21st Century Topics & Tools

Just viewing the lesson this week on the periodic table, I decided to focus on the chemistry aspect of physical science.  Students seem to either love or hate this particular area of science and it’s our responsibility to get those that hate it interested. Students love mixing chemicals and get an explosive reaction, baking soda and vinegar for example.  It’s the less glamorous mixing or even separating that students become disengaged.  They seem less impressed with oxidation, electrolysis and sometimes even cooking.  When we perform activities and labs covering this topic the common question I receive is why.  Students want to know why they are learning this and why this sis important.  I try to present the information in a manner where the students understand they witness chemical reactions everyday whether it’s photosynthesis, digestion, decomposition and even as simple as making iced tea.  Chemical reactions are all around us.

Some useful sites that I utilize: 

* http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/ is a great site which allows students to perform labs in which they create new substances and see how different substances interact.

* http://sciencespot.net/Pages/classchem.html provides numerous activities with worksheets and also multiple interactive lessons.

* http://www.the-simple-homeschool.com/chemical-bonding.html another site providing numerous information such as key terms, videos, explanations and labs.

* http://tlc.howstuffworks.com/family/science-projects-for-kids-chemical-reactions.htm This is the website I would incorporate as a culmination of the unit.  It provides numerous activities and students could choose one as a group and perform the activity for the class.  They could present their data and explain the energies involved and the type of changes the chemicals underwent.  This would almost be like a science fair as we study chemicals at the end of the year.

 * Another great tool to incorporate into our classrooms is YouTube.  If certain lesson or labs are too dangerous, or expensive, students can witness the experimentation and observe online.  From what they view they can form conclusions.

There are thousands of helpful websites for teachers.  What we need to do is find some we find useful and comfortable using.  Bringing technology into the classroom is a key component of education today. In addition to exploring websites, it would be beneficial to have students create their own sites, blogs or even Facebook pages.  By doing this, they can share their learning with students outside our classrooms.  They would be able to communicate on a global scale allowing themselves to gain insights and perspectives from a vast array of students outside their community.

Of course the difficulty we may experience in implementing this technology would be its' availability to us.  My classroom has a smart board but not all districts are granted this luxury.  Our computer lab is small and often unavailable.  Some of us have to make due with what we have and improvise and be creative when incorporating technology into our rooms.  It all depends on what’s available to us.