactive!

If you have access to the Google Education Suite, Google Jamboards are a really neat way for students to collaborate on a virtual whiteboard. Bonus is that it integrates well with Google Classroom.

A web-based app called Hypothesis (https://web.hypothes.is/) is an interesting tool I'm using to have students annotate and engage with text collaboratively. It may not be as friendly to elementary students, but I'm not as familiar with that age group. I know some of our MS teachers are using it.

Padlet is a neat tool where students can post responses and then they can be sorted, color coded, etc. When in-person I do a lot of activities with sticky notes where students put down their questions and ideas and then we sort them, create timelines, models, etc. Padlet seems to be a good virtual tool for that. One of our 6th grade science teachers uses Padlet religiously (even when in person) to get students to post their 'wonders'.

Quizizz is one I haven't tried myself yet, but it was demonstrated for us by a colleague and it seems like it could be a really useful tool especially for formative assessments on content. There are lots of different modes you can use to create questions to make them more engaging and if you select that option, Quizizz will automatically add funny memes between questions.

EdPuzzle is a tool that allows you to embed questions into videos at strategic points. So if you assign a YouTube video for example, you could put questions that check for understanding at certain key points.

Finally, something I am really liking so far is digital interactive notebooks using Google Slides. There are lots of videos available with examples, you can find free templates and paid templates on Teachers Pay Teachers. So far I'm finding that they take a long time to create, but once you've created them, they make life a lot easier! If a student is absent or for some reason loses connection, you can just make sure they know which slides you're working off of that day. It seems to be sort of a virtual equivalent of a lab notebook that has students keep everything in one place.

Kahoot is a great source for quizzing the children on their knowledge. There are also websites where you can virtually disect different animals. I cannot wait to gain more experience and learn of more websites to use!

I think that teachers can find great videos on YouTube about discrepant events that would get kids thinking. Then students can Observe the event, come up with 'I wonder' statements, make a plan for an investigation, and then do the investigation (if possible) if it is not possible then students could write in their science notebooks how they would conduct their experiment and what hypothesis they have. Maybe when students finally get to return to school the teachers could pick a few of the experiments to do together as a class!

To get students learning virtually to perform science experiments, having them do fun, easy activities from their homes will allow them to learn in creative ways. Outside observations is an effective way for every student to learn equally through drawing and writing about what they experience outside. This can be related to leaves in a changing  season or the temperature changes from dawn to dusk. Every student has an outdoor space that they could experiment with. 

Sometimes it takes a bit of work to find the best way to teach your students. There are plenty of science related websites where you can watch science experiments, you could have students do an experiment with everyday household items that they could start getting together the week before, etc... You could do a science lesson over zoom in your classroom or at home, a kahoot, a quizlet, or even google classroom. You could even use all of these resources and post them to google classroom. Brainpop us a good resource for videos. You just have to put the work into looking for the best way to teach your students.

If you have any opportunity to work with Pear Deck, it is a wonderful addition to remote learning. I am fortunate that my school chose to purchase the license to use for us. I don't know how much it is, but if you can't afford it, try DonorsChoose.

I am a future teacher and have been observing at an elementary school! The teacher has still been doing experiments along with different hands on activities students can do on their own. The teacher and students all just have to take the steps of being extra careful with social distancing. For the students who are not in the classroom the teacher pre records the lessons.

I am a future teacher and have been observing at an elementary school for my field placement. My students are hybrid right now. When my students are at home, their teacher assigns Mystery Doug videos for them to watch. I know it is not the same as having a real science lesson, however, my students get really into the videos and I have often heard discussions about the videos with their classmates. 

I am a future teacher and have been observing at an elementary school for my field experience. My class is all virtual so my teacher records his lessons and posts them for his class to watch. He does experiments and records them and they are great videos!

Hello guys! Just wanted to let you know i've been using Twinkl for all of my remote teaching classes as I persuaded by head-teacher to adopt this method and it's been such a great experience, they have EVERY resource you could possibly imagine, and with a membership you're able to create your own resources! This has been a godsend for me and it's allowed me to create bespoke resources for my children!!

Check out the reousce editor!

https://www.twinkl.co.nz/create

A resource that I have found to be incredibly helpful during remote learning is Notability. It allows students to save worksheets and different activities onto their iPad's (a one-to-one situation), and then draw, write, and highlight what they want. They then can turn this into Canvas (the learning platform my school is using) where I can see all they've done. This allows for students to work individually, as well as eliminate paper in the classroom. This has been incredibly helpful for me during these challenging times! 

Hi Lianne! 

I highly recommend a Kahoot game or maybe even an interactive website where the students can participate as a class via remote learning. These are hard times but do not beat yourself up about these things. We are all learning new ways to keep students engaged via remote learning every day. 

Hi Lianne! 

I highly recommend a Kahoot game or maybe even an interactive website where the students can participate as a class via remote learning. These are hard times but do not beat yourself up about these things. We are all learning new ways to keep students engaged via remote learning every day. 

Hello! A couple interactive science websites that I like are Gizmos and Generation Genius.

https://www.explorelearning.com/

https://www.generationgenius.com/

Another way to keep the stuents engaged during your science lesson is by having interactive slides and brain breaks. Having a 5 minute brain break through the day really helps the students to be able to concentrate more. 

A couple of my favorites as a student are quizlet live and kahoot. I love how these two platforms add the competitiveness to the subject. Personally, I always felt like I learned my best when there was a fun game involved. I definitely plan on using these in my classroom!

I watch an educator on YouTube (Pocketful of Primary) that has shown how she uses Nearpod to teach all of her lessons. I really think she does a great job explaining how to use it and the benefits of using Nearpod for virtual learning. Here is the link to that specific video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDfmsnq9Qg0 

I tried to read as many responses as I could to see if anyone already said this and didnt see it but I apologize if I missed someone who already said this: https://mysteryscience.com/lessons/distance-learning 

This resource has many different lesson plans ranging from K-5 and a section specifically for distance learning. I recently taught a virtual lesson that was based off a lesson from this site that wasnt even on the distance learning tab. Most of the lessons come with Google Form versions of the plan and include editable pdf versions of worksheets. The lessons include a video, an activity, an assessment, and extension activities. Overall, I thought it was a great resource!! 

Agreed.

Nearpod has worked very well in my classes

I am a Special Education Teacher Assistant for high school and I have seen how using Kahoot and Class Dojo keep them engaged. Simple questions with multiple choice and a friendly competition works well. I also keep in contact daily with the parents and students to make sure the students login daily. 

I just remebered Science Buddies is a great one! Also Scratch for Engineering topics

Find ways to have students actively participate in lessons using tools like Jamboard, Google Slides sticky notes, break rooms, and digital journals.

Hello,

I believe that using online recourses to keep your students engaged in the lesson are very useful when it comes to remote learning. Some recommendations of interactive websites that I have are Kahoot, Whiteboard fi, Jamboard, and JeopardyLabs. Other than using those online sources, I believe that having your students use standard household items to conduct a mini science experiment during class time, with an adult present, will engage them in the lesson as well.

Distance learning can be such a difficult thing to do, especially with Elementary students. As I've seen students do school from home, their motivation has gone down significantly. Some students do not seem motivated to do school from a screen, and that is completely understandable. As a teacher, I believe one of their main jobs is to keep their students motivated through distance learning. Without motivation, a student will not want to do their school work and their grades will most likely go down. By implementing resources such as Kahoot can keep a student motivated and eager to learn. 

Hi there, 

I would have to agree that implementing the resource of Kahoot into remote learning can be a great way to get students excited for learning/reviewing and for them to be engaged. I have seen this in the a third grade classroom of the students being engaged with kahoot. 

I think that hands on learning and having fun expirneces really stick with a child and help them learn more. Kahoot is an awesome resource to use. Children love competition so this is a fun and safe way to do so. Also, I think that virtual labs and expriements are very helpful to be hands on with out actually being completely hands on.

Hi! I personally believe that assigning some sort of scavanger hunt would be a great way to get students up, moving, and engaged. Even during such a hard time! You could give them a list of items to find and have them measure, predict, or use any science process skill to describe their item. Then they could upload their findings to a class discussion. 

Virutal field trips are a great way to get students engaged and learning when they are not able to go on a real field trip. There are many resources out there that offer virutal field trips that are filled with videos and activities that students can easily do from home. A resource my cooperating teacher uses in my field placement is called Discovery Education. I believe the school has to pay for it, but it is a great tool to get students engaged and she said her students always love when she pulls up a video from the website!

In college, we are being prepared to teach with a lot of virtual components in lesson plans of all subjects. My favorite way that I have found to get students participating and interacting online in an exciting way is through virtual museum tours. There are so many fun ones for zoos, aquariums, or even a Mars 360 tour with NASA  (https://accessmars.withgoogle.com/). Here are some others within science and other subject areas (https://www.purewow.com/family/virtual-museum-tours-for-kids). You can even schedule your time when some of the businesses offer live tours with tour guides to speak to your class!

Hi there! I guess it would have to depend on the type of labs that you were wanting to do. For example, in my high school.. we did not get to dissect any animals. But, there was an online website that showed us how and where to dissect a frog. It was super interactive and fun. Plus, some people in my class did not want to actually do it, so this way they did not have to actually do it. It also had questions that you had to answer throughout it. Another website that students could use, is Buncee. This website allows for students to be as creative as they want. They can draw pictures, add photos, videos, links, stickers, gifs, etc. 

There are a lot of tech tools that can help with keeping students engaged while doing remote learning. Recently I just found a website called EdPuzzle and many more. This website is free and amazing!!

A tool that I have seen used with students is Mystery science. I think it is a great way to keep them engaged. It has so many topics to pick from!

I think that any interactive website would help bring interest to students. Maybe visit some that would give opportunities for students to learn and be engaged at the same time. Also, creating some fun quizzes from kahoot or other sites based on videos you could show the students on a topic could help as well.

With remote learning, I found it difficult to keep students engaged. For elementary grades, especially. I want to find new and creative ways to get students interested in the content and cultivate intrinsic motivation to learn about science and other subjects.

In my opinion, distance learning is as great as it is made to be. Although instruction is presented in a manner outside of the norm, it can still provide students with engaging activities that give them most of an in class experience. Distance learning does take a little creativity to maintain student attention for the allotted time they are in the session, but it is still possible to encourage academic growth and success through a virtual format. It would benefit teachers to have accessible resources such as applications and online materials that could be utilized by all students inside as well as outside of the classroom. However, I feel that a distance learning experience can be just as beneficial and successful as a classroom experience with positive implementation and creativity.

In my opinion, distance learning is as great as it is made to be. Although instruction is presented in a manner outside of the norm, it can still provide students with engaging activities that give them most of an in class experience. Distance learning does take a little creativity to maintain student attention for the allotted time they are in the session, but it is still possible to encourage academic growth and success through a virtual format. It would benefit teachers to have accessible resources such as applications and online materials that could be utilized by all students inside as well as outside of the classroom. However, I feel that a distance learning experience can be just as beneficial and successful as a classroom experience with positive implementation and creativity.

Hi Lianne! Remote teaching has its challenges, but I discovered an engaging resource that made my Clinical Experience II memorable. Blooket, a fantastic review game, added a dynamic touch to my third-grade science classroom. The students enthusiastically participated in games like Crazy Kingdom and Café, enhancing their understanding of science concepts. Whether creating custom sets or using existing ones, Blooket is a versatile platform. I highly recommend it to educators and students alike for its educational yet entertaining approach. Check it out here is an informational blog blooket:  It's a game-changer!

How can we include hand-on activities in the subject of science during remote learning?