The hhmi BioInteractive site includes many resources for student to use, such as short films, activities, articles, animations, 3D models, lectures, click and learns, interviews, and more. They can be accessed by topic if you have something specific you want to learn or even through their broader collections. Scientists, artists, and educational experts create all material. An important feature is their Virtual Labs. These interactive simulations guide students through labs that we are unable to do in our classroom setting. They go through the cycle of scientific thinking as students are asking and answering questions, performing experiments, and looking at data. These resources cover a broad range of topics like evolution, bacteria, or immunology.
In this class, we will be conducting fetal pig dissections as part of our study of body systems. Use this site to supplement your understanding of our dissections. The site is broken up into chapters for each of the various systems in the body. Within each chapter you will find descriptions, diagrams, and pictures to clarify what you are looking at during the pig dissection. Pay attention to many of the bolded terms, as they may be part of your vocabulary words for our unit. The last chapter on the website are quizzes, one for each chapter. Use these quizzes to study for your in-class exam.
Gizmos are virtual interactives where students can look at concepts we cover in class in a new way. Depending on the Gizmo, you can look at data, manipulate experiments, observe phenomena, and more. There is a search option for you to type in the concept you want to study or browse the Biology Gizmos under Science Grades 9-12. Biology has several subtopics such as Cells, Populations, and Genetics to narrow your search. Under Science Grades 9-12 I also recommend you look at Technology and Engineering as well as Science Skills. You might also find Gizmos under other topics useful for your other class studies.
This site, while its title specifically says genetics, covers a variety of Biology topics including cell biology, ecology, and human health. It presents information in the form of tours, explores, interactive explores, 3D animations, albums or simply learn mores. Tours, explores, and interactive explores have the most features as you will click through steps, read text, listen to descriptions, and activate animations. 3D animations are seen through short videos. Albums are audio recordings, such as bird songs and calls. Learn Mores are pages with text and pictures to describe and explain concepts. You can click on topics on the Home page to view interactives under that topic or use the search at the top of the page. Also note there is a Science Tools topic with virtual labs available.
Mindomo is a mind mapping website. A mind map is like a concept map or outline that organizes concepts in a structured way that you design. Usually all the ideas, facts, or concepts revolve around a central idea that is located at the center or top of your mind map. In creating a mind map, you are studying how ideas are connected and making decisions about which information is crucial to understanding a concept. Mindomo allows you to add images, video, or audio as well as use a presentation mode to go over your map. Select a template or create a new map from scratch to begin your notes.
Everyone has used flashcards to study at one time or another. With Quizlet, you can make more interactive flashcards online. Students are able to create their own flashcard set and add pictures or even audio to their cards. There are six study modes for you to choose from, including a competition game mode to motivate your studying. I may also be setting up a few study sets throughout the year for the class to use together. A mobile app is available so you can carry your flashcards on your phone instead of loose at the bottom of your backpack. This is a great way to study for exams.