University of Central Florida associate professor Humberto López Castillo was recently looking at a student project when he saw that it cited a paper by Castillo himself. There was, however, a problem with this citation: López Castillo couldn’t remember ever writing this paper or conducting the research it referenced.

“It was a hallucination,” López Castillo says.

The student had clearly used AI, and López Castillo shares the story as an example of how not to use AI in the classroom. Still, he has plenty of counterexamples.

López Castillo, a trained pediatrician and associate professor in the Department of Health Sciences, has also seen students use AI in creative ways to promote public health understanding, and as a research tool. For one project, López Castillo asks students to explain health concepts from class to non-experts, and since he started encouraging students to use AI, he’s seen the projects get better. Students have created health-themed board games and Hamilton-style rap songs. Others have designed AI to aid in health research in ways that wouldn’t be possible without the technology.

This compassionate and student-centered approach to AI use is part of why López Castillo was named Superhuman (formerly Grammarly’s) 2026 Educator of the Year. The student who nominated López Castillo for the award, Vardhan Avaradi, is a bioscience major, who with López Castillo’s mentorship, is using AI to try to comb through massive data sets with the goal of predicting people who are at risk for cardiovascular disease.

López Castillo shares some advice for other educators on how they can use AI in their classes.

Teaching With AI Effectively: Set Expectations

The first step to positive AI use in a classroom is making it clear to students when they can and can’t use the tool, López Castillo says.

“Perhaps my most important advice is to set expectations up front around what is allowed, what is not allowed, what you are expecting to see, and what is a big no-no for your classroom,” he says.

He adds that at the University of Central Florida, “We have several policies on the menu that we could use. We can say, for example, ‘AI is absolutely not allowed in the classroom,’ all the way to ‘AI is absolutely encouraged in this classroom,’ as long as you specify there's a critical thinking component.”

López Castillo leans toward the permissive approach but makes sure that student AI use is human-driven.

Model Proper Use

Part of encouraging proper AI use is modeling the types of uses you want to see.

For example, for a summer course López Castillo is teaching in Barcelona, he is asking students to share regular blog posts. He tells students, “You may generate some content through AI, but you still have to put in your human element.” He models exactly what he means in his introduction post in which he shares photos, talks about his hobbies, and makes it clear the post was written by a human.

“Without even giving them guidelines on what their introduction post should look like, they just take that as their model, and they go with it,” he says. They can use AI to help generate their posts, “but of course they have to tweak it, and they have to provide their own input on who they are.”

Learn From Students

López Castillo is not afraid to admit that when it comes to using AI in the classroom and health science more broadly, he is frequently as much a student as those he’s teaching.

“I learn a lot from students,” he says. “Teaching and learning is a two-way street, so they are teaching me new tricks, I'm teaching them new tricks on how we use AI, and it has been very collaborative.”

His students, for instance, encouraged him to use AI to code, which, with proper oversight, has been really helpful, López Castillo says. They’ve also used the tool in unexpected ways, from the aforementioned projects looking at cardiovascular health to a virtual escape room in which participants had to correctly diagnose a patient with diabetes in order to escape.

Embrace Teachable Moments

López Castillo has long allowed open-book tests because that is what the clinical world is like.

“I don't think real life operates like, 'We're gonna lock you down in a room without resources, and you have to produce everything from your brain,'” he says. “I'd rather make sure that you have a fair balance of the tools that are available to you.”

He feels the same way about AI, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have to work with students to ensure they are using AI correctly. For instance, when that student cited a paper by López Castillo that didn’t exist, he met with the student.

“We sat down, and it was an interesting moment, where I was like, 'Tell me more about this paper by me that you incorporated in your reference list,'” López Castillo says. The student immediately got nervous because he couldn’t provide any details since the paper wasn’t real. When the student admitted to not checking his sources, López Castillo reminded him that even with AI, humans are still in the driver’s seat.

“You are the one who's responsible for that writing,” López Castillo tells his students. “Your name is the only name that's going to be among the published authors, so you are the one who needs to verify those sources.”

He adds that rather than being a drawback, allowing students to make these types of mistakes with AI use in the college setting has value.

“It is a teaching opportunity," López Castillo says. "This is the moment to make those mistakes."

Brilliant is a gamified online and app-based STEM teaching and learning platform that offers highly interactive lessons with step-by-step problem solving, dynamic visualizations, and brief explanations designed to keep learners engaged.

Brilliant’s slogan, “Everyone is a Math Person,” suggests its appeal to learners of every aptitude, and conveys its aim to reduce math anxiety and foster students' self-motivation.

The platform not only appeals strongly to students, but also to educators, as full premium memberships are available free to qualified educators.

What is Brilliant?

Founded in 2012, Brilliant comprises a STEM learning website plus Android and iOS apps. It partners with the nonprofit Mathcounts Foundation to support math education for middle school students and is accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges as supplementary education in math, science and technology.

Brilliant’s STEM games and puzzles are highly visual, interactive and engaging, while providing immediate feedback as students progress through problem sets and lessons. Its gamified interface uses clever sound effects and top-notch animations to reward and encourage persistence and concept mastery.

Aimed at students in grades 3-12, Brilliant offers thousands of lessons in the topics of math, computer science, science and data.

How Does Brilliant Work?

To apply for a free premium education account and start teaching with Brilliant, sign up at educator.brillaint.org. You will then be prompted to create two accounts - an educator account and a student account. The student account is required in order to explore and test the interactive courses and lessons, and view the site from a student perspective.

The next step is to create classes and invite students. This can be done easily via an invitation link or by syncing with Google Classroom. In this way, student accounts will automatically be created as premium accounts, free of charge. Note that educators log in at educator.brilliant.org, while students log in at brilliant.org.

Finding and Assigning lessons
Brilliant’s well-designed lessons dashboard makes it easy to find lessons for your students. First select the desired subject tab, then search by topic, grade, or standard. From the results page, teachers can copy the lesson link, post directly to Google Classroom, or preview the lesson before assigning. To complete the lesson as a student would, you’ll need to use your Brilliant student login that you created earlier. The platform will prompt you to do so.

Student Progress
While Brilliant is not an assessment platform, it does provide progress notes on students by reporting on the number of lessons each student completes and time spent on each lesson. The Highlights dashboard offers an overview of the class performance, including the total number of lessons completed and time spent, as well as listing students ranked by lessons completed. These reports, while not granular, do provide a general sense of the progress gained by individual students and the class as a whole.

What Are The Best Brilliant Features?

Brilliant’s clean interface, sophisticated graphics, and sound effects yield a fun and fluid interactive experience, allowing students to learn by doing. Gamified features such as streaks, points, and battery charges boost engagement and provide small rewards on the way to topic mastery.

Lesson Abundance and Variety
The sheer variety and abundance of STEM lessons in math, computer science, science, and data is remarkable. Within each lesson, levels progress from simpler to more complex, offering multiple exercises to reinforce learning in different ways. Suggested grade levels give teachers the ability to carefully curate lessons based on student grade and achievement. Since lessons can be separately assigned, teachers are able to individualize instruction according to student skill level.

Self-directed learning
Brilliant is an excellent platform for self-directed learning, as it allows students to follow their STEM curiosity without worrying about grades. The ability to jump ahead in lessons will be especially appreciated by advanced students who need less practice time to gain mastery.

Enrichment
Brilliant is ideal for highly motivated and advanced students. Instead of feeling bored and restless when they finish their lessons ahead of their classmates, they can move ahead to the next related lesson or simply "jump ahead" to a topic that intrigues them. At the same time, with its scaffolded lessons and the opportunity to repeatedly practice a single concept, it's also a great tool for struggling students.

Is Brilliant Safe for Kids?

Brilliant does not share, sell, or disclose any personal information of students, nor does it use student information for marketing or other non-educational purposes.

Additionally, the website states that Brilliant for Educators is designed in compliance with global privacy laws, including COPPA, FERPA, and GDPR.

How Much Does Brilliant Cost?

Thanks to a grant-funded program, Brilliant Premium is 100% free for qualified educators. Just as important, students of qualified educators are also qualified for a free premium account.

Eligible educators include the following:

• Elementary, middle, and high school teachers at accredited K-12 schools.
• Principals, superintendents, and other administrators at accredited K-12 schools or districts.
• Camp instructors, club leaders, or nonprofit employees working directly with children for educational purposes.

For general users, Brilliant operates on a freemium model, with basic features such as daily lessons available to free users. Premium users can take advantage of unlimited learning in an ad-free environment, personalized practice, and the ability to jump ahead in courses.

Teachers may recognize the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) brand as one bearing a strong reputation for trustworthy news and information on wide-ranging global topics, including many relevant to the American audience. So when I learned (in Edtech Show & Tell August 2025) that the BBC had launched new preK-12 teaching resource, I took a close look at its offerings.

The BBC Learning Hub website is easy to navigate and features plenty of colorful previews that are sure to engage students. While the number of resources (~1,700) is relatively modest at this time, it’s likely that many more will continue to be added. Given the BBC’s trustworthiness as an information provider, and the fact that the site’s resources are fully free, educators are well advised to check it out.

How does BBC Learning Hub work?

To access all resources, users can quickly create a free account with email, or log in with an active Google account. To locate resources, simply click on the Classroom Resources in the top menu and enter a keyword in the search box, or click on the convenient list of resource types: Videos, Collections, Lesson Plans, Blog Posts, Student Articles, Printables, and News Clips. Clicking a resource type leads to a filtered search page, where users search by type, grade range, subject, and topic.

Teachers can save resources to their account, assign via Google classroom, print, or share as a link or pdf.

The Learning Hub’s strongest subject is clearly science, with more than 1,000 resources, and social studies, with more than 300. Math, English language arts, and social-emotional learning are sparsely represented at this point, but I would guess more will be added in the coming months.

What are the best BBC Learning Hub features?

Science and Nature Videos
It’s no surprise that the science and nature videos on BBC Learning Hub are top notch. Many are excerpted from the BBC’s vast library of high-quality nature and educational series, and include segments narrated by the best in the nature video business: Sir David Attenborough.

Explore the world of polar bears, penguins, turtles, sea otters, reptiles, strange predators of the deep, and many more fascinating animals and ecosystems. Even better, the Learning Hub has turned each video into a lesson plan, which includes questions, activities, vocabulary, writing prompts, and printable worksheets.

To find related videos grouped in a single sharable link, filter your search by "Playlist." Teachers can also create their own playlists of related resources.

Student Articles
"Student Articles" aren't written by students, but rather for them. Nearly 150 leveled reading passages cover diverse topics from the life of children in the Middle Ages to microplastics. Each passage is available in two to three versions suitable for students reading at Lexile levels from 400L-1400L, or grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-12.

While the brief articles aren't a complete lesson plan, these can serve as a source for homework assignments or as a supplement to relevant curriculum.

News Clips
Comprising high-interest topics such as Minecraft, esports, and teen wrestling, the Learning Hub's news clips are brief, engaging videos that examine important, interesting and occasionally obscure news stories. With the accompanying printable worksheets, news clips can become the core of a complete lesson plan.

How much does BBC Learning Hub cost?

The BBC Learning Hub is fully free for students, teachers and all other users. A free account is required to access resources.

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Many of us grew up hearing that watching TV “rots the brain,” but that sentiment has never applied to Sesame Street. In fact, research shows that simply watching Sesame Street helps kids learn in a variety of ways, from increasing literacy and knowledge of math concepts to school readiness and emotional learning. In some instances, the positive impact of watching Sesame Street on children matched much more costly and resource-consuming interventions for young learners.

The beloved children’s show is made by the nonprofit Sesame Workshop and launched in 1969. Sesame Street’s future was recently uncertain when the streaming service Max announced it wouldn’t renew its contract with the show last December. Netflix, however, has stepped in to save Sesame Street, with a deal that will see new episodes debuting on Netflix as well as PBS and PBS Kids.

In anticipation of the show coming to Netflix, I thought it would be a good time to examine its educational impact. To that end, I spoke with Marie-Louise Mares, a communications professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Steven Holiday, an advertising professor at the University of Alabama. Both have studied the impact of Sesame Street on children and their education and provide a closer look at the science of Sesame Street.

The Science of Sesame Street: How The Show Teaches Kids

Sesame Workshop, the nonprofit that produces Sesame Street and other shows, built educational science into Sesame Street’s DNA.

“Right from the word 'go,' they involved educational scientists,” Mares says. “There's always been both formative research, where the writers and educational psychologists and so on are kind of generating scripts and plans, and are doing this kind of rapid cycle pre-testing.”

The show’s creators have also done summative research to evaluate the effectiveness of the show, and in so doing, better understand how children learn overall. That includes assessing and thinking about aspects such as the length of segments and presenting the same lesson in varied ways.

“It's considered really effective, in part because they're willing to tweak it and alter it based on the sort of feedback they're getting from the kids and evaluations of the kids,” Mares says.

Using Advertising Strategies to "Sell" Kids Kids Learning

Holiday has researched how Sesame Street uses Madison Avenue sales techniques to “sell” learning to children. Sesame Street has a magazine format and features commercial-like segments that teach kids about reading or math. This is by design, Holiday says, noting that the show’s original creators knew that commercial breaks actually help sustain interest.

“They hired somebody who was from the advertising world and said, ‘Hey, make these actual commercials that are structured like commercials that are going to sell something to kids. Let's sell them letters and numbers,'” he says.

Good educators often take this type of advertising approach naturally, and Holiday’s research found that Joan Ganz Cooney, a co-creator of Sesame Street, believed Madison Avenue sales people had actually stolen many of their best sales techniques from effective teachers.

Whatever the origins, Holiday believes using advertising strategies to educate children could be better harnessed overall, including from app developers.

The Educational Impact of Sesame Street

Watching Sesame Street has repeatedly been associated with positive outcomes in children and for such things as early school readiness.

In 2013, Mares was the lead author on a meta-analysis of 24 studies conducted with 10,000 children in 15 countries. This study found that watching Sesame Street was associated with significant positive learning outcomes, including literacy and numeracy, learning about the world, health and safety knowledge, social reasoning, and attitudes toward out-groups. Overall, Mares research suggests that children who were scoring in the 50th percentile on tests before viewing the show could be predicted to score in the 60th percentile after viewing it.

The positive gains associated with watching Sesame Street that Mares observed were similar to other interventions, including nutrition programs and pre-K classes.

“[The effect sizes] are kind of on the upper end of small by some metrics,” Mares says. “But when you compare them to other kind of attempts to intervene in cognitive learning outcomes or emotional outcomes with kids in similar countries, it's along the lines of many of those other interventions, and those other interventions are often much more difficult to have reach and scale, because they're often in-person, and evolve giving money, giving food, etc, having preschools, and so on.”

Other research has found similarly positive effects.

Getting The Most Out of Sesame Street and Other Educational Shows

To maximize the educational impact of watching Sesame Street, both Holiday and Mares say the best thing a parent or caretaker can do is watch the show with their child, though they acknowledge that isn’t always possible.

Even just listening in and talking about the concepts with your child later can help, Mares says. She adds that in her research with parents of young kids, they often tell her that shows such as Sesame Street or Daniel Tiger are most helpful when they reflect back on it as similar situations occur in real life.

"Daniel Tiger often has these kinds of lessons about how to handle reading or washing your hands after you've used the potty, or whatever it may be,” Mares says. So if a child is getting upset, a parent might ask them what Daniel does, and remind them to “take a deep breath and count to four.”

Holiday says parents should make sure to ask their kids questions about the show, ideally as they’re watching it but also later.

“The parental co-viewing and communication, where you're there with them, and you see the content and you have them think through the content, will amplify that learning,” he says.

The Sesame Learning Channel, available exclusively through Discovery Education, offers ready-to-use early childhood resources for educators, including to support whole-child success in foundational math skills, language and literacy skills, and health and wellbeing, with lesson plans, embedded educator support tips, micro-PL videos, family supports, and more.

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Tappity is an app-based learning platform, and more, which aims to teach science- and STEM-focused subjects using interactive learning.

While the Tappity website features downloadable courses, this is primarily designed as an app that can be downloaded for use by kids from the age of four and up.

A few app versions are available, with both K-1 and K-5 titled options you can pick from to suit the age of your little one. These are designed to tackle learning in a more interactive approach than simply videos, so students can explore and learn in a way that's engaging and that sticks.

This guide lays out all you need to know about Tappity for education.

What is Tappity?

Tappity is an app-based learning platform that teaches science of varying types through the use of interactive videos, quizzes, games, and stories. Primarily this uses videos, with responses required, so students feel like they're interacting with a real teacher.

The idea is to offer an app that is immersive and guided enough to help children, even of young ages, explore and learn around a STEM subject area. It is designed to work with the curriculum of the specific child's age so they're learning appropriate content to compliment school education.

This elementary school-aged app is aligned to Next Generation Science Standards for K-5.

How does Tappity work?

Tappity is an iOS app that offers an array of areas covered under the science remit. These include life, earth, physical, space, and more.

The website also has specific courses that can be downloaded to teach a subject area, such as STEM courses for math and science, and coding courses for making games.

The app is comprised of more than 100 topics aimed at helping children aged four to ten. While a lot of the interactivity happens right there in the app, this also offers workbooks and materials for hands-on experiences, both with parents and for teachers to use in class.

Crucially, there are live science teachers who work with students using the app. Kids can ask a question and receive an answer from a real person -- making this a powerful learning tool for at home as well as in class.

What are the best Tappity features?

Tappity is fun and that is a key point here as kids can learn by play, making it effortless and enjoyable so they want to come back for more.

Since this app is entirely narrated, even younger children, and those not yet reading fully, are able to interact and learn without barriers. The fact they can interact with a real person, as if their own personal science teacher, is a real bonus, too.

Usefully, lessons invite kids to ask their parents to come and see what they've learned. This is a nice way to create interactive moments, time away from the screen, and a chance for kids to cement their learning through saying it aloud.

Students fill in a science journal as they learn, and can access lots of short videos with interactive questions and discussion points to explore a subject. This variation is superb, with kids working through lessons, stories, experiments, and participatory videos as part of covering the material being taught.

The Tappity Live weekly science shows are another nice touch that gives kids something fresh and special to look forward to and enjoy each week.

How much does Tappity cost?

Tappity is free to download and does give you a few free options to try before investing in the full offering.

For free you can get access to the first Tappity story in each world and access to the Tappity Weekly Game Show -- without the need to create an account. A 14-day free trial is available for you to try before committing to the full package.

Tappity can be paid for monthly at $14.99, or annually at $74.99. Or go for a three-month plan at $24.99.

A Tappity lifetime membership that covers everything, forever, is available for $149.99.

Tappity best tips and tricks

Start together
Teacher or parent, it's a good idea to start the app together with kids so they can feel confident going ahead alone as they settle.

Expand out
Use the subject area covered to dive deeper, teaching ways to research further and expand knowledge outside of the app itself.

Meet weekly
Use the weekly game show as a way to group up and enjoy together, linking socializing and learning in a fun and friendly way.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
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Science Journal for Kids is an online resource created by teachers for teachers and students.

The full name is now actually Science Journal for Kids and Teens, so this now expands beyond the basics to more challenging scientific materials.

The site founder, Tanya Dimitrova, was an elementary science teacher and environmental science reporter before developing this STEM resource project. Now the team has grown and the offering is expansive.

The result is an online science magazine for kids with peer-reviewed research, written in age-appropriate language.

This guide aims to explain all you need to know to see if Science Journal for Kids and Teens could work for your class.

What is Science Journal for Kids?

Science Journal for Kids is an online science magazine for kids and their teachers. It features peer-reviewed research papers that can be downloaded and read for free.

Crucially, this is offered in a writing style that is tailored specifically to suit students of a younger age. The idea is to give them access to the ever-evolving world of science in language that is accessible and, hopefully, more enjoyable for them.

The papers come with more resources so that teachers can work with students to dive into STEM material in more detail. Having Kickstarted back in 2015, this has grown and developed to offer a great resource from a not-for-profit organization that has a goal is to help young scientists learn.

How does Science Journal for Kids work?

Science Journal for Kids is a magazine, albeit a digital one. It gets released on a regular schedule and is updated constantly with resources, so it's always growing online. It offers downloadable content that has been written, edited, and refined before being released, so quality can be expected.

Since this has been building over years, there are plenty of resources right there on the website to dive into right away. The date of publication is on there, so time-sensitive teaching can be taken into account.

If you simply want to teach a certain subject, or specific topic, you can search that way and likely find a paper and complimentary materials all there waiting for you to access and teach.

Once in an article, teachers and students can download the paper itself as well as the supporting resources. Then there are videos available that can be used to supplement the teaching experience.

What are the best Science Journal for Kids features?

Science Journal for Kids is a rich resource and the fact everything is so well organized makes it easy to use. Teachers can download papers and lesson materials so everything can be taught offline if needed.

Since it all is stored with helpful keywords attached, it makes searching a viable option to find specific STEM topics and subject areas.

Teachers have access to a host of "Lesson Plan Ideas" on each topic with the original academic paper there as well as lesson plans, resources on the topic, and even government documents to provide more information.

The helpful "Related SJK Articles" section allows teachers and students to explore further a subject while staying within related topics.

The related videos are easily accessible as all are hosted on YouTube. While some come from third-parties, as vetted by the SJK, there are also bespoke creations from the site itself. Although these generally just go through the papers with a voice-over.

How much does Science Journal for Kids cost?

Science Journal for Kids is a not-for-profit company that aims to offer its resources for free to students and teachers.

It does not appear that there is any tracking or advertising on the site, which requires no personal details to get using right away.

Science Journal for Kids best tips and tricks

Go to the scientist
Use the Ask A Scientist section to hear podcasts, see video interviews, or read blogs written by the researchers themselves.

Watch at home
Have students watch of listen to the complimentary videos before class so they come with an understanding of the paper up for discussion.

Follow the class
Have students find a paper, within an area you suggest, to pick for the next lesson discussion and break-out work.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
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The mind-bending world of quantum mechanics provides many opportunities to engage K-12 students in important STEM lessons, says Todd Campbell, a science education professor at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education.

Not only is the quantum realm fascinating for its strange implications, such as spooky action at a distance and the Schrodinger’s Cat paradox, quantum computing and other quantum research are growing STEM fields, which current K-12 students can potentially join and impact. All of which provides a compelling educational opportunity, Campbell says.

“We want students to see the exciting parts that are unfinished that they could play a role in,” he says. “We want them to see that we're at the edge, and there's applications and things that we haven't even figured out yet, and you could be part of that.”

To that end, last summer Campbell and colleagues from UConn’s departments of Chemistry and Digital Media and Design hosted a three-day professional development event for high school chemistry teachers with the goal of helping them create new K-12 curriculum for chemistry concepts. The idea was to provide specific lessons and ideas for ways in which K-12 teachers can introduce students to the quantum world and its applications in everyday life. To do this, they created a specific high school-level unit based on modern technology built on quantum mechanics.

Campbell shares how this lesson was developed and how the thinking behind it can lead to other quantum mechanic-based lessons.

Teaching Quantum Mechanics With The Help of Modern TV

Many students won’t have to look far to see how quantum mechanics influences their lives. If they have a modern TV, there’s a decent chance it’s powered by QLED technically, which is short for Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diode.

Campbell and his colleagues have developed a K-12 quantum unit around these QLED TVs that was built to support lessons suggested in Next Generation Science Standards, which have been adopted by a majority of states. During the unit, students learn about how quantum dots and nanoparticles, which power QLEDs, were developed in the 1980s, with the scientists who invented these awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2023. Students then have to do some work to understand and conceptualize why this technology is an improvement over a traditional LED TV.

“We wanted students to think with us about what is it about quantum dot LED television that make them better than just an LED television. So why are people so excited?” he says. “These quantum dots have found broad technical and health applications.”

Environmental And Justice Impacts

Impressive as the QLED technology is, Campbell and his colleagues wanted to ensure that their lesson also encourages students to think about the implications of this technology.

“Part of what we try to do in all our work is we try to think about how innovations for some could be pollutions for others,” Campbell says. “So we're trying to think about what are the hazards of quantum dots. And we thought about like cadmium mercury and lead, or the compounds that are generally used to make these, and those you know at that scale also could have hazards that we're not aware of.”

The impact that emerging quantum technologies will have on society are another reason why it makes sense to start giving students practical lessons in quantum mechanics, Campbell says.

“Students can be a part of ensuring that there's justice in how this work unfolds," he says. "So it's not some corporate conglomerate who decides to contract for quantum technology, it’s people who are deciding what is and isn't the way that we want to move toward this work without exploiting, extracting, and demolishing things.”

Advice For Teachers

The unit on quantum LED TVs developed at UConn is available to other educators. However, Campbell says it’s not the only way educators can incorporate quantum mechanical exploration into their lessons.

“This is one example of a cutting-edge contemporary science focus,” Campbell says. “There are lots of others, and you really have to use the basic disciplinary core ideas that we're teaching students to get there. So it's a really good application of those foundational core ideas to get to the edge of of what you might be learning.”

The big idea is that connecting the seemingly far-out concepts of quantum mechanics to an everyday item such as a TV helps students better conceptualize what quantum mechanics really is.

“Students learn things and as they apply them they can make a web of connections that leads to them being able to think with those ideas later,” Campbell says.

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Tinybop Schools offers a digital space for science modeling with which students can interact and learn.

Rather than showing a process in a book, with arrows, or on a video, Tinybop creates interactive situations. The idea is to have students engage with STEM and scientific processes so that they can see how they work in a hands-on and memorable way.

Thanks to curriculum-aligned and multi-language content, this should make for a very useful resource for teachers to use in class and for students at home.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know so you can assess if Tinybop Schools is suitable for your class.

What is Tinybop Schools?

Tinybop Schools is an interactive models tool designed for schools to teach sciences to students. This covers life, physical, and earth sciences with many model examples for each, with which students can interact.

Thanks to a focus on simplicity, this is a drag-and-drop interaction STEM-teaching system that can be picked up easily, even by younger students. In fact, it often doesn't even require reading to understand.

Thanks to iOS, Android, and web app options, this is very easy to access across devices so students can use their personal ones or class setups as needed.

How does Tinybop Schools work?

Tinybop Schools lets a teacher setup an account that can then have student profiles created within that to be shared as needed. Students are then able to begin using the models right away on any device signed in with that account.

Teachers can introduce topics or use printable materials to help students understand what they are about to experience. Alternatively, teachers can set a model and have students begin to explore it on their own. Thanks to the self-explanatory nature of the models, and the curriculum-aligned material, it can make for a great way to have students explore and learn that way.

Students can explore life sciences, such as how a mammal gives birth or the human body digests food; physical sciences, including states of matter or weather; and earth sciences such as space and tectonics. Each category has more than enough to cover most teacher requirements.

What are the best Tinybop Schools features?

Tinybop Schools is so intuitive that it can be used from a very young age and by students of a wide range of abilities. In fact, it's so simple that often it can be a watch-only process that still teachers students plenty even without an ability to interact or read.

The language options are broad with the basics in English but translated content that is available in more than 40 different languages. Since this works across nearly any internet-connected device, it should be very widely accessible.

Some really helpful printables are available that make both teaching the topics and assessing them an option. Unfortunately, there isn't a lot of digital feedback in the teacher dashboard as student progress isn't monitored or assessed there.

How much does Tinybop Schools cost?

Tinybop Schools offers a one month free trial and a few tiers of pricing options for schools to use.

The Homeschool level, charged at $50/year, gets you a single teacher sign-on and up to five students.

Go for the Classroom tier, at $150/year, and you get four teachers and thirty students.

The Schools tier is a custom option that allows for wider access at a bespoke price. This also offers curriculum mapping, translation, LMS integration, dedicated training and support.

Tinybop Schools best tips and tricks

Go free
Rather than introduce the tool, have students play with this to learn how it works, giving them a sense of control and satisfaction as they interact.

Print resources
Use the printables as a way to expand the exploration and to give students a deeper understanding of what they just experienced.

Assess
Take time to stop and assess student uptake to see how they adapt to this learning style, and in what ways you can add to the experiences as needed.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
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The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that by 2029 employment in STEM occupations will increase by 8%, more than twice the rate of non-STEM careers. And the fact that the median STEM wage is more than double that of non-STEM wages underscores the importance of effective K-12 STEM instruction.

STEM subjects can be dense and difficult for students to engage with, which is why these top STEM apps can make a valuable addition to your STEM-teaching toolkit. Most offer free basic accounts, and all are designed to capture the imagination of users, through games, puzzles, and high-quality graphics and sound.

Best STEM Apps for Education

Periodic Table 2024: Chemistry iOS Android Web
An extremely popular free app that provides a wealth of useful information about the periodic table and its chemical elements. Click on any element to reveal a submenu of images, history, properties, solubility, Wikipedia links, and more. With more than 40,000 ratings, this app has a remarkable average 4.8 stars out of five. The developers keep the app updated and respond to selected comments. Don’t have a mobile device? Not to worry, the web version is accessible on your desktop computer and is super easy to use.

Tynker: Coding for Kids iOS Android
An award-winning app, Tynker Coding for Kids teaches the basics of coding and beyond with games and puzzles that teach coding principles. More than 200 starter tutorials help users practice skills with every new step. But it’s much more than simply learning skills -- kids can create and launch their own characters, weapons, drones, and more for Minecraft, Crystal Clash, and Barbie. Free app with in-app purchases. To unlock all features, purchase a subscription of $24.99 per month or $59.99 per quarter.

Froggipedia by Embibe iOS Android
A former Apple App of the Year, Froggipedia invites users to embark on a virtual exploration and dissection of frogs, all without textbooks, lab space or ethical concerns. High-quality images and animations demonstrate frog anatomy, life cycle, and behavior in a way that will engage kids in learning frog biology—and pique their interest in other life science topics.

K-5 Science for Kids - Tappity iOS
Guided by Haley the science expert, kids learn science with thousands of fun interactive lessons, activities, questions, and stories covering more than 100 topics, including astronomy, Earth science, physics, and biology. Lessons align with the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Free to try, with several paid subscription plans.

The Elements by Theodore Gray iOS
Animated by detailed, high-quality 3D graphics, The Elements by Theodore Gray brings the periodic table to life. With its strong visual appeal, it’s ideal for engaging science learners of any age, while older students will benefit from the depth of information presented.

The Explorers iOS Android
This former Apple TV App of the Year winner invites amateur and professional photographers and scientists to contribute their animal, plant, and natural landscape photos and videos to this extensive showcase of Earth’s wonders.

Hopscotch-Programming for kids iOS
Designed for the iPad, and available for iPhone and iMessage as well, Hopscotch-Programming for Kids teaches children age 4 and above the basics of programming and game/app creation. This multiple-award winner is an Apple Editors’ Choice.

Inventioneers iOS Android
Kids learn physics while having a blast creating and sharing their own inventions, aided by Inventioneers Windy, Blaze, and Bunny. Winner of Parents' Choice Gold Award.

Minecraft: Education Edition iOS Android
The ultimate building app for students, teachers, and kids of all ages, Minecraft is both a game and a powerful teaching tool. The education version provides hundreds of standards-aligned lessons and STEM curricula, tutorials and exciting building challenges. For teachers, students, or schools without a Minecraft: Education Edition subscription, try the hugely popular original Minecraft: iOS Android.

Monster Math: Kids Fun Games iOS Android
This highly touted gamified math app allows kids to learn and practice grade 1-3 Common Core Math Standards. Features include multiple levels, skill filtering, multiplayer mode, and in-depth reporting with skill-by-skill analysis.

Prodigy Math Game iOS Android
Prodigy uses an adaptive game-based learning approach to engage students grades 1-8 in building and practicing math skills. Math questions are aligned with state-level curricula, including Common Core and TEKS.

SkySafari iOS Android
Like a pocket planetarium, SkySafari lets students explore, locate, and identify millions of celestial objects, from satellites to planets to constellations. Try the voice control feature, or use it in augmented reality mode to combine a simulated sky chart with the real view of the night sky.

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In two years the United States of America will celebrate its 250th birthday. This momentous event will also celebrate the American spirit, marking our penchant for innovation and advancement.

Recently, I had the privilege of accompanying some amazing students for some awe-inspiring science experiments thanks to the Center of Science and Industry (COSI) and their partnership with the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Bring Me Your Scientific, Your Innovative

The day began with a trip to the Statue of Liberty. As many may know, the Statue of Liberty was a gift to the U.S. by way of France to commemorate the creation of our government. What some may not realize is that the island that Lady Liberty occupies is, itself, a park.

The event, dubbed the American Innovation Learning Lunchbox STEAM Kit Distribution, saw students from the Special Music School in Manhattan, New York, travel by ferry to Liberty Island to take part in a private tour of the statue and island, an interactive demonstration of the kits they would receive, and special-made American Innovation Learning Lunchboxes.

Once there, we made our way up the lengthy, narrow stairs of the Statue of Liberty, learning interesting facts about its construction, maintenance, and importance. Afterward, we convened behind the statue to watch as Dr. Frederic Bertley, COSI President and CEO, and Stephen White, VP of External Affairs, Strategic Initiatives, and Business Development, conducted three amazing science experiments, something which has never been done before on Liberty Island.

For the second part of our day, I accompanied COSI to the Locke School of Arts and Engineering, where the students gathered in the yard to watch Bertley and White conduct science experiments to the delight of the young faces.

The best part was that each student, both from Special Music School and Locke School of Arts and Engineering, received an American Innovation Learning Lunchbox so they could conduct their own experiments at home.

Bringing the Wonder of Science Home

I had the opportunity to speak with Bertley about the importance of introducing students to science with an emphasis on hands-on learning.

“This event was a mashup of several ideas,” said Bertley. “So we at COSI realized that, as much as we love our physical building, our bricks and mortar, our museums, because of the computers we have in our pockets, we have access to pretty much everything. So if you want to see and experience cool stuff from 50, 100, 200 years ago, you have to go to a museum. That’s where the art was. That’s where the hands-on activities were.”

Then, when the pandemic hit, COSI came up with an idea to keep students engrossed in science.

“When our doors were closed and people couldn’t come to COSI, we said, ‘We’re going to put COSI in a box,’” Bertley said. “We created a water kit, a nature kit, a human body kit, a dinosaur kit, and with each iteration, we had a lot of support.”

And how did the idea to celebrate America’s birthday come to be included?

“First, talking about American innovation,” said Bertley, “We’re celebrating 250 years of this great country. How great would it be if we did [science experiments] at Liberty Island, in front of the Statue of Liberty, which is not just for the United States, but the world’s symbol of freedom, liberty, and innovation. That’s why we’re here.”

The students enjoyed the day, the experiments, and showed a real enthusiasm for the science they experienced. It may very well be that within this group was the next influential scientist who will have been inspired by COSI and will help shape the next 250 years.

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Mosa Mack Science is an online resource that aims to make the lives of science teachers more straightforward while also engaging students. It does this by using fun characters and interactive experiences.

As the company describes it, this offers "documentary-quality phenomena," meaning the resources are rich and detailed to cover teaching requirements while also capturing the attention of students. As it adds: "We create the experience, so you can focus on the learner."

Thanks to addressing NGSS science and engineering practices, this system of modules can make teaching a simple and effective process. This guide aims to explain all you need to know about Mosa Mack Science to see if this is right for your class.

What is Mosa Mack Science?

Mosa Mack Science is all about awakening excitement in young scientists by offering engaging digital lab experiences.

This takes real-world science and engineering problems and poses those challenges in a classroom scenario for students to solve. It is designed to bridge the gap between science theory and real-world solutions.

By using scientific mysteries, this keeps student interest piqued while also helping them explore real-world phenomena and science solutions.

While this is primarily a digital offering, it is designed to work across virtual, in-person, and hybrid learning scenarios as needed.

This is aimed at science grades 4-8 with plenty of lessons to suit that age range, and lots of resources to support teachers too.

How does Mosa Mack Science work?

Mosa Mack Science uses cartoon-based scientific experiments, mostly led by an engaging live-action video or cartoon featuring the main character, Mosa Mack. Students can then begin performing experiments to solve the mystery.

The modules are spilt into three sections: Lesson one is the video, Lesson two is The Lab for hands-on investigation, and Lesson three is The Engineer using the learned content.

Teachers are provided with a host of resources including lesson plans, digital drag-and-drop vocabulary maps for students, and a question bank full of testing options. This is also aligned to work in NGSS assessment style for the best possible teaching focus.

What are the best Mosa Mack Science features?

Mosa Mack Science is NGSS-aligned so it can make the process of connecting science and engineering very simple. This works well through the interactive assessments in which teachers can add in their own open-ended response options, checkbox choices, and images with questions, all as needed.

The videos are super engaging, which is a great way to start the process as it captures the imagination of students, getting them excited to learn. The high-quality and well-thought out materials then keep that excitement going as students progress through the learning experience.

Thanks to offering both teacher-led and student-led focus on the various lesson options, it can be adapted to suit the needs of the class or students on any particular day.

Also it's possible to pick and choose sections for use, allowing teachers to time this perfectly to suit the amount of space they have in that lesson.

How much does Mosa Mack Science cost?

Mosa Mack Science offers a limited amount for free and then charges for most of its offerings.

The free part consists of the animated mysteries, so you can use many of the videos to get students engaged, but all the other materials are charged.

To get access to everything you'll need to pay for the full Pro service, which is charged at a quoted rate.

Mosa Mack Science best tips and tricks

Just watch
Use the free videos to introduce your own lesson without the need to follow prescribed resources.

Use plans
Give students time to work on formulating plans of action, then share these with the class and future groups.

Use the vocab
Work through the vocabulary in the class to help make it more accessible for students.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

Teachers often don’t pay enough attention to the science of teaching. I know this because I used to be one of these teachers.

As a journalist, I frequently write about science and health, and am fascinated by the cutting edge of human knowledge. However, for the first half-decade or so of my teaching career as an adjunct professor, that interest did not extend to the science of teaching. I wasn’t against using evidence-based strategies in the classroom, those approaches just weren’t on my radar.

That all changed when I started writing for Tech & Learning and regularly interviewing educational scientists. Before this, I taught primarily by intuition and through a grab bag of ideas learned during my own time as a student or gleaned from colleagues and supervisors. The good news is much of what I did already matched with strong educational science — my intuition, like that of most teachers, has been generally pretty sound. But not everything I or my colleagues did made sense, according to the latest science.

Over my years of teaching, I’ve come across department-mandated practices that have been debunked as ineffective, and have seen things I did in my own teaching that were unlikely to be helpful for my students. Today, I do my very best to avoid these mistakes and try to keep up with the latest teaching research. I’m certainly not perfect in this regard, but I’m hopefully always improving.

Here are some of the main ways in which science now informs my work in the classroom.

1. Avoiding Learning Styles

When I was in college, one of my professors had every student in class complete a learning style questionnaire. According to the questionnaire, I was a "visual learner.” Later, as a teacher, I thought about how I needed to make sure my lectures appealed to visual, audio, and other types of learners. These efforts were at best a waste of time since learning styles are a myth.

The idea of learning styles was popularized by an Australian educator in the 1990s based on his anecdotal observations. Subsequent research has repeatedly failed to find any evidence that learning styles are real. So, needless to say, I no longer take these into consideration when preparing for a class, and instead prioritize my time around teaching strategies that actually work, such as providing individualized feedback.

Unfortunately, I do still find myself interacting with students and colleagues who bring up learning styles, and I am trying to devise better strategies for informing them about the research. Right now I worry that when I contradict people who believe in learning styles, I come off like a jerk.

2. Better Utilization of Video

Sending a student a link to a video explanation of a concept, say comma usage, can feel like a cop out. My thinking used to run like this: “The student is paying the university and, therefore, me, for my expertise, and won’t I do a better job explaining the concept than a YouTube link?”

The answer is actually, “No.” Students will probably learn better from a high-quality YouTube lesson than from me. That’s according to a 2021 study that found students learn better from video lectures than in-person lectures. With this study in mind, I don’t shy away from assigning and sharing vetted videos with students based upon specific knowledge gaps I notice in their work

Dr. Michael Noetel, lead author of this research and professor of psychology at The University of Queensland, told me last year that I wasn’t the only one who worried I was taking a shortcut with video. “For a while, I think educators saw videos as the lazy way to teach, or they thought students only liked videos because they found reading hard,” Noetel says. “That’s starting to change.”

3. More Pretesting

As a student, I hated the stress caused by high-stakes tests. So as a teacher, I’ve mostly avoided these in favor of projects — this is easy to do since I teach writing, which naturally lends itself to projects (papers) better than tests.

These days, however, I’m exploring a new type of testing: pre-testing. This counterintuitive strategy has professors giving ungraded tests to students before they have a chance to learn the material. This may feel weird and counterintuitive, except pretesting has been shown to boost learning.

Being tested in an unfamiliar subject with can be frustrating for students, but when you explain the cognitive benefits, they tend to understand the theory behind it and come around.

4. Less Lecture

I’ve become a big fan of active learning, which research suggests can be more effective than traditional lectures. But again, I used to feel bad about not lecturing as that was what felt the most "school-like” to me.

Now, with active learning in mind, I’m dedicated to devoting more class time to in-class writing and other writing-related projects. I used to worry about not lecturing enough, but now I worry about lecturing too much.

Of course, I have not abandoned direct instruction, as that has strong evidence to support it as well. I have, however, gone away from the idea that true teaching means standing in front of the classroom and imparting wisdom to students. I’ve learned to trust my instincts that the best way to teach students to write is to have them spend as much time as possible — including during class — actually writing.

5. Fighting AI-Generated Papers

I’ve always been against work for work’s sake. Unlike some teachers, I encouraged my students to use automated citation tools, as I didn’t buy any of the arguments against using these, especially for undergrads. So I like the idea that generative AI tools can save students time and believe these are great for helping with spelling and grammar.

That being said, I’m firmly against AI writing replacing student writing even if AI writing gets good enough that students won’t need to write in the future. That’s because of the positive ways in which the writing process is linked to cognition, thinking, and learning. This is well-documented and something most of us have experienced. For example, it’s why you remember a high school history paper or other written projects. And while writing this article I learned more about my relationship to research in the classroom because sitting down to do it forced me to really think about it and remember how I've grown and evolved as a teacher.

Consequently, the research is clear: Students will be robbed of these types of critical thinking experiences if they outsource writing to AI.

• The Research-Practice Divide is Real. Here's How To Overcome It.
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Science Buddies is the name becoming synonymous with hands-on science projects and all the support students or teachers could need in that area.

Sure, the website itself might look dated, however, much like a science project, it's what it can do that really counts. In this case that means getting access to huge amounts of STEM resources with more than 1,200 projects from which to pick.

This is a great place to find suggestions for science project ideas, hands-on activities, guidance, teaching tools, STEM fair events, and plenty more. The idea behind Science Buddies is to remove the prep work from projects to leave more time for the actual creation and learning part.

What is Science Buddies?

Science Buddies is a website that's dedicated to providing resources that support the creation and execution of science projects.

Students and teachers can use the site to search for science and STEM project ideas, but also to have suggestions made based on their subject or grade level.

The site is filled with useful videos, instructional guidance, images, and project details so students and teachers can dip in and get as much as they need -- or a bare minimum just to spark ideas.

The option to join and login to have project ideas saved for quick access in the future is available too.

How does Science Buddies work?

Science Buddies is a free-to-use resource so you can begin using it right away with a few taps. Search for projects by area of science, grade level, or kit types. It's also possible to use the search bar to simply type in the area or project type you are looking for to get a selection of options.

For teachers there are also many resources available, including lesson plans, engineering challenges, STEM classroom kits and activities, science fair tools, and more -- all for free access.

Once you've found a project, it's possible to follow along the guidance from what it aims to teach right through to how you can build and present it. This also even has fairs listed in the events section for you to work toward, if needed.

What are the best Science Buddies features?

Science Buddies is crammed full of helpful features when it comes to science projects and STEM learning in general. Primarily, there is that search option to find a project, be guided through it, and have support.

Beyond that, there is the events listings to find science fair events and camps, and STEM activities for kids, as well as plenty of reference material, scientific methods, engineering design processes, and more.

For teachers there is a dedicated section that offers lesson plans, STEM classroom kits, video lessons, science fair tools, engineering challenges, a blog, and a STEM calendar.

A science careers section offers a career discovery tool that lets students take a short quiz to discover what job might suit them best. Also available are earth and physical sciences career guides and more for life sciences, engineering, math, and computer science, plus health.

How much does Science Buddies cost?

Science Buddies is totally free to access and use with no adverts or data-tracking, making it a truly ideal teaching resource that's dedicated to helping potential future science career enthusiasts find their way.

Science Buddies best tips and tricks

Have a mini fair
Setup a mini science fair in class with very simple projects to give even younger students a taste for how fun and empowering these can be.

Career focus
Have everyone take the career quiz and then spend the lesson discussing the outcomes and potential careers with the students.

Go national
Enter science fairs as a class, or group, with a view to showing off what your students and school can bring to national events.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

When Maryland adopted the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in 2013, STEM leaders in Prince George's County Public Schools, home to more than 130,000 diverse students, knew it would take a comprehensive effort to make sure that all learners were included.

“I think the whole notion of equity and access from day one should start from pre-K, not middle school, not high school, but pre-K and go through college,” says Dr. Godfrey Rangasammy, K-12 Science Supervisor for the district. Rangasammy and Jessica Leedy, PGCPS high school literacy coach, were recently honored for their work by Tech & Learning with an Innovative Leader Award during the Delaware/Maryland/Virginia Regional Leadership Summit. 

Consequently, the district has undergone a decade-long effort to address STEM equity across all grades – pre-K-5, middle, and high school – with Rangasammy spearheading the effort. The focus has been on equitable access to exemplary teachers, science/STEM curriculum programming, and instructional best practices. In addition to making sure content is NGSS-aligned, an additional emphasis has been put on student achievement and career and college readiness. 

Building Equity Through NGSS: Being Intentional 

Rangasammy points to research that shows Black and Brown preschoolers are marginalized. “When I look at whatever behavior of Black and Brown students, be it suspension rates in middle school, high school, and even in society – it all starts in pre-K,” he says. 

Thus, pre-K is the ideal time to start all students down the STEM path. “The excitement is there, especially in the early grades. We get the kids excited and asking questions and talking about science or writing about science. You know, the ‘light bulb going on’ moments.”

The PGCPS STEM equity effort originally started with an internal assessment, and then has focused on improving engagement with new NGSS-aligned textbooks and course materials, phenomena-based learning, hands-on activities, and creating opportunities to connect with those working in STEM fields.

“You really have to bring in the experts in science in the city, so the students can see people of the same race, ethnicity, and so forth, in the district,” says Rangasammy.

Collaboration is also key, says Rangasammy, both with his staff and teachers, as is building capacity. Acknowledging that many teachers may have only had a few basic science courses in their own education, addressing gaps in curriculum and pedagogy through external audits and connecting with experts is critical. Getting everyone involved and invested needs to happen.

“In my office, I keep telling my folks, ‘Change is a concept. Go with it. It's gonna be here and you're here when you leave, it's still gonna be here,’” he says.

And, of course, involving the community is also essential. Since initially there was no science taught until second grade, Rangasammy pushed to start STEM Fridays during summer school that feature fun hands-on activities such as coding and robotics, as well as sending home hands-on manipulatives. “The kids loved it, so the parents loved it,” says Rangasammy. “Also, the focus there was 40% ELD. So that's the marginalized population, and trying to support bringing them up to a level where they could compete with all kids.”

‘No Price on Curiosity’ 

The district has also embraced phenomena-based learning, and is connecting it to real-world situations, such as studying the nearby Chesapeake Bay ecosystem. For a hands-on learning example, ninth-grade students grow live mussels in tanks in their classrooms, checking and analyzing data on pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen turbidity, and other factors. 

The district also encourages participation in its annual science fair, which is in its 76th year now, making it one of the oldest in the nation. They recruit STEM organizations to be involved and provide scholarships. “We’ve had winners who happened to be Black and Brown kids, so we know we can make a difference,” Rangasammy says. “We can challenge the status quo and we can change it but we have to be consistent. So it takes a lot of work. The vision is okay, but you have got to put in the work. Plus, the right people have to be in the right place to want to do the heavy lifting.” 

Ultimately, Rangasammy says that NGSS focuses on supporting marginalized populations and meeting kids where they are, from pre-K through 12.

“There's no price on curiosity,” says Rangasammy. “That crosses all socioeconomic groups, right?”

• Best Practices for Implementing STEM Resources
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Slooh provides students and teachers access to live feeds from real telescopes at some of the top viewing locations in the world. This includes locations in the Canary Islands and Chile as well as a new telescope in Australia slated to come online in early 2024. 

I found real value in Slooh's educational resources, which are aligned with Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). I also liked the active community of experts and citizen science astronomers who helped me understand and do real astronomy as well as participate in live events. While doing my review I participated in “Quests” and “Star Parties.”

With the total solar eclipse coming in April, having a tool such as Slooh can help support student interest in astronomy and STEM topics.

Slooh: Getting Started 

I found getting started with Slooh easy. Once logged in to my account, I was brought to my dashboard. The dashboard is the hub from which I can contribute to the community, share and view observations, schedule new or view past Missions, as well as join Quests and Slooh special events. A place to view my saved photos and those shared by the community is also available. 

Slooh has a large amount of astronomy content and I was a little overwhelmed at first, but the introductory video as well as their quality resources and support flattened the learning curve rather quickly. As an educator, I appreciated that Slooh is not about simulations, but allows students hands-on control of real telescopes. Also, the gamified learning features will further motivate students to continue their knowledge.

I can assign students Quests to teach about space and the universe in a real tangible way that goes beyond simulations and textbooks. Quests are NGSS-aligned guided activities designed to help students use their telescopes to explore space. The gamification of Quests allows students to earn Gravity Points and Badges for motivation and engagement.

Missions are 5- or 10-minute sessions on a telescope scheduled for a particular date and time when students or teachers can control one of their telescopes to explore and capture images of a particular object in the universe. Pre-set missions are also available that I could join as part of the community. All the images taken are saved in your account.

Slooh: Best Features 

• Slooh "Missions" that give live control of real telescopes in world-class locations to observe the universe in real-time.
• The “Workspaces” feature integrates with Google Classroom and provides me with access and control of NGSS-aligned “Quests” that I can assign to students. As well as giving students the tools to create posters and animations to show understanding and share knowledge. 
• Gamification of learning to engage and motivate students to continue their learning independently. 
• The online community is a vibrant group of experts and passionate astronomy amateurs who share their expertise and answer questions.  

Slooh: Pricing

Pricing varies depending on the plan selected and if you want a single, multiple-classroom license or one for your building or district. An advanced telescope control license for high school astronomy courses is also available. 

To see more info or request a quote you can visit Slooh’s pricing page. 

Slooh: Key Takeaways

Slooh provides students and teachers access to high-quality live telescopes and up-to-date data and imaging to bring the science of astronomy to life. I found it refreshing that I wasn’t just learning on my own, or with classmates if I was a student, but with a community that supports one another and shares resources. 

Ultimately, Slooh gives teachers and students studying space STEM fun and real-life science experiences that will motivate them to explore the universe even more. 

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SciSummary is an artificial intelligence tool that joins the ranks of the many other AI smart-shortcut offerings. It is described as being like ChatGPT equipped with a science PhD.

At its heart, this is a GPT-3-powered AI but it has been custom-tuned, so to speak, in order to best work as a tool you can use to summarize scientific writing. The idea is to offer a simple way to shorten long scientific papers to make them more digestible and easier to read.

In schools this can mean teachers are theoretically able to read more papers, getting summaries to cut down on reading times. But it can also allow students to access a wider breadth of science and STEM-related reading that could help them discover what it is they find most interesting to read in more depth.

This guide aims to lay out all you need to know about SciSummary so you can decide how it best works for your class.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

What is SciSummary?

SciSummary is an AI tool that can be used to summarize scientific papers to be read or shared with ease, digitally. 

SciSummary uses the Chat GPT-3 AI smarts to work out what it is reading and how to best summarize that for human consumption without losing the important details -- but while cutting back on length.

If you've even had to read multiple scientific papers you will likely understand how useful a tool this can be. And for students, that want to get an idea of a complex STEM-related paper, this could offer a way to reach that without being put off by an otherwise complex read.

Comparative to using another AI, such as Chat GPT-3 on its own, this presents the results in a more clear and detailed fashion, making it a genuinely useful standalone tool.

How does SciSummary work?

SciSummary is an AI platform so it will use artificial intelligence to work out what you're asking for, how to achieve that, and how to lay out the end result to best serve your request.

SciSummary isn't a search engine though. You'll need to input a paper for this to analyze before giving it back to you in a new form. First you sign up, which can be done with a Google account or a few other options. Then you pick the type of document you're uploading, select it on your drive -- or enter a URL -- and then select if you want brief, medium, or long results, and finally let the AI get to work.

You're then given an output that can be scrolled through, can feature images from the original, such as graphs, and then offers tags at the end and an option to ask for the AI to expand upon an area that might have taken your interest.

It's very straightforward, even for younger students to use, and the results appear in seconds.

What are the best SciSummary features?

SciSummary is simple. As such, you can do this with lots of papers, one after another or as a batch, without it costing you a great deal of time. That makes it a really helpful research tool both for educators and students alike.

SciSummary does have its faults, of course. As you can see from the document above, the results don't make a lot of sense and feel like a placeholder that could apply to anything. But in its defense this was a social sciences paper so perhaps that's not so easy with which to work.

Get into the hard sciences, such as physics, biology, chemistry, or math, and this can work wonders. Crucially, for teachers, it can help you stay up to date with the latest breakthroughs without spending lots of time poring over the long papers.

Since this is all online-based, it means easy access from nearly any device. As long as you can input the paper, including from a URL, then your device can work to read the output.

You also get sent the summary in your inbox, which is a helpful way to check it later and have access, perhaps from a mobile device when on the move.

How much does SciSummary cost?

SciSummary offers several pricing options including a free version of the software, which actually offers a lot of functionality.

The Free plan gets you 10,000 words summarized per month, the first document being up to 200,000 words, the rest after that being 10,000 words maximum, five documents indexed for semantic search, unlimited article searches and import, and summarize references with a click.

The 1M Words plan, charged at $4.99/month or $39.99/year, gets you 1 million words summarized per month, maximum document length of 200,000 words, unlimited bulk summaries, 500 chat messages per month, 1,000 documents indexed for semantic search, and unlimited article searches.

The 2M Words plan, costs $8.99/month or $79.99/year, and gets the above but with you 2 million words summarized per month, 1,000 chat messages, and 2,000 documents indexed.

The Lifetime plan, at $299.99, gets you 10 million words summarized per month, all the above, plus no more fees.

Or there is an option to pay as you go in which documents are charged at a one-off fee for around $2 each.

SciSummary best tips and tricks

Set a summary
Give a complex paper to the class and have them use this tool to summarize it so they learn the uses and pitfalls of AI in this context.

Summarize yourself
Pick a paper you enjoy, summarize it yourself, then use the AI for another version. See if the class can tell the difference and work through why.

Send to self
Load all your latest must-read papers in before you leave to go on a journey, then access the summaries via email to read on the go.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

Writing about STEM is vital to help spread new scientific ideas and discoveries to students, experts, and the public at large. The problem, Brandon R. Brown says, is many STEM experts have never studied the craft of writing and communicating their work to the world. 

“Most of us in scientific and engineering training get so little coursework related to communications,” says Brown, an author and professor of Physics and Astronomy, Arts and Sciences at the University of San Francisco. 

After they graduate, many scientists are surprised by how much writing they have to do. “One of the sad consequences is we have a template for a lot of scientific writing that comes from lab reports,” Brown says. “You start with an introduction, and it's dry and historical, and then you get into methods, and then you get into your data. And then you get into so-called discussion and conclusions.” 

Students pick up on these conventions and are often trained either directly or indirectly to write about science in this dry-as-the-desert manner. Brown seeks to reinvigorate scientific prose by providing professors, scientists, researchers, students, and others an alternative model for STEM writing in Sharing Our Science: How to Write and Speak STEM, which was published in August by MIT Press. 

While his advice is aimed at professional scientists, educators can use his suggestions for conveying STEM subject matter to students and start encouraging their students to write about STEM in a more interesting way. 

1) STEM Writing: Think Like a Fiction Writer

“I'm not preaching, having people hanging from cliffs or have loaded guns on the mantel,” Brown says. But when writing about science, more scientists and educators could use the storytelling techniques of fiction writers to enhance their work. 

“It’s nothing revolutionary, but just taking concepts from fiction such as, 'Why on earth would anyone want to read past the first paragraph?' – keeping that reader in mind as a human being,” he says. “I think a lot of science and engineering communication assumes great interest on the part of the audience. And some domain experts will have to be interested. But there's a way we can surface our critical questions, or [explain] why the work is important that can help motivate the reader and make it a more engaging read.” 

2) Use Subheadings 

Sometimes making STEM writing more engaging is an easy matter of adding some subheadings between different sections to help tell the story of the research being discussed. 

“In today's world, people scan documents really quickly between meetings,” Brown says. “If they just see ‘introduction,’ ‘methods,’ and ‘discussion,’ that tells them nothing. The world, even in research journals, welcomes more descriptive subheadings that help tell a story at first glance.” 

3) Use Better Sentences 

In the book, Brown spends time stressing the importance of good sentence structure in writing rather than the long-winded, passive, prepositional phrases that constitute so much STEM writing today. 

“I joke with scientists about how would you invite one another to lunch?” Brown says. “If you were doing it like you were writing a research paper it would take 10 minutes and be in passive voice and be very confusing.” 

To avoid this type of confusing-speak, Brown recommends taking the advice of Francine Prose, an acclaimed novelist and writing guru, who urges writers to read what they write out loud and ask themselves if they would ever say something that way. If the answer is, “No,” then it’s time to re-write. 

4) Highlight Narrative Tension

“One great professor I had, said, ‘Every plot boils down to something or someone having a goal and running into obstacles,'” Brown says. “I think scientific and engineering readers love the story of, ‘What obstacles did you come up with and how did you get around them?’” 

Brown urges those writing about STEM to start with those obstacles. “'Here's what we want to do and here's why it's difficult.' Setting that so-called narrative tension up top can be great,” he says. “A lot of scientific writing and technical communication has that story in it, but submerged a little bit like at the end of the first two pages, or at the beginning of the second section of the paper. And I don't think it hurts anyone's format to surface that.” 

• Using The National Parks to Support STEM Learning
• Best Practices for Implementing STEM Resources

Are you ready to see the power of spreadsheets for mathematical, statistical, and scientific thinking? Let’s follow the path of using data to derive a mathematical model and then, using the model, to build an interactive simulation. A survey of 330 teachers found the No. 1 data analysis tool was – wait for it – Google Sheets! MS Excel was third.

Spreadsheets are the low-end of the computational food chain and can get your students started in relatively simple computations that can get really jacked-up if you want.

Google Sheets offers the big advantage of being free and allows for online collaborative efforts in the classroom and out-of-class projects.

Data - Large and Small 

Collect your own (first-hand, you are performing the measurements)

Collecting experimental data allows the introduction of simple measurement error analysis using centimeter rulers such as Investigating the Height of a Stack of Cookies (good first modeling activity with a “just-add-data” Excelet link). A good source of small real-world data sets (second-hand) is the Quantitative Environmental Learning Project (QELP) website. You can download data as an Excel file that can easily be converted to a GSheets file with no problem.

Exploring Error in Measurements

There are two major groups of errors, random and systematic (adds bias), and both can be built into spreadsheet simulations such as “just-add-data” spreadsheets.

So, how do you integrate error into a spreadsheet? Let’s examine an important measurement device, the ruler, using the Rulers and Measurement Error Excelet to explore the types of errors in a variety of ways.

Big data sets with scatter

Many scientific groups make data available for downloading, and some even make it easy. The file format, .csv (comma separated values as a text file), can be read by Sheets and Excel. Data on web pages that are column-separated can be saved as text files and read by spreadsheets. If you are going to have students download data, check it out first to see the results! It can be messy.

Sea Level Change (and other global problems) is a large collection of GSheets spreadsheets in which data from NASA, NOAA, and other sites have been downloaded and are ready for plotting (see the guides below). A large number of possible questions and tasks are included to aid instructors to modify to suit their classrooms. Dealing with big data with scatter is an important task that students need to get involved in handling it!

How to get started from scratch

Dealing with Data in Excel 2013/2016 - detailed handout for Excel (more about building later)

Dealing with Scientific Data in Google Sheets - Video instructions with an accompanying GSheets spreadsheets for hands-on practice

Mathematical Models and a Multivariable Approach

Deriving a mathematical model from data has become commonplace in math classes from middle school through college. These models, and so many science experiments, tend to be bivariate; however, in the real-world, things are multivariate plus measurements contain error. So our approach needs to deal with variation, which comes in the form of measurement error and the possibility of the variation or change in other variables that we think are constant. See the real-world function machine below.

Modeling

Do you need to teach linear regression? No, it’s just a line of best-fit. Goodness-of-fit, how good the linear regression fits the data, can be judged by the use of r-square and, as students turn to non-linear systems, the use of residues can be introduced. Novice students don’t see curvature in data especially if the r-square is near one. Converting from math, y = mx + b, to the actual variables, H = tn + e (for stacking cookies), is a task that needs lots of practice.

Just-add-data spreadsheets (pre-built with no writing spreadsheet formulae!!!)

These experiments contain a variety of interactive simulation and data pooling too:

• Cookies (pooling: form > sheet)
• Bricks (verify and revise)
• Unstacking pennies (x-intercept, check accuracy, pooling data)
• Nesting Styrofoam cups (an animated interesting model with y-intercept)
• Nested cubes (curvature, quadratic model)
• Tumor volume (peanut M&M’s, calipers, and measurement comparison)
• Discovering Pi & Its Measurement Variation

See What-if Spreadsheets for a wide variety of concepts in mathematics. These are pre-built spreadsheets available in both Excel and Sheets.

Simulations and What-if Questioning

Here is where more science process enters, as we ask the what-if questions that allow students to predict > test > analyze and then explain (yes, use words including math speak!). Students get to investigate how a variable influences the results by numerical experimentation.

Pre-built Interactive Spreadsheets (more than 265)

• Excelets (use forms tools, works on PC and Macs, and no VBA macros used) that include mathematical models, some probability models, many in science (chemistry, astronomy, materials science) and metrology (the science of measurement).
• Google Sheetslets are newer items, such as Roll the Climate Change Die (probability model) or Folding a Ribbon in Half: The Half-life Concept, many with accompanying activities.

Build Your Own Interactive Spreadsheets

• In GSheets, see Dealing with Scientific Data in Google Sheets. The second (cubic polynomial behavior) and third (radioactive decay) spreadsheets will offer directions with hands-on construction. Start simple, with just the yellow cell feed into a formula cell, and then add the bells and whistles! The use of check boxes as an on/off switch gets you into writing “if” statements.
• Here is an article with an Excel tutorial around developing some simulations in astronomy.
• If you want to build errors into a spreadsheet, see The Mechanics of Inducing Error in a Spreadsheet for adding random and systematic errors. For more on errors, see Investigating Types of Errors.

Online Collaboration

See our website, Data Pool in the Cloud, for examples and instructions to set up things in GSheets. The simplest thing to do is pool data for tasks. Gathering the data from groups or even individuals can be accomplished by simply sharing a spreadsheet with editing rights for students to enter the data or collect it via a Google Form. Now class statistics can be obtained and a class discussion can ensue. Discussions can be the whole class with the pooled data projected or set up groups and use the chat feature or comments placed on the spreadsheet in class, and yes it works! Want to play with one, try this - Collaborative Crowdsourcing Eye-ball Curve Fitting and, if someone else is there, open the chat.

Final Thoughts

Interactive spreadsheets bring an engaging pedagogy to the classroom that allows for numerical experimentation. These cover the complete pathway of data to mathematical models to simulations and allow error analysis to be introduced – and help students “get their think on!” Getting students into building simulations is not difficult.

Scott Sinex is a Professor Emeritus at Prince George's Community College in Maryland, where he taught chemistry for decades and served as the Department Chair of Physical Sciences & Engineering from 1995-2016. Learn more about his work and publications at https://sites.google.com/view/ssinex.

• HOTS for Teachers: Best Free Resources For Higher-Order Thinking Skills
• Best Free Virtual Labs
• Best Practices for Implementing STEM Resources

National Geographic Kids takes the famed publication's traditional photography and reporting background and distills that into a one-stop-shop for nature, history, and more for young visitors.

From rare culture to natural curiosities to outer space, the website is crammed full of compelling and eye-catching content that will engage a wide range of ages. As such, this is a potentially useful resource for educators and a place kids can visit in their own time to continue their learning journeys. 

Reading is required so that might not be ideal for the youngest of potential users, but with guidance it can be accessed with ease. Crucially, this is a free resource, making it very helpful to anyone with a device that can access it via an internet connection.

From images and videos to games and more, this is all you need to know about what the National Geographic Kids website has to offer.

What is National Geographic Kids?

National Geographic Kids is a web-based resource that comprises videos, images, games, and articles that cover a range of subjects, including the natural world, history, and more.

This site can be browsed casually or used as a teaching resource to help introduce kids to new material in an accessible and visually engaging way. Since this is web-based, nearly any device can access its wealth of content with ease.

While lots of the content comes from the publication's reporting, there is also plenty from the National Geographic TV channels too, only in more condensed and accessible formats of between one and five minutes long. All that makes this great for a range of students in terms of both ages and abilities. 

While there is plenty of content covering the natural world, this is focused largely on animals with a dedicated section for them, broken down into helpful chunks. 

How does National Geographic Kids work?

National Geographic Kids is all laid out on the website in easy browsable categories that narrow as you explore. Equally, there is a search bar making direct hunting of specific content possible too.

National Geographic Kids offers its wealth of content for free without the need to give any details, so you can access it all right away as an educator or a kid.

Sections break down into Games, Videos, Animals, and Explore More. The first section, Games, features puzzles, action games, and funny fill-in options. The second, Videos, has Amazing Animals, Weird But True, Party Animals, and Try This. The third, Animals, offers mammals, birds, prehistoric, reptiles, amphibians, invertebrates, and fish. The fourth, Explore More, has magazine, history, science, space, U.S. states, and Weird But True sections. 

It's also possible to subscribe to get informed via email, on a regular basis, of new content that gets added and any special events that might be coming. Or to subscribe to the magazine itself, but more on that below.

What are the best National Geographic Kids features?

National Geographic Kids offers some great videos, with content from National Geographic's nature films and information shows. The brief nature of them, at under five minutes, makes these easy to digest and a great addition to class-time learning.

Independent exploration is an option here as students can delve into the animal section, for example, and discover new species, from the amur leopard and wolverine to the caracal and luna moth. 

The games section allows students a way to explore animals, perhaps by matching sharks, or places, such as traversing a maze in Egypt, or languages, playing the fill-in games that ask for words to match headings linked to an image such as 'adjective' or 'noun.' 

Games range from code breaking, recycling, the gods of old, national parks, and more. Or explore the U.S. states or countries of the world, learning about these as you virtually travel the options. 

Educators also have access to further learning resources including crafts, gemstone learning, science experiments, and beyond. Sections in the Homework Help area teach kids how to be an expert fact checker, write an animal report, and so on -- although navigating to these resources isn't as logical as you might hope.

How much does National Geographic Kids cost?

National Geographic Kids is free to use with no need to sign up and no adverts to get at the rich content.

It's worth noting that there are quite a few links that try to up-sell, taking you off to subscribe to National Geographic Kids and National Geographic Little Kids magazines, plus a link to the National Geographic Store. So you may need to keep an eye on use by younger children using smart devices that can subscribe with just a click.

National Geographic Kids best tips and tricks

Build for the future
Allow students the time to explore on their own, learning how to navigate content and dive deeper as they take an interest in an area -- setting them up for future online learning explorations.

Reward kids
Use the short videos as a reward to break up learning or exercises in a class, while still keeping that video time educational for them.

Theme weeks
Dive into a different animal or species type each week with extra content taking it further than the introduction you can use from the website itself. Use the extra resources for break-out work to follow-up and help learning.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
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Many schools don’t have robust in-person laboratory facilities, instead relying primarily on dry textbooks to teach difficult STEM topics. But even schools with quality labs can benefit from these innovative and flexible online simulations. 

The following top virtual lab sites and apps are all free, highly engaging, and informative—and most don’t require registration. Since most browsers no longer support Java or Flash, sites built exclusively with those outdated technologies have been excluded. 

• National Science Digital Library: ChemCollective Virtual Labs  
  Take a deep dive into chemistry with these virtual labs from the National Science Foundation. All the basics are covered, from equilibrium to stoichiometry to solubility. Each topic includes multiple customizable experiments designed to replicate the in-person chemistry lab experience as much as possible. Brief videos serve as a guide for both teachers and students before getting started.  
• PBS: Nova Labs
  Terrific platform for teens and older learners to explore and examine cutting-edge issues such as ecology, evolution, renewable energy, cybersecurity, RNA, and more. Accompanying each standards-aligned lab is a guide for educators. Users can create a free account to track their progress.
• FlyLab JS
  A super simple and focused site, the Fly Lab is just plain fun—and perfect for beginning and advanced genetic students. Select your flies’ attributes—eye color, wing size and shape, antennae—and predict the offspring that will result from mating. Then cross the flies to test your knowledge. Export analysis and lab notes easily too.
• University of Colorado Boulder: Interactive Simulations for Science and Math  
  One of the richest single repositories of online science interactives and virtual labs. Investigate more than 150 physics, chemistry, math, biology, and Earth science topics. Available in dozens of languages, the interactives are searchable by grade level, subject, and accessibility. Accessibility options include alternative input, audio descriptions, and pan-and-zoom functionality. The University of Colorado Boulder team even found a way to incorporate Java sims so that you can easily run one in your browser window. 
• Reactor Lab
  Interactive simulations of chemical reactors and other systems for higher ed students. Try the blockchain and cryptocoin (Teddy Token) sim for an unusual challenge. 
• Line Rider
  Awesome physics simulation/game/lab experiment. Draw the line to maximize the toboggan rider’s trip time. When you master that, add one or two more riders. Export your best efforts as a movie for bragging rights! Also available as an Android or iOs app.
• Explore Learning Free Gizmos  
  Gizmos are impressive, multifaceted, and hugely appealing interactive tools for investigating math and science topics. Create a free teacher account to access a rotating bank of free Gizmos. Among the current batch of 36 free Gizmos are those investigating Hubble’s Law, the circulatory system, and periodic table trends. Each Gizmo comprises several manipulatives targeting different aspects of the topic, assessment questions, and student and teacher guides. Certified COPPA, FERPA, and CSPC compliant. Certified fun. 
• Chrome Music Lab
  An amazing free resource that inspires kids to create music and examine the connections between music and math, science, and art. It’s simple and fun to play around with rhythm, harmonics, chords, songwriting, and much more. 
• Zooniverse
  Can students and teachers with no specialized training participate in real-world research? Yes — and the Zooniverse platform is designed to facilitate just that. Current projects run the gamut from the arts to biology to social science; in all, 79 active projects span 11 disciplines. The education guide provides examples and resources for teachers interested in using this powerful research tool in their classrooms. Classrooms can even create their own projects by uploading data to the Zooniverse. iOS Android  apps are also available. 
• HHMI Biointeractive
  Seven free virtual labs, designed for high school and college students, cover lizard and stickleback evolution, bacterial identification, clinical lab testing, neurophysiology, transgenic flies, and cardiology. The detailed labs include built-in quizzes, notebooks, and references. No account is required, but users who sign in with their Google account can save their progress across multiple devices. Great for advanced learners.
• Learn.Genetics Virtual Labs  
  From the University of Utah Genetic Science Learning Center, these five interactive labs cover techniques that are essential to any molecular biology lab. With DNA and PCR becoming common vocabulary, it’s a great introduction to highly topical technology. 
• The Concord Consortium Free Interactive STEM Activities
  Fine, extensive collection of interactive STEM resources, searchable by grade level, activity type, and STEM topic. Each activity offers a preview and the ability to assign and/or share with students. By creating a free account, teachers can easily track student work and create assignments. 
• PraxiLaBS
  With a free basic account, users can access six simulations in English and Arabic. The simulated labs are remarkable, offering sophisticated graphics, PDF and animated guides, assessments, and enrichments activities. Topics comprise Agarose Gel Electrophoresis, Annexin V Binding/Propidium Iodide Uptake Assay, Tests for Sodium Radical and Aldehydic/Ketonic Groups, Focal Length of a Convex Lens Using General Law, and Measurement of Ohmic Resistances Using Ammeter and Voltmeter. Although a limited selection, these free labs are well worth checking out. 
• LabXChange Harvard
  More than 300 free lab simulations that can be easily shared or embedded. Searchable by subject, level, source, and 13 different languages. A rich resource for virtual labs, including some very topical entries, such as Covid-19 infection spread, climate change predictor, and model of hydraulic fracking. 
• New Mexico State University Virtual Labs
  Eight virtual labs cover basic food science lab techniques and are similar to real-world labs high schoolers or college freshmen would perform. They may not seem glamorous— but our food safety depends on these unheralded-yet-essential tests.
• Bioman biology
  Created and maintained by a biology teacher, Bioman Biology offers an outstanding selection of free biology interactives, games, quizzes, and virtual labs. All are standards-based and easy to use for students (no registration required). Teachers can track student progress by simply registering for their own account. Biology topics covered range from physiology to evolution to scientific methods. 
• Ecoocean – Future Ocean's Online Game About Sustainable Fisheries  
  EcoOcean is a unique online fishing simulator that aims to bring awareness to the global overfishing crisis while engaging users in a challenging sustainable fishing experiment. Easy to play and slightly addictive. Be sure to save your high score!
• Cell Homestasis Virtual Lab
  What happens to a living cell when it’s placed in solutions of varying sugar concentrations? Use the virtual beakers, graduated cylinder, scale, dialysis tubes, and lab-grade sugar to find out. A simple experiment illustrating a key physiological principle. 
• East Tennessee State University
  Great collection of higher-level free online biology labs covering ecology, evolution, and cell biology. Each experiment is available in both java and HTML5 - choose the HTML5 as java is no longer supported by most browsers. Users will enjoy changing parameters and observing the effects on honeybee foraging, male guppies’ tail spots, or plant biodiversity. Perhaps most important in today’s world: modeling and understanding the “tragedy of the commons” phenomenon. 
• Java Lab
  Based on JavaScript, these clever simulations are both intricate and easy to use right away. Some of the more fascinating topics investigated include Eratosthenes’ calculation of Earth’s circumference, Brownian motion, and the slingshot effect. Challenging ideas presented with fun, interactive visuals. 
• Natural History Museum of Utah: Research Quest
  Curriculum-aligned explorations of topics related to the museum’s exhibitions, such as artifact case studies, changes in the Uinta Mountain forests, and—best of all—dinosaur quarry! 

To share your feedback and ideas on this article, consider joining our Tech & Learning online community here.

►Best Virtual Lab Software

►How to Design “Future Ready” Science Labs

►How to Teach Project-Based Learning in a Virtual Classroom

Legends of Learning is a game-based learning platform that offers curriculum-aligned challenges to help educate and entertain students.

Primarily focused on math and science games, this system is aimed at educating middle and elementary school students (grades K-8) and covers more than 350 learning objectives. This spans a mighty 2,000 games at time of publishing.

The company says that these educational STEM-related games can help improve student engagement, lesson comprehension, and test performances. Thanks to a backing of additional resources, this is more than just a collection of games and offers teacher specific support to help get the most out of everything available here.

What is Legends of Learning?

Legends of Learning may look like a games website but the reality is that this is a very engaging way of teaching math and science through standards-aligned task-based games.

The website comprises more than 2,000 STEM-related games that are helpfully arranged into categories including -- as a science sub-section -- earth a space science, life science, physical sciences, and more. These are arranged with age ranges to help further specify what students and teachers need when looking.

The games themselves are generally made up of an explorative part, in which a character is controlled, and test sections. In these parts there are challenges that require students to respond to a question or task, using science or math knowledge in order to progress further in the game.

How does Legends of Learning work?

Legends of Learning lets students and teachers explore the library of games by section and then under that category, by titles -- each offering a helpful description of the game, including a time of roughly how long it will take to complete.

Begin the game and it is very self-explanatory so most students of all ages and abilities can get going with this, largely without any assistance. That said, teachers are able to offer games such as Awakening, in which they can assign a focus on certain standards as needed to align with teaching goals.

Many games offer multiple choice questions to progress while others have interactive diagrams, memory games, simulations, and more. Usefully, students need to think and know what they're doing in order to make progress in the game -- many of which have characters that students can build up and want to return to and work on.

What are the best Legends of Learning features?

Legends of Learning offers genuinely engaging games that teach at the same time as entertaining -- helping students of all levels get engaged but also to want to return for more.

The alignment with learning standards is really impressive, with many covered including Common Core, NGSS standards, NGSSS, FL BEST, GSE, TEKS, SOL, TASS and plenty more.

Teachers can get feedback and see how students are progressing, or note areas in which they are struggling. Math Basecamp, for example, is a way to effectively complete worksheets at speed while the game character builds something for each correct answer -- allowing teachers to see how students progress, or don't, in varying areas. 

The playlist tool is helpful for teachers as it allows the grouping of games, videos, and assessments all in one place that can easily be shared with students or groups as needed. By tracking feedback here, teachers can modify content to make sure it's pushing individuals at the right pace for them.

Teachers can also run reports to see how students or classes are progressing -- although for the full experience here a premium account is needed.

How much does Legends of Learning cost?

Legends of Learning has a few pricing levels including a basic free account.

• Basic Teacher: This is free and allows up to three assignments as well as 2,000+ games with limited access, including to the Awakening game.
• Premium Teacher: Is $490 per year per teacher and this gets you unlimited assignments and unlimited gameplay.
• School: Costs $3,400 for up to 1,000 students -- with options for higher numbers -- and gets you all the above, plus Math Basecamp game.
• District: Is charged on a bespoke quote basis and gets complete access.

Legends of Learning best tips and tricks

Follow-up
After teaching a new topic, follow up with a game that tests learning and mastery for use in class or at home.

Reward
Use these games as a reward for work, allowing students to play while still learning and cementing understanding.

Build longevity
Create a leaderboard to show students how they're progressing and to keep them engaged in and returning to the games.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Tools for Teachers

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In 1970, the first Earth Day sparked a massive public protest, with 20 million Americans taking to streets and college campuses to speak out against air and water pollution, wilderness loss, and animal extinctions. The public outcry led to the formation of the Environmental Protection Agency and legislation to safeguard air, water, and endangered species.

Although significant progress has been made in controlling pollution and preventing the extinction of notable species such as the bald eagle and California condor, the concerns of the past still linger. Furthermore, we now understand that human-caused climate change poses a significant threat that needs urgent attention to avoid extensive disruption of societies worldwide.

The following free Earth Day lessons and activities will help teachers explore this crucial subject with K-12 students in an engaging, age-appropriate way.

Best Free Earth Day Lessons & Activities

SubjectToClimate Lesson Plans
Superb set of all-inclusive lesson plans, teaching units, and activities from the nonprofit SubjectToClimate (STC) organization. What sets STC apart is the range of subjects viewed through the lens of climate change. You’ll find not only the typical Earth science and ecology lessons, but also lessons that link career skills, computer science, and performing arts with climate change. Searchable by grade, subject, standards, and resource type. Additionally, STC offers wide-ranging educator guidance, in the form of professional development, brief “climate change explainers” and even climate action plans for districts. Be sure to check out the Earth Day 2026 activity pages.

iNaturalist Bioblitz
Have you ever considered a bioblitz project for your classroom? A bioblitz is a group endeavor in which participants strive to record as many observations of wild species as possible in a given time/area. Using the free iNaturalist app and its extensive educator guidance, teachers can easily set up a bioblitz for any nearby location, including a schoolyard or city park. There’s life all around us. Help your students find it, identify it, and learn about it with iNaturalist.

This is My Earth Learning Activities
A selection of K-20 curricula from the nonprofit international environmental organization This is My Earth. These are not simply lesson plans; rather, each curriculum comprises a full nature preservation program to be covered over multiple classes. Topics include climate change, biodiversity, and conservation biology. Eight curricula and one teacher’s guide are included.

National Wildlife Federation: Schoolyard Habitats® Planning Guide
Even a small area of land can be a valuable and welcoming habitat for plants, pollinators, birds, and other wildlife. This comprehensive guide to creating a vibrant habitat on school grounds incorporates multiple STEAM topics and involves kids in hands-on work that will engage them deeply and offer ongoing opportunities to learn. Included in this 96-page PDF are several inspiring case studies from schools which have instituted the program.

TeachEngineering: Plastic Migration and Its Impacts
We’ve all heard of the atmosphere, biosphere, and other ecosystems. But have you heard of the Plastisphere? Sadly, this human-made “ecosystem” is a result of the massive quantities of plastic waste polluting our waterways. This NGSS-aligned multimedia lesson for grades 9-12 is rich with background information, glossary, assessment, extensions and homework ideas. Three associated activities allow for hands-on learning.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Investigating Coral Bleaching
Outstanding standards-aligned lesson for students in grades 6-12 that uses current and historic data to understand the effects of climate change on coral reefs. This 5-level module includes interactive maps, graphs, and videos as well as fillable PDFs, editable Powerpoint worksheets, answer keys, and a comprehensive guide for teachers. Aligned to NGSS, these activities may be integrated into an existing curriculum, and support three-dimensional learning (principles, core ideas, and concepts).

The Nature Conservancy: Virtual Field Trips
A top-notch collection of highly engaging video field trip lessons, accompanied by extensive teaching guides. Explore Utah’s Great Salt Lake, China’s great forests, Peru’s coastal ecosystem, and many more fascinating natural habitats. Educator guides feature complete background information; standards; discussion questions, and answers; handouts and extension activities. Bring the natural world into your classroom with these virtual field trips.

Earth Day Digital Lesson Bundles
Two complete lesson bundles focus on clean water and sustainable communities. Each downloadable bundle includes a video, slide presentation and guide for educators. Grades 6-9.

Earthday.org Education Resource Library
From one of the oldest nonprofit organizations devoted to Earth Day comes a wealth of resources, not only for K12 teachers, but also for anyone wishing to become an Earth advocate. Included are toolkits, lesson plans, quizzes, and ideas for marking Earth Day for schools, businesses, and families. Want to go deeper? Check out the Earth Day 2026 event calendar for in-person activities ranging from cleanups to marches and rallies.

Symbiotic Schoolyard
A remarkable, unique program designed and implemented by middle school science teacher Janneke Petersen, Symbiotic Schoolyard seeks to engage kids in hands-on planting activity. But not just any plants: Petersen’s Schoolyard Habitat Restoration curriculum focuses on restoring habitat by planting and nurturing native plants. Rarely do I include a non-free resource in my “Best Free …” articles but I made an exception for Symbiotic Schoolyard because there’s nothing else like it out there. And Petersen does provide a free consultation if you want to know more before purchase. Even better, she has extended a generous discount to Tech & Learning readers. Simply email symbioticschoolyard@gmail.com and mention this article to secure a special Earth Day 30% discount.

Visiting a Recycling Plant
Recycling, when done properly, is a valuable tool in the eco-friendly toolbox. But what actually happens to the products you place in the recycling bin? This brief video follows the “paper trail” of one of our most frequently recycled materials. A background essay, discussion questions, and state standards accompany the video.

How to Save Our Planet
The acclaimed British naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough opens this video by posing the essential problem of our time: “How do we create a future in which both people and nature can thrive?” The question is simple—how about the answer? The video touches on how humans have engineered our current geological epoch, the Anthropocene, and moves quickly to four specific goals that we must achieve to slow the dramatic climate changes we’re experiencing now. Be sure to also watch related videos exploring topics such as “Why do we need biodiversity?” and “What can young children do in the fight against climate change?”

11 Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Lesson Ideas For Every Subject
Eleven 3R projects that can be easily implemented in the K-12 classroom in subjects such as math, language arts, civics, and science.

PBS Learning Media: An Unpredictable Environment
An NGSS standard-aligned video highlighting how Inuit peoples are facing unprecedented challenges to their traditional knowledge of weather patterns. An elderly Inuit woman explains how forecasting the weather for hunting trips was a task traditionally assigned to women and girls, however, with recent climate changes, the reliability of using Alaska Native science to predict weather and associated animal behaviors has been greatly diminished. Shareable in Google Classroom or via link, this video can form the basis for a complete slide-based lesson.

Conservation Station Classroom Activities
Grow energy-water literacy and conservation efforts through 18 downloadable, standards-aligned classroom lessons and activities. Activities focus on communication skills, critical thinking, collaboration, and creative thinking in the context of sustainable water and energy use. Intriguing topics include “Harvesting Energy in Your School,” “Smart Schools,” and “World Water Day Gallery of Art.”

A little eco-nostalgia!

Discovery Education Student Activities
Thirteen quizzes and activities encourage students in grades 3-12 to think critically about current environmental challenges, from deforestation to waste reduction to energy consumption. The downloadable/printable PDFs include notes for educators.

Build the Change Classroom Resources
A collection of standards-aligned classroom lessons, activities, and games designed to help kids examine environmental topics, from helping sea turtles to renewable energy to the importance of recycling and upcycling.

Nature Lab Educator Resources
Nature Labs’ educator resources are ideal for Earth Day, encompassing topics from wildfires, climate justice, sustainable food and water, and more. Ideal for hands-on or project-based learning.

Climate Restoration for Kids
The goals of climate restoration go well beyond limiting our CO2 emissions. Climate restoration advocates believe that we can capture and sequester enough carbon from the atmosphere to reverse the anthropogenic effects. In this interactive online course for grades 3-5, kids will learn about climate change, the carbon cycle, and climate restoration. Includes a quiz and art and writing competitions.

The Lorax Project
Excellent ideas for a stimulating classroom discussion about how human society treats the Earth, as seen through the lens of Dr. Seuss’ cautionary environmental tale, The Lorax.

World Wildlife Fund Lesson Library and Education Resources
The effects of human activities on the Earth is sadly reflected in the severe reduction of animal species and their habitats across the globe. The WWF offers a robust set of lessons, apps, games, quizzes, and videos covering the top charismatic animals—tigers, turtles, and monarch butterflies—as well as reptiles, food and plastic waste, wildlife arts and crafts, and more

TEDEd: Earth School
Enroll in TEDEd’s free Earth school and dive into 30 lessons covering the full gamut of issues, from transport to food to people and society and many more. Each video lesson contains open-ended and multiple choice discussion questions and additional resources for further study.

Ghost Forests
What’s a ghost forest? Sadly, it’s the dead remnants of once-thriving ecosystems that have been decimated by changing climate, invasive pests, and disease. This video collection from PBS Learning Media looks at the case of the imperiled whitebark pine, why it’s crucial to the ecosystem, and how scientists are racing to save this keystone species.

When educators in the Wichita Falls ISD in Texas began planning to launch a mobile STEM lab by refurbishing an old school bus, they didn’t realize this type of project was already a thing in other districts. 

“We thought we were coming up with a genius idea of a mobile STEM lab and found out that nope, there are some other ones out there,” says Dr. Peter E. Griffiths, the district’s associate superintendent, who also received the Tech & Learning Innovative Leader Award. 

However, while mobile STEM buses may exist in other districts across the country, the newly unveiled STEAM Machine is still very much one-of-a-kind as is the story of how the school district came together with dedicated community partners to build it. 

The Idea for The STEAM Machine 

The idea for the STEAM Machine grew out of Griffiths and his colleagues' wish to provide more access to career and technical education (CTE) experiences for students during COVID. The district’s gifted/talented (GT) students had previously had the opportunity to travel to STEM facilities and learn coding and other technical skills, but COVID made that more difficult. 

“We just started talking about, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool if we were able to take some of this stuff and take it to the schools?'” Griffiths says. They soon realized that they could retrofit an old bus and the benefits of a mobile STEM lab would provide increased access to CTE and STEM even when COVID restrictions were lifted. 

“This is a way that we're taking what we do for the GT kids, and we're taking it to all the kids,” Griffiths says. 

Someone early on suggested they call it the STEAM Machine, which reminded Griffiths of the Mystery Machine from Scooby-Doo and seemed perfect. 

Building and Funding The STEAM Machine  

Districts auction off buses when the vehicles become too old and accumulate too many miles for the stresses of everyday commutes and transportation. Griffiths and his colleagues decided to reroute one of those soon-to-be auctioned vehicles. “Give me your 'best worst' bus,” Griffiths says they asked the transportation department. 

The district’s “best worst” could still run but was old and ugly. “It looked like a prison bus,” Griffiths says. Soon, however, the process of transforming that vehicle would begin. 

Griffiths reached out to Reuben Rodriguez, owner of Reuben’s House of Classics, a local car refurbishment company, and explained what they wanted to do. Rodriguez agreed to work with the district on the price provided they could send CTE students to help with some of the restoration work. 

The district was able to obtain a $40,000 West Foundation grant for the bus renovations. “Then we used Title IV funding to help pay for all the gizmos and gadgets that go into the bus,” Griffiths says. “So in the end, we got this whole bus and it cost us zero in general funds.”  

The STEAM Machine in Action  

The STEAM Machine looks like a device from a video game or a real-life Lego truck, and operates as a mobile makerspace. It has two touchscreen TVs on its exterior and more gadgets inside. It comes complete with drones and drone obstacle courses that will help students learn about coding and the fun that can be had from the experience. 

“It’s pretty awesome,” Griffiths says. “Those are things that a lot of these kids have never experienced before.” 

To operate the bus, the district has hired a retiring GTA teacher who will now take the bus to various schools and engage in different lessons with students and educators. Bringing the bus from the dream stage to fruition has taken a lot of perseverance, resiliency, and collaboration between educators and the community, Griffiths says.  

“Coming out of COVID, we were so concerned about kids losing out on experiences again, and this was a solution,” he says. “COVID is over with but we weren't going to let this go.” 

• The Benefits of Early STEM Education
• Tapping the Potential of Learning Through Play in STEAM Programs

Nova Education is a product of the PBS network, which plays to its strengths by offering a wide selection of science-based videos. These are designed for education purposes specifically, and as such, can be used in class and beyond.

You may recognize the Nova name as it is from the renowned PBS television series, which is all about science. As such this website offers a way to access a lot of the great video content created for that, only with a more bite-size appeal that makes it ideal for STEM teaching and learning.

Nova Labs is another part of this offering that offers interactive video and game-based science learning, which can be a useful follow-on tool after you've tried this one. Read all about Nova Labs here.

So is Nova Education for you and your classroom?

• Best Tools for Teachers

What is Nova Education?

Nova Education is the video arm of the Nova platform that offers a collection of science and STEM videos that can be watched online and are created with child-based education in mind.

Nova Education comprises many, many videos, which span a range of science- and STEM-related topics. These include planet earth, ancient worlds, space and flight, body and brain, military and espionage, tech and engineering, evolution, nature, physics, and math.

While military and espionage may be stretching what can be classed as science and certainly what is useful to school children, the other areas are very useful and broad in their coverage. 

The website also has other sections that go further than video, including a podcast area, interactives, a newsletter, and an education area.

How does Nova Education work?

Nova Education is easily accessed online via a web browser so students and educators can get to the content using a laptop, tablet, smartphone, interactive whiteboard, and other devices. No special equipment is required and since the videos are well compressed they will work on older devices and poorer internet connections to ensure the highest number of people have access.

When you go to the site, the homepage immediately offers videos but you can also use the drop-down menu to navigate the various topics. Alternatively, you can use the search section to find something specific. Or go to schedule to see what is upcoming and may be of interest. 

Once you've found something of interest, it is as easy as selecting the video play icon to get started and you can then go full screen as needed. Below is a runtime, the date it premiered, the topic area it is classified into, and a selection of share buttons.

What are the best Nova Education features?

Nova Education offers captions on all of its videos, allows you to follow along while reading, without sound -- which can be helpful in the class as you discuss over the top. This is, of course, also excellent for the hearing impaired.

Other useful options include the ability to pick the streaming quality to suit your device and collection -- going from 1080p at best right down to mobile device friendly 234p, with plenty of options in between. You can also vary the playback speed with four options between one and two times speed, great for zipping through videos in class time.

Nova Education uses sharing buttons, as mentioned, on each of its videos. These are helpful if you want to share with the class using email. It also allows for social media sharing using Twitter or Facebook, which might not be so helpful in class but can get you the link to share by other means as you need, or with families.

Under the video there is a transcript that can be a helpful way of sharing the information with the class or for students to quickly access data when writing a paper on the video.

All videos can also be viewed via YouTube, making these even more accessible across devices -- as such, this a great option for a flipped classroom in which students watch at home and you work through the material in class.

The Nova Now Podcast is easily accessed too, with biweekly shows, offering a useful way to teach kids on the go – perhaps listening using their personal devices while on the bus.

How much does Nova Education cost?

Nova Education is totally free to use, presuming you are in the U.S. and can get access to the website. There are some adverts on the website although everything here is education appropriate. 

Nova Education best tips and tricks

Flip the class
Set a video to watch, on a subject you're teaching, and then have the class explain what they learned before diving into more detail and performing experiments.

Set a task
These videos are immersive and students may get lost, so set a task before watching to ensure they're engaged and looking for answers while they watch.

Pause points
Plan pause points with questions ready to test students in order to cement learning but also to be sure everyone is paying attention. Perhaps use a tool such as Edpuzzle.

• Best Tools for Teachers

Nova Labs PBS is an online platform that is crammed full of educational resources to teach students about a range of STEM subjects. Thanks to the use of real-world data, this gamifies reality to make learning engaging. 

To be clear, this is the Nova Labs from PBS, which is offered as a free resource for teachers and students age 6 and up. Comprising several different labs, this offers games in each to teach a broad range of subjects, with a science focus.

From learning about space to the inner workings of RNA, there are large swathes of information in each section that allow students to dive deep, with video and written guidance, as well as questions to keep them engaged throughout.

Useful for in class study as well as at home working, could Nova Labs PBS be right for your classroom?

• Best Tools for Teachers

What is Nova Labs PBS?

Nova Labs PBS is an online-based gamified resource center that teaches STEM and science-based subjects to kids using engaging video, questions, and answers, plus interactive content.

Nova Labs PBS is highly interactive with short video guidance followed by written facts and interactive models that allow students to play with numbers in a real-world example. That makes this great for students who might otherwise not stay as well engaged with simple written and image-based teaching.

Accessible via a web browser, this is highly compatible across lots of devices, but is best in Chrome or Firefox browsers. Usefully, it's possible to adjust quality to suit the machine and bandwidth that you have available in your school.

How does Nova Labs PBS work?

Nova Labs PBS opens with a selection of labs to pick from which include Financial, Exoplanet, Polar, Evolution, Cybersecurity, RNA, Cloud, Energy, and Sun. Head into one to be taken to a separate lander page dedicated to that lab, offering more details on what can be expected from the learning.

Once you're in the area of choice, such as Exoplanet pictured above, you're given a short video intro with real scientists talking about the area covered. An animated video then takes you to that world to explore. You then have a substation to move forward, allowing students to pick how and when they progress.

While everything is immediately available for free, as a guest, you will need to sign in using an account, if you want to save progress. This seems pretty necessary as there is a lot of information to work through that could be spread across multiple lessons with ease. This also allows students to continue where they left off, at home, for personal progress at a rate that is befitting that student.

What are the best Nova Labs PBS features?

Nova Labs PBS is super simple to use with large buttons and plenty of clear video and written guidance, making it easy to navigate for even younger students.

The use of game-like activities means students can perform experiments, playing with the data, to see how it causes effects. This allows them not only to learn how the science works but how it can vary and cause effects from their control of tools. Empowering and educating in equal measures.

If logged in, the student's answers to questions are recorded so that you can see how they are progressing or -- potentially more usefully -- to see where they are struggling. This also means it's possible to assign sections to be completed at home so you can go over it in class in flipped classroom style.

The online lab report gives students the opportunity to make notes of their progress and learning as well as to review quiz responses so far. 

How much does Nova Labs PBS cost?

Nova Labs PBS is free to use and has no adverts or tracking on the website. Since it is web-based and allows you to vary quality, it should work on most devices as well as on most internet connections.

You will need to sign-in, using a Google account or a PBS account, if you want to take advantage of tracking, pausing, and all the feedback features that can be useful for teachers. 

Nova Labs PBS best tips and tricks

Group up
Work in groups or pairs to help everyone, at varying levels, collaborate and experiment from a perspective of understanding how to learn as a team.

Print out
Use printed lab reports to take the learning back into the classroom and see how students are progressing.

Check-in
Perhaps use a teacher check-in before progressing between stages to make sure all students are understanding as they're advancing through the levels.

• Best Tools for Teachers

SciencetoyMaker is a self-professed rough and ready website that is more about the quality of what you get out of it than the website itself. It is filled with useful science projects that allow you to make real world creations.

The website was built by a teacher with more than 30 years of experience who was an engineer in Bangladesh previously. He often had to improvise when materials to build weren't available, and with that experience he has created this website of improvised projects to be copied at home.

The end result is a selection of builds that you can follow with written instructions and images as well as videos. There is also feedback from the community adding to the layers of guidance.

So with the option to use this in the classroom and at home, is SciencetoyMaker for you?

What is SciencetoyMaker?

SciencetoyMaker is a totally free, passion project run by one man and his wife. As such, the reach is within reason, down to several projects, but each one has had the attention to detail you'd expect from an engineer. 

A varied selection of projects is available for multiple ages, but many typically will require an adult to help explain and prepare the builds. The main three builds are gliders, boomerangs, and dragonfly helicopters. Other projects are available, and these are helpfully arranged in order of complexity.

The website also offers links off to other useful project websites, should you want more once done here, or if you just want to try even more types of projects right away. That said, there is a lot here, from the oscillating woodpecker and the climbing creature to the spinning tops and periscopes.

How does SciencetoyMaker work?

SciencetoyMaker is a do-it-yourself guidance website so you'll need to take the time to download and read all the project instructions. This is something that could be carried out in class, everyone building their own toys while guided by the teacher. Equally, it could be set as a homework to be made when outside of class time and to bring in and present to the group later.

The website features instructions as well as galleries of finished projects, allowing you to see what you're working toward. But, crucially, it shows varying ways a project can be done so each student can add their own personal touch.

Guidance is given in sections for many projects, allowing you to break it down to fit into the time you have available. The ability to follow video guidance is also useful so students can follow along on their own using their devices.

What are the best SciencetoyMaker features?

SciencetoyMaker is not polished and that is one of its biggest appeals. It feels as if this removes the pressure to get it perfect, allowing students to experiment and work toward a goal without feeling pushed. In fact, it's all fun (and educational) and the tone reflects that.

The inclusion of videos is superb as you can follow along in a pop-out that takes you to YouTube. Thus, you can follow on nearly any device and can carry on later, if you have a break, with ease.

The guidance is also informative, in some cases explaining how the science behind how the build works as well as offering links to other pertinent information. In the more established projects, such as gliders, there are videos from others who have built their own varying types of gliders and show these in action.

How much does SciencetoyMaker cost?

SciencetoyMaker is a free to use resource that offers everything on its website or  YouTube channel. You can subscribe to the YouTube channel, however, there is no requirement to offer anything in return for the guidance and building resources.

Currently, there are no ads on the website that are visible, although our ad blocker did pick up six items to block, so it's worth noting there may be some tracking bots active.

SciencetoyMaker best tips and tricks

Start in class
Work through a project in class, guiding from the front, and have everyone individually or in groups make their projects along with yours.

Set homework
Pick an easy project and, making sure resources are available to all at home, set this as a build to be brought into the next class. Maybe even have a flier race.

Share your work
Record the projects in class and send some video in to the website to show students they can be recognized for their creative abilities, even beyond the classroom.

• New Teacher Starter Kit
• Best Digital Tools for Teachers

Understanding scientific principles and practices is essential for every person. Without scientific literacy, people are subject to false or inflated advertising claims, misplaced fears, and a general inability to understand the modern world. And of course, science-based careers are among the fastest-growing employment sectors.

But science is a broad term that includes a large subset of specific topics, all of which are tricky to learn or teach—if you’re not a scientist yourself. Or even if you are, for that matter!

The following free science lessons and activities are designed to help students learn about the world of science by engaging them with fascinating facts, intriguing interactives, and compelling projects. This article is the first of our STEAM series, which will curate the best teaching resources for science, technology, engineering, arts, and math.

Best Free Science Lessons & Activities 

Applied Science Videos
Hardware engineer and Google Life Science director Ben Krasnow hosts an amazing YouTube channel featuring DIY and hands-on explorations of chemistry, electricity, and physics (with some biology thrown in to make it even more interesting). The projects range from esoteric to everyday, so there’s sure to be something for everyone. Intriguing titles such as ‘Holograms on Chocolate” and “Olestra (zero calorie cooking oil) - chemical synthesis and taste test” are sure to engender interest. Best for advanced and higher education students.

Science Friday Educate
An extensive collection of science lessons from the Science Friday radio program. Learn how to draw a congressional district, think like a squirrel, or test your taste receptors with spicy treats. Search for standards-aligned lessons by grade, duration, subject and STEM practice. English and Spanish.

Colorado State University Little Shop of Physics Lesson Plans & Guides
You’ll be hard pressed to find physics lesson plans with the level of detail provided by the Little Shop of Physics. Each lesson begins with a basic but important question, such as, “Can energy be created or destroyed?” or “Does air weigh anything?” (My favorite is “Why do raindrops sometimes land gently and sometimes with a splat?”) The downloadable PDF provides an overview of the question, the underlying theories, helpful images, the experimental plan for students, and questions to ask during the process. Note that links referring to CMMAP should be substituted with https://hogback.atmos.colostate.edu/cmmap.

Annenberg Learner Science Resources
Fine selection of interactives that are great for teaching, as well as professional development. Standards-based topics include physics, biology, geology, how kids learn, and more. Each detailed, grade-appropriate lesson provides a skills quiz as well as related materials in the form of research summaries of relevant topics.

Exploratorium Tools for Teaching and Learning
From the acclaimed Exploratorium museum comes this fine selection of science videos, activities, and lessons. Browse by type of activity or topic. No time for a big multi-day project? Try the science “snacks,” teacher-tested activities for the classroom using inexpensive and easy-to-find materials.

World Wildlife Fund Educator Toolkits
Available in English and Spanish, each toolkit focusses on an appealing species—such as tigers, polar bears, and monarch butterflies—and includes an educator resource guide, classroom presentation, and cross-curriculum activities. Bonus: easy-to-navigate website.

Science Lesson Plans
Thousands of science-themed lesson plans, games, worksheets, and more invite educators to explore everything from plant growth to the solar system to the human brain. Organized by type, grade, subject, and standard.

K-5 Everday Science ACS American Chemistry Society
Fine selection of chemistry lessons for K-5 students. Lessons are organized by grade, are NGSS-aligned, and follow the 5E (Engage-Explore-Explain-Extend-Evaluate) lesson plan format. Includes a set of remote learning lessons for fifth graders.

California Academy of Sciences Science Lesson Plans
Strong collection of multimedia science lessons, searchable by grade, language, and subject. Topics range from astronomy to tectonic plates to African safari. While a few of these NGSS-based lessons are intended for museum visitors, most are classroom lessons that can be taught in any school.

High Adventure Science
A free online science curriculum that examines some of the most important unanswered questions in Earth and space science, such as climate change, freshwater access, and life on other planets. Features include pre- and post-tests as well as interactive simulations. Create a class online to track student progress.

Science News for Students
A fascinating look at a wide range of science topics in the news. What’s a smellscape? Are there active volcanoes on Mars? How do octopuses taste food? And—perhaps most important—can we make vibranium? Articles are accompanied by free classroom resources.

Zooniverse
True or false: Anyone can do real scientific research, regardless of credentials. Answer: True. With Zooniverse, that is! Volunteers browse the ongoing projects and select the one they’d like to contribute to. Want to spot clouds on Mars? How about decoding bacterial DNA to help fight disease? The astonishing diversity of projects includes not only scientific research but also historical, linguistic, and literary. Ideal for advanced students and PBL.

Frontiers for Young Minds
Like Zooniverse, Frontiers for Young Minds invites young scientists to participate in real research. In this case, students serve as reviewers of journal articles that have been rewritten specifically for young learners. A great way for kids to start understanding how research is communicated in real life. Bonus: All Young Minds articles are free to access, download, and reproduce in your educational materials, with citation.

Science Buddies
A wealth of lesson plans, videos, science projects, experiments, and more for K-12 science teaching and learning. Search by science topic, grade, materials, and type of resource. Integrates with Google Classroom.

Project Noah Wildlife School
Aimed at elementary and middle school students, Project Noah invites kids to explore wildlife through their own backyards and communities. Each standards-based lesson includes anatomy, life cycle, and behavior as well as great graphics and images. Be sure to check out the interactive wildlife challenges, which explore specific aspects of wildlife more deeply. Kids can design a protective turtle tunnel, build an animal track station, or test a hypothesis.

Lawrence Hall of Science Apps
Eight awesome games that immerse students in some of the most amazing science topics ever, from how living cells function to nutrition to sun science. Four apps are iOs only, while the remaining are iOs, Android, or browser-based. Excellent science fun!

• Best Free Virtual Labs
• Awesome Articles for Students: Websites and Other Resources
• Best STEM Apps For Education

Phenomenon-based learning is a teaching method that engages students in learning by grabbing their attention with a real-world “phenomenon” that sparks their curiosity. 

Examples of phenomenon-based learning include a class studying decomposition by researching what happens to garbage in their community, or examining hard-to-believe real-world occurrences that can only be explained by science such as the story of a tortoise that crossed the Indian Ocean. 

The idea is that these types of real-world stories are complex, wacky, and/or intriguing enough to encourage all students to start asking questions and form deeper connections with the material. 

Tricia Shelton, chief learning officer at the National Science Teaching Association, and Mary Lynn Hess, a K-5 STEM resource teacher at Goldsboro Elementary Magnet School in Sanford, Florida, share advice and best practices for incorporating phenomenon-based learning in the classroom. 

What is Phenomenon-Based Learning?  

Phenomenon-based learning has grown out of Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), practical research, and real-world connections. “The focus of this new vision for science education is for kids to see see science not as a whole bunch of facts, like knowledge in the abstract, but to see science is something they can use to better understand their world or solve problems, especially in their communities or in the context of their experience,” Shelton says. “We define phenomena as any events in the world that an individual feels like they need to explain, either because they're curious, or because they have a problem they need to solve. We’re positioning phenomena as the driver of what is happening in the classroom.” 

Rather than discourage students’ natural curiosity the way traditional science textbooks or tests can, phenomenon-based education engages it. 

“There’s no deviation from curiosity when you’re in my classroom,” Hess says. “It's so evident on our campus because kids will come and knock on my door in the middle of the day, [and say] 'Look what I found, look what I found.' They're just so excited and curious about the world and the way it works.” 

Phenomenon-Based Learning Advice & Tips

When starting a phenomenon-based lesson, it’s important to provide time to expose students to the phenomenon at the start of the lesson. 

“Give kids the opportunity to observe the phenomenon, think about it deeply, but then ask their own questions about it,” Shelton says. “Because questions are really personal to everybody.” 

The individual questions students have will also drive their connection and engagement as the instructor guides the exploration of the science behind the phenomenon. 

Shelton says instructors should also study phenomenon that make sense for their school communities. For instance, a school near the coast in Florida might be able to engage with marine science in a way that wouldn’t make as much sense for a school in Denver. 

It’s also important to remember that not all phenomenon-based learning lessons resonate with students. “Teachers need to be prepared that sometimes they put something in front of kids, and it doesn't work the way it's supposed to,” Shelton says. “That's okay. But they shouldn't try to force that through. They just need to try a different phenomenon at that point. Because that piece of the kids having those personal questions and finding it relevant is a must-have.” 

To limit the likelihood of a phenomenon not resonating, Shelton advises using pre-tested phenomena from other teachers. The National Science Teaching Association has a number of phenomenon-based learning resources including its Daily Do science lessons. The NGSS also has a number of resources dedicated to phenomenon-based learning. 

To make sure the phenomenon she uses resonates with her students, Hess builds her lessons on their passions. “Find out what interests your students and go from there,” she says. “I find a lot of kids are interested in life science, or they'll find something outside. We have this invasive plant that's around our campus, and every year we do a collection of [the plant]. And they'll come to my back door with just handfuls of them and big smiles. I can tell that they are fully committed to helping the environment.”

• Rethinking Learning Spaces: 4 Strategies for Student-Centered Learning
• How Downtime and Free Play Help Students Learn

Providing an early STEM education for a child can help establish a lifelong connection between the student and scientific understanding and exploration that is at the heart of STEM, say advocates and a growing body of research. 

Young children are innately curious and eager to explore the world. Helping facilitate that enthusiasm can fuel an ongoing interest in key STEM concepts. 

Early STEM Education: What the Research Says 

The Center for Childhood Creativity writes, “Even before a child’s first birthday, she is capable of making inferences, drawing conclusions about cause and effect, and reasoning about the probability of events.” 

A 2016 study that followed 7,750 children from kindergarten through eighth grade found that the earlier children learned about the world, the more successful they were at science. On the other hand, students with minimal early general knowledge struggled with science subjects by the third grade and were still struggling by the eighth grade. 

In a 2014 study, researchers found that preschool mathematics ability predicts mathematics achievement through age 15, even after accounting for early reading, cognitive skills, and family and child characteristics. Perhaps more significantly, growth in mathematical ability between children that were 54 months old and first grade was found to be an even stronger predictor of adolescent mathematics achievement. Together these results highlight the importance of pre-kindergarten mathematics and early math learning. 

More recently, at ISTE in 2022, a researcher at Eastern Connecticut State University presented the results from a pilot study that showed children aged 4-6 saw statistically significant increases in their math abilities after participating in four coding sessions with a robot toy designed to teach coding. 

Emphasis on Play and Collaboration Between Parents and Schools 

The Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop New America produced STEM Starts Early: Grounding Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math Education in Early Childhood in 2017. The report noted that while educators and parents are enthusiastic and capable of supporting early STEM learning, many from both groups experience “anxiety, low self-confidence, and gendered assumptions about STEM topics, which can transfer to their children and students.” 

The report authors advise that, “Both groups can benefit from reconsidering STEM in the context of developmentally-informed, playful learning—like block play, gardening, and exploring puzzles—which engages their own and their children’s curiosity and wonder.” 

Connecting this sense of wonder, play, and fun, with STEM early on can stay with children throughout their academic careers and lives. “We know from research that a lot of times by middle school, students have already developed stereotypes about what is for them, or what they might be good at,” says Sean Roberts, Vice President of Government Affairs for the nonprofit Code.org, which advocates for more computer science education in schools. “It's not an easy thing to overcome those stereotypes or ingrained attitudes.” 

When it comes to computer science, Roberts says the key is heading off a stereotype before it forms. “Ensure that there are plenty of opportunities to expose students to the subject matter with a variety of applications that reflect where they're at, and their interests,” he says. 

Another common misconception is that STEM learning for children needs to involve screens. This isn’t true, not even for computer science. “You don't have to be on a computer every day to learn the tenets of computer science,” Roberts says. “A lot of what is taught in computer science overlaps with things we've already been teaching in schools, like sequential thinking, following directions. Those kinds of things are common throughout subject areas and computer science just applies them in a different way.” 

• What is Project-Based Learning?
• Tapping the Potential of Learning Through Play in STEAM Programs

Telescopes are time machines. 

This may be a trope but it’s also true, says Klaus Pontoppidan, a James Webb Space Telescope Project Scientist.

“Literally all telescopes are time machines,” he says. “Light is traveling at a finite speed, and so if you look at the moon, it is taking one second for the light to get from the moon to us, and we're seeing the moon as it looked one second ago.” 

The James Webb Space Telescope has the ability to see back in time 13.6 billion years to when the universe was in its infancy, making it the most powerful tool for peering into the past ever produced by humanity. This is one of the reasons the James Webb Space Telescope is a wonderful teaching opportunity and a great way to get kids engaged and excited about science, astronomy, and STEM. 

Below are tips on incorporating discussion about the James Webb Space Telescope discussion into your class. In addition, teachers will want to read our Best NASA Resources for Teaching About James Webb piece.

Share James Webb Space Telescope’s Images With Students 

The first images released from the telescope are a perfect jumping-off point to engage with students, says Christine Anne Royce, Ed.D, co-director of MAT in STEM Education at Shippensburg University.

“Today's students are very visually oriented,” says Royce, the past president of the National Science Teaching Association. “They like to see the pictures, they like to see the illustrations, it helps to make connections for them.” 

“We can start to talk about astronomy concepts. ‘What is the Webb Space Telescope observing? What are we seeing?’” she adds. 

The Birth of Galaxies

One of the goals of The James Webb Space Telescope is to study the early moments of the universe and the formation of stars and galaxies. Its first images have already started to shift perceptions. “We see very, very early galaxies that already have fully formed discs [and] uniform structure,” Pontoppidan says. “The thought was always that very early galaxies start out really, really small and very irregular.” 

This unexpected find, if it holds up to further research, means scientists will need to create new models for the early universe to explain how this symmetry is possible. Having students examine these types of questions can be a great way for them to learn about the scientific method and how new understanding emerges. 

The Age of Light  

To determine how far back in time James Webb is looking, scientists determine the age of light by measuring its wavelength. Science teachers can delve into how this is accomplished or discuss the implications of looking into the universe’s past more broadly. 

For example, the Hubble Space Telescope can look back 13.4 billion years. The James Webb Space Telescope, which is an infrared telescope, can look back an additional 200 million years. This may sound like a comparatively small number, Pontoppidan says, but it is a crucial jump. “It's really making a step from having seen galaxies that are [in] maybe elementary school and middle school, to actually going all the way back to their birth and early very formative toddler years where they learn to be galaxies,” he says. 

Working with Younger Students 

For younger students, Royce suggests simply sharing James Webb’s images and asking students what they see. “Young kids have great creativity,” she says. “When you're looking at the pictures, they start to talk about what they see, ‘Oh, that looks like…’ and they give you a description. Often that's exactly how some of these more conventional names are given to objects.” 

For instance, the Horsehead Nebula in the constellation Orion is named for its resemblance to a horse’s head. With the James Webb Space Telescope images, there is a discussion of the “mountains'' and “valleys” seen in the star-forming region of the Corina Nebula. 

The Search for Extraterrestrial Life 

Regardless of their age, Pontoppidan says many students will likely be most interested in the role the James Webb Space Telescope will ultimately play in the search for other planets that could potentially sustain life. This is a good opportunity to discuss what causes a blue sky on a planet and what conditions are favorable to the presence of water and by extension life, as well as the mind-boggling vastness of the universe. 

“You look at the deep field image and every single spot in there is a galaxy,” he says. ”We know today that every star typically has at least one planet. So billions of galaxies, billions of stars. How many potential worlds is that?” 

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You don’t have to be a scientist or math whiz to teach about the James Webb Space Telescope, says Denise Davis, NASA's education specialist. 

NASA has a variety of free standards-aligned, educator-vetted resources for teaching about the James Webb Space Telescope that can assist high school science and STEM teachers working with advanced students as well as elementary school teachers who may not have much science background themselves. 

“One of the goals that we had in mind when we were creating resources for teachers was to make it easy, to make it unintimidating,” Davis says. 

With the help of these resources, the James Webb Space Telescope–and the amazing images it’s collecting–can be the perfect engagement tool for teaching astronomy, science, STEM, and more. scientists, Davis says. Teachers should also read our Teaching About James Webb Space Telescope story. 

1. The James Webb Space Telescope STEM Toolkit | NASA 

This educator toolkit offers a wealth of resources organized by grade level that range from quick facts about the James Webb Telescope to lesson plans. The toolkit has been designed with the busy working teacher in mind, so educators can pick and choose a short exercise to use as a warm-up activity or can go more in-depth if they want, Davis says. Lesson plans cover topics such as the science of telescopes and the definition of a galaxy. 

2. Webb Virtual Platform  

Launched by the Webb team when the telescope’s first stunningly clear images of ancient galaxies were released, this platform provides a variety of interactive resources dedicated to Webb. While registration is required, it is free and easy. Those who register for the platform get access to a library, a podcast series, and expert lectures, and can explore a virtual James Webb-themed campus. “That's a fun and engaging way to really get into the science of Webb,” Davis says. There’s also a virtual packet that educators can use as a resource with their students. 

3. Educator Webinars 

Educators looking to incorporate more material inspired by James Webb Telescope or other NASA projects should consider attending one of the webinars hosted through NASA’s Educator Professional Development Collaborative (EPDC) | NASA contract with Texas State. Multiple weekly webinars are available on various space-related topics designed to help educators from K-12 or higher-ed utilize NASA’s professional learning resources. 

4. Educator Community of Practice: NASA CONNECTS

By signing up for free to join this community educators will get access to additional James Webb Space Telescope resources. More importantly, they’ll be connected with fellow teachers and NASA professionals to share ideas and best practices. “You have those very elite, NASA-ified teachers who know where everything is and can easily mine the gold,” Davis says. This community allows those teachers to share ideas with other teachers who are less familiar with NASA teaching materials. 

5. Next Gen STEM | NASA 

This resource includes many materials for K-12 STEM lessons linked to NASA projects. These include the James Webb Space Telescope as well as other projects such as the Artemis mission to the moon, a human spaceflight program aimed at returning astronauts to the moon in the not-too-distant future.  

6. James Webb STEM Star Link Video Series  

This series of 30-minute English- and Spanish-language videos features professionals who helped build the James Webb Space Telescope. In the videos, these engineers and scientists explain their contributions and how they got into the STEM field. Educators can watch these videos with their students to give them an idea of what some STEM careers look like. Educators should also keep an eye out for an upcoming YouTube series on Webb that will feature much shorter videos that profile James Webb Space Telescope instrument scientists, Davis says. 

• How to Teach with the U.S. Government’s UFO Report
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Congressional leaders are taking UFOs seriously and so should educators. 

In May 2022, the House Intelligence Committee held a public hearing on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs), the first public hearing to explore the topic in more than 50 years. 

The hearing comes on the heels of 2021’s release of the so-called UFO report, which confirmed that over the past 20 years more than 100 unidentified flying objects have been spotted by the military. 

The hearing included testimony from experts about these sightings – theories range from aliens to nextgen technology from a foreign government. Democratic Rep. André Carson of Indiana, the chairman of the panel holding the hearing, said in his opening remarks that understanding UFOs was vital. “Unidentified aerial phenomena are a potential national security threat. And they need to be treated that way,” he said. “For too long, the stigma associated with UAPs has gotten in the way of good intelligence analysis. Pilots avoided reporting, or were laughed at when they did.” 

The new attention the topic of unexplained objects in our skies has received and the accompanying debate makes for a good teachable moment. 

“It does make you go, ‘Well, what if?’ or, ‘I wonder if?’” says Christine Anne Royce, Ed.D, co-director of MAT in STEM Education Shippensburg University and the past president of the National Science Teaching Association. 

Though the original report stopped short of concluding UAPs are alien spacecraft, it didn’t rule out the possibility while also making it clear weather anomalies are not to blame for many of the sightings. This opens up numerous possibilities for explanations, such as drones from other countries or other unidentified celestial objects. Or maybe your students can come up with other explanations.  

For teachers looking to explore the topic in class, a good place to start is by watching a portion of the recording of the recent House hearing and having your class discuss it. 

Teaching the UFO Report in Humanities Classes  

“There's a lot of opportunities to discuss the report about UFOs,” Royce says. “In literature classes, if they're reading reports or announcements or articles about it, it's a great way to teach media literacy.” 

The fact that UFOs and UAP are getting serious consideration gives teachers an opportunity to guide students through various sources and have them learn about documentation and evaluating information. 

“Traditionally, we would teach students to analyze the text and to evaluate statements. And now we have to teach them how to do that online as well,” Royce says. “And how do they determine fact versus fallacy? And how do they determine the validity of the information? Or how much information or what level of validity that we can infer? Because not everything is always concrete, and I think that's where the UFO idea comes in.” 

Teaching the UFO Report in Science Class  

For science class, using the UFO report and the search for extraterrestrial life is a great launching pad to teach students about various STEM topics and introduce them to the scientific process and concepts such as hypothesis testing, evidence, and conclusions. 

“There's connections to discussing the report in biology and looking at astrobiology,” Royce says. “There's also an opportunity to talk about the probability of life out there somewhere else and talk about all the different things that would have to happen for that to occur.” 

In addition, Royce says, the UFO report and discussion around it provide an opportunity to introduce students to the CER (claim, evidence, and reasoning) strategy. “It's a great strategy, where there might be a question asked, and students make a claim to answer that question,” she says. “Then they have to provide evidence to support that claim and the reasoning for interpreting the evidence.” 

NASA Resources 

In an email to Tech & Learning, Katherine Brown, a  NASA public affairs officer, did not comment specifically on the UFO report but was not shy about how serious the organization takes the search for life beyond Earth. “One of NASA’s key goals is the search for life in the universe,” she wrote. “Although we have yet to find signs of extraterrestrial life, NASA is exploring the solar system and beyond to help us answer fundamental questions, including whether we are alone in the universe. From studying water on Mars, probing promising ‘oceans worlds,’ such as Titan and Europa, to looking for biosignatures in the atmospheres of planets outside our solar system, NASA’s science missions are working together with a goal to find unmistakable signs of life beyond Earth.” 

For teachers looking to teach students about this search, Brown recommends the following digital resources. 

Explore life 

The Habitable Zone

Follow future explorers as they learn how much it takes to sustain life on another world. 

Universe Unplugged

This series offers playful videos rooted in fact-based astronomy and a monthly live chat with astronomers. 

Ocean Worlds Slideshow 

A slideshow that examines other worlds that, like Earth, have oceans and therefore might have the potential to support life. 

Planet Atmospheres

How Do We Know What Air Is Like on Other Planets?

In this video, which is appropriate for grades 9-12, students will learn how scientists investigate the atmosphere on planets that are many light years away. 

Gas Giants, Atmospheres and Weather Problem Set

These problem sets challenge students to use math to learn about the atmospheres of moons and planets. The problems are appropriate for middle and high school students. 

Real-World Math

This resource includes more than 165 math-based activities that have students using mathematical concepts as they learn about asteroids, comets, planets, craters, and more. 

Ocean Planets 

Is There Ice On Other Planets 

This slideshow explores other planets and satellites that have ice, including Mercury, Mars, and the moon. 

Exoplanet 

Learn all about the search for exoplanets (planets that orbit around other stars) in this video. 

• How to Teach NASA’s Mars Landing
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Teaching climate change isn’t easy. 

On the one hand, the scientific realities are grim and can terrify students. On the other, the issue has become so politicized recently that students often come to class with opinions on the topic that have nothing to do with science. 

Dr. Eric J. Pyle, president of the National Science Teaching Association (NSTA), is well aware of these challenges and is dedicated to providing teachers with strategies to overcome. Pyle, a professor of geoscience education at James Madison University in Virginia, discusses these approaches for teaching climate change with Tech & Learning. 

Q: How can teachers strike the right balance between informing rather than terrifying students when teaching climate change? 

A: I teach a lot of pre-service earth science teachers and elementary teachers, for that matter. And this is a frequent topic of discussion. It would be so easy to fall into doom and gloom, and just really scare people. But that's not what we do in a science classroom. One of the things that we can do as science teachers is give students something to do. If I just give you a lot of things that look frightening and whatnot, and don't give you any way of dealing with it, then I've not really advanced the cause of education. 

Q: What are some ways to do that?

A: You want to engage students with data, help them to see how to organize those data for analysis presentation, and then really discuss interpretations of those data. The science classroom is a place where we can come and think and talk rationally about these subjects. We can unpack them, we can take them apart in an analytic fashion. So even if there are projections that look scary, there are ways to deal with that. 

Q: Would you incorporate things such as the increase in wildfires? 

A: You can talk about the long-term causes of things like that. You can say, ‘Alright, here is an event. And this is a frightening event. And this is personally relevant to a lot of people. But let's take this from a different perspective. Let's see, really, how do we think about this rationally? How do we prepare for it?’ 

One of the interesting lines of thought here is not just whether climate change is happening or not, it becomes very hard to argue that it is not happening. What becomes the topic of discussion, though, is how do we deal with it? How are we resilient about it? So the notion of climate resilience comes into play. So it's ‘Let's be mindful, let's be rational,’ and also say, ‘Well, okay, there have always been forest fires, why are they worse now? And do they have more societal impact now because of where people are living as well?’

Q: How do you handle students who don’t believe in climate science?

A: I directed the position statement that we wrote about teaching climate science a couple of years ago. But it was getting very long, we had so much material that we were able to write a supplemental document. 

The starting point is what is science and what is not science. Within the scientific community, there is not a controversy of whether or not climate change is happening and humans have something to do with it. That's not a controversy, the controversies are social, they are political, they are economic, and in some cases, religious. But the fact of the matter is, we have to recognize that those beliefs do exist. You're always going to have perhaps one student who goes: 'Well, my mama says... ' 'My daddy says...' 'Someone I respect says....’ So educators have to be very sensitive to the fact that these beliefs exist. But discussing those deep-seated beliefs is not an indictment on who you are as a person. 

The thing that I always say in terms of pushback is, ‘Just because I'm saying something at odds with you doesn't mean I think you’re a bad person. You're not. That's not what I'm saying at all. We have different ideas. And let's take these apart, let's unpack them.’ 

Q: On the other end of the spectrum, what about students who get really upset as they learn about climate change? 

A: If somebody looks very upset about this, then, okay, let's say, ‘What is based on data, the current data that we have? What is an extrapolation of those data? Okay, what's the difference between [data and] a model that we have created, and we have some really good models.’ Examine the nature of probability, how probable are these things? These are all rational tools.

Q: So you dig into the science and get a better understanding of it? 

A: You start with, ‘Why are you upset? Okay, let's take this apart.’ It's not trying to downplay any projections that we might have. But it is about how do we put this into a more complex picture? And as I said at the very beginning, what can you personally do about it? 

I feel like the more we can give students responsibility for tasks, the better off we are overall, because now they feel like they can have an ownership of something, that they can have some impact on outcome. And I think that's really, really important for students that might be particularly upset about something. 

For resources on climate change for educators, parents, and students visit nsta.org.

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To call it a teachable moment is something of an understatement. 

NASA’s Perseverance rover is scheduled to land on the Red Planet on Thursday, at 3:55 p.m. ET. 

“For a number of students, this will be the first Mars landing that they've heard of or been engaged in,” says Ota Lutz, PhD, and Lead for STEM Elementary and Secondary Education Group at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “It can kind of be a seminal moment for them to remember in their childhood. They're going to remember when this Mars rover landed like some folks remember the landing on the moon.” 

The car-sized rover will search for signs of ancient life, collect and store samples for future return to Earth, and demonstrate a variety of new exploration techniques. 

NASA and Discovery Education are streaming the landing live here starting at 2:15 p.m. ET, and that link will also offer educators many resources for sharing the landing with their classes.

Christine Anne Royce, Ed.D, co-director of MAT in STEM Education Shippensburg University, encourages any educator who is able to incorporate the landing into their class to do so. “Even if it's just a conversation at the very beginning of class, or asking students if they had to name the rover, what would it be? At least provide an opportunity for the students to discuss it,” says Royce who also is the past president of the National Science Teaching Association. 

Royce adds that the landing lends itself well to remote or hybrid classes. “Everything that we're gonna find out about Mars is virtual, and what better way to do it than virtually,” she says. 

Here are some quick ways you can incorporate the event into your classes. 

Design Your Own Landing Craft Exercises 

NASA’s Mission to Mars Student Challenge is a good place for educators to start. Its programs launched five weeks ago but it is designed with flexibility in mind, so it’s not too late to participate. 

Lutz advises educators to explore the videos on the site and consider having students engage with some of the lander-building exercises offered. “For younger students, we have them experiment with parachutes and making parachutes out of things such as paper napkins and grocery bags,” she says. “For a little bit older students, upper elementary middle school, we have building a Mars lander and testing that. Then, for high school and middle school students, we have some coding challenges for coding entry descent and landing.” 

These exercises are designed to teach students the engineering challenges involved in Perseverance’s landing. “Say you try something, it doesn't work, you redesign and you try again,” Lutz says. 

Teach The Landing in Non-Science Classes  

Although it’s seen as a STEM-focused event, the Mars landing can be integrated into other classes. 

Amanda Wood, a high school English teacher from Spring Branch ISD in Houston, Texas, has been having her students read and analyse magazine articles about topics related to the landing. “Most teachers know that whenever you can have any sort of cross-curricular study, it's always going to be better for kids. They're going to be better at problem-solving, they're going to be better at analyzing and going through data and information,” she says. “My advice for any English teacher who would want to do something such as this is don't be intimidated by the material. Because a lot of us grew up in school systems that made us think that we weren't good at something in particular, or we were better at something in this box, right? We’ve got to psych ourselves out of that to make sure that we can teach something as in-depth as and as important as the Mars landing.” 

For one assignment, Wood had her students read a PBS NOVA article on falsifiability and relate it to the Mars landing, then find similar articles to discuss. She also had some students who were big science fiction fans who were able to do literary analysis of works by Ray Bradbury and books ranging from The Martian by Andy Weir to The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. 

Discuss The Search for Alien Life 

One of the landing rover’s missions will be to search for biosignatures that indicate previous microbial life on Mars. 

“We know that there was water at some point flowing on the surface of Mars, and we know that the conditions were right at some time in history for life to have existed on Mars,” Lutz says. “So that's like this huge question: Was there actually ever life? We know the conditions were okay, but did it develop there?” 

This is a perfect jumping off point for class discussion and inquiry. 

“Everybody wants to know, are we alone in the universe?” Lutz says. “Is Earth the only place that life developed or did it develop elsewhere? If the answer is, ‘Yes there's life elsewhere,’ that's profound, that's amazing. And if the answer is, ‘No, life didn't develop anywhere else,’ that's also profound, like ‘Wow, what was so special about earth?’” 

Royce says educators can also delve into the questions of what life on another planet might look like. “We have extreme life forms in the deep sea on our own planet, is that similar to what we might have on other planets?” she says. “The question of are there other life forms out there is exciting. It also is a little scary to students and that's why having conversations in the classroom helps them think about that. It takes away that total unknown.” 

• How To Teach Science Remotely
• How to Build Remote STEM Engagement
• 4 Tips For Teaching Digital Literacy

Readorium

Science and reading come together in aging but effective platform

Pros: Varied activities and adaptive instruction help students comprehend scientific texts.

Cons: Parts of the platform are showing their age, and it can get repetitive; there's a big focus on earning (and spending) money and tokens.

Bottom Line: There's not much out there that focuses specifically on reading science texts, so if your students can get past the dated design this could be a handy tool to turn to.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Vibrant videos and lessons get students thinking about science.

Pros: Each video is paired with high-quality lesson materials.

Cons: Some lessons miss opportunities to let students drive the investigation.

Bottom Line: NGSS-aligned science lessons include videos, experiments, and quizzes.

Read more.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed byCommon Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Highly relevant site teaches how to construct arguments, defend claims

Pros: Marvelous, free critical-thinking activities; simple setup for teachers; interesting interactive models; covers relevant, current scientific questions.

Cons: Might be challenging to use the curriculum offline.

Bottom Line: Provides a crucial and timely earth science backdrop to lessons on analysis, data, and modeling that are important for all students to grasp.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Curated Content Decreases Teacher Planning Time

Who: Kevin Scanlon, Associate Superintendent of Educational Services

Where: Three Village Central School District, New York

What: Using Discovery Experience to introduce new state K-6 science standards

The district had been using Discovery Education’s streaming platform for seven years for 5th and 6th grade science. Teachers enjoyed the platform so much that when it came time to choose resources to introduce new state science standards this year, they chose to expand its use to K-6. The two highest users of Discovery in New York state are both in our district. They have been the ones spearheading its use with our teachers for the introduction of the new science standards. 

The state developed their own version of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). They adapted the national standards by changing some of the content sequencing to align with earlier versions of state standards. We are currently in a multiple year K-12 roll out of the new standards, beginning with 6th and 7th grade this year. 

In the past, our teachers had primarily used the videos. However, In August 2019 they received training on the new, revised platform and are now using assessments, lesson plans, and teaching strategies in addition to the videos. Teachers love the new curated content channels. It makes the content more accessible and allows them to better differentiate their instruction, while reducing the amount of time they spend planning lessons. 

In addition to using the platform for science and social studies, teachers appreciate the opportunity to connect these topics with reading and math resources available within the platform. They have the flexibility they need to adapt the content to fit our standards-based curriculum needs. There is so much included in the platform that it has eased the burden on lesson planning. The videos, teaching strategies and other resources are completely relevant to our teaching needs. Discovery has broad application across student populations and can be used for remediation, enrichment, or acceleration.

User Tip

The new Studio space allows teachers to create their lessons and also provides a safe collaboration space for students. Students can create their own original content in the same place they are accessing Discovery’s curated content—they don’t have to leave the platform.

Tech Featured in the Classroom

Discovery Education Experience

What’s better than a blackboard lesson on the principles of flight, lift and aerodynamics with folded paper airplanes? How about planes that are powered and can fly for as long as 30 seconds. That’s what PowerUp’s $35 Electric Paper Airplane Conversion Kit has in mind with a clip-on motor and propeller that requires 20 seconds to charge between flights. The kit costs $35 each or a four-pack for $60.

uHandy

Microscope attachment for mobile devices inspires field investigation

Pros: Accessories such as sampling stickers and the light stage make handheld microscopy easy.

Cons: Higher quality and more expensive than most cellphone microscopes; consumable stickers need to be replaced each year.

Bottom Line: The use of stickers instead of slides helps students examine their world at the microscopic level with safety and convenience.

Read more 

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Discovery Education and Polar Bears International are again teaming up to present students and teachers with a no-cost Virtual Field Trip to the Arctic Tundra.  Through technology, participants will be transported to the shores of the Hudson Bay in Churchill, Canada, to witness the annual polar bear migration, investigate the Arctic habitat, and explore the lives and careers of the people that work and live in the polar region.  

This year, Discovery Education and Polar Bears International are offering students and teachers two ways to participate in the Tundra Connections virtual experience.  During Experience Polar Bears on the Tundra, occurring on Wednesday, November 13 at 12:00 PM Central Time and again on Thursday, November 14 at 11:30 AM Central Time, participants will travel to the Arctic to take a deep dive into that region’s unique ecosystem.  Among the topics students and teachers will explore during this roughly 30-minute live event are adaptations, sea ice habitat, climate change, and of course, polar bears.

In addition to Experience Polar Bears on the Tundra, Discovery Education and Polar Bears International are hosting two live question and answer sessions on Wednesday, November 13, at 1:30 PM Central Time and Thursday, November 14 at 1:00 pm Central Time. During these informal hang-outs Polar Bears International’s experts will answer as many questions as possible about the Arctic and discuss the extraordinary wildlife that makes the tundra ecosystem their home.  Both Experience Polar Bears on the Tundra and the Q&A will be supported by classroom instructional resources designed to help educators maximize these experiences.

For more information and details about free registration, visit the Experience Polar Bears on the Tundra registration website.

Both events will be archived within Discovery Education Experience in both the Polar Bears content channel and the Virtual Field Trip content channel. 

Booz Allen Hamilton (NYSE: BAH) and Kaggle today launched the fifth annual Data Science Bowl®, a data science competition focused on social good. 

As part of the annual Data Science Bowl®, more than 50,000 participants have developed and submitted over 114,000 artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms to improve everything from detection of lung cancer and heart disease, to monitoring ocean health and helping accelerate life-saving medical research 

In partnership with PBS KIDS, this year’s competition will look at advancements in early childhood education.  The 90-day Data Science Bowl competition will award winning participants with a share of $160,000 in cash prizes.  

The 2019 Data Science Bowl At-A-Glance

Why does this challenge matter? The first five years of a child’s life are critical to their development as it’s when they learn and cultivate linguistic, cognitive, social, emotional and regulatory skills that predict their later functioning in many domains. 

What will participants do? Participants will be provided with anonymous gameplay data from the PBS KIDS Measure Up! app, which was developed as a part of the CPB-PBS Ready to Learn Initiative with funding from the U.S. Department of Education. They will be tasked with creating algorithms that utilize information about how players use the app to determine what they know and are learning from the experience, in order to discover important relationships between their engagement with educational media and learning. The insights gleaned from these solutions will help PBS KIDS and other organizations create new solutions, content and products that help ensure each and every user has the best chance to learn important skills, helping improve childhood learning access and achievement.

Privacy and data security.  The PBS KIDS Measure Up! app does not collect any personally identifying information, such as name or location. All of the data used in the competition is anonymous. The Data Science Bowl and the use of data for this year’s competition has been reviewed to ensure that it meets requirements of applicable child privacy regulations by PRIVO.

To participate in the competition, register and download the data set here. To learn more about the Data Science Bowl, including more information about past Data Science Bowl competitions, visit DataScienceBowl.com. 

PebbleGo Next

Safe nonfiction database develops students’ research skills

Pros: The site’s organization is consistent, so kids can easily find information and quickly learn what to expect.

Cons: Without individual student logins, there’s no way for teachers to analyze how specific kids are using the site.

Bottom Line: Student-centric research site gives kids a just-right amount of information to build foundational research skills.

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App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

CellEnergy Photosynthesis Labs

Interactive carbon cycle labs deepen student understanding

Pros: Carefully scaffolded digital manipulatives help kids unpack complicated and crucial science ideas.

Cons: Students may skip over some text; only accessible to those with an iPad.

Bottom Line: Virtual labs help biology students investigate and model the movement of carbon and energy.

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App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

NOVA

Compelling science videos have high-quality classroom applications

Pros: Documentaries and their supporting activities let students experience science as scientists.

Cons: NOVA's vast resources could be overwhelming.

Bottom Line: Stellar simulations, teacher guides, and other activities can stand on their own, and they're enhanced with high-quality video content.

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App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly. 

By Common Sense Education

Vernier Software & Technology is offering 20 free hands-on workshops this fall to help science educators incorporate data-collection technology into their curriculum. Held at locations nationwide, each four-hour workshop will provide educators of all levels with the opportunity to explore classroom-ready experiments and connect with fellow educators, while testing out Vernier Software & Technology’s line of data-collection technology. All attendees will receive a Go Direct Temperature Probe, along with experiment ideas, that they can use in their own classrooms.  

During the workshops, educators will work with a Vernier training specialist to learn skills and best practices for data-collection in physics, chemistry, biology, environmental science, Earth science, and coding, as well as middle school science to help meet the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). After a brief overview of the technology, educators will explore specialized activities based on their grade level and area of interest. 

In addition to a Go Direct Temperature, each attendee will receive a light meal and a downloadable Workshop Training Manual, which includes ready-to-use experiment handouts for all science disciplines. Interested educators can select dates from the schedule below.  

September 2019 Workshop Dates and Locations

September 9: Houston, TX

September 11: San Antonio, TX

September 12: Austin, TX

September 14: Dallas, TX

September 16: Raleigh, NC

September 17: Oklahoma City, OK

September 17: Richmond, VA

September 18: Washington, DC

September 19: Kansas City, MO

September 21: St. Louis, MO

September 23: Buffalo (Cheektowaga), NY

September 23: Indianapolis, IN

September 24: Rochester, NY

September 24: Cincinnati, OH

September 25: Louisville, KY

September 26: Albany, NY
 

October 2019 Workshop Dates and Locations

October 1: Los Angeles (Burbank), CA

October 3: Palo Alto (Redwood City), CA

October 7: Madison (Middleton), WI

October 9: Minneapolis (St. Paul), MN 

For complete details and to register for a Vernier workshop, visit www.vernier.com/workshops.

The PocketLab

Gather and analyze live data anywhere

Pros: Sensors are durable and lightweight, so students can be creative about how they design investigations.
Cons: PocketLab better exemplifies the nature of science when students design or modify existing labs instead of following them step by step.
Bottom Line:A science sensor that pairs with your mobile device to gather and analyze data is perfect for inquiry-based learning.

Read more here.

App of the Day picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best ed-tech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.

By Common Sense Education

July 25th is Thread the Needle Day. In this resource, learn about depth perception and senses involved in the actual needle-threading activity.

Brought to you by Knovation, powered by ACT  

Today, StudySync® announced a content partnership with media organization Global Press. Through the partnership, StudySync will incorporate news coverage from local journalists in the least-covered parts of the world into its SyncBlasts™ for Social Studies and SyncBlasts™ for Science products as part of its ongoing mission to bring relevant, high-quality content to middle and high school students.

Journalists are trained by Global Press Institute and then employed by the Global Press Journal, a multi-lingual news publication, to produce daily news coverage. Their news is syndicated globally via Global Press News Service to reach more than 20 million people every month.

SyncBlasts provides daily articles written at multiple Lexile® levels that aim to make meaningful connections between Social Studies and Science topics and today’s world. The program offers a variety of rich multimedia including original audio and video resources such as “The Point” news show, preview videos, and multimedia explainers that engage students in topics that are relevant to their studies and their everyday lives. Teachers leverage the power of social learning in a safe, mediated environment that uses a library of articles produced by StudySync and real journalists throughout the world through partnerships with trusted organizations such as Global Press, Reuters, and News Literacy Project. Scaffolded instruction ensures that English learners and approaching grade-level learners can access every lesson.

Prepmagic

Customize science simulations to highlight phenomena 

Pros: By adding pause points, notes, and quizzes to simulations, teachers can help build and assess student understanding.
Cons: Not all simulations are customizable yet, but there are plans to add more in the future.
Bottom Line: Science simulations become more effective with teacher-added edits and formative assessments.

Read more here.

Site of the Week picks are selected from the top edtech tools reviewed by Common Sense Education, which helps educators find the best edtech tools, learn best practices for teaching with tech, and equip students with the skills they need to use technology safely and responsibly.   

By Common Sense Education