Digital Demo 5: Web Based Content Resources

The first resource I chose was Khanacademy.org because I have actually used this website numerous times through my high school and college years. It is a very helpful website that has videos that explain certain concepts in almost every subject. What I love about this website is that it is very organized. Khan academy allows students to click on a subject, for instance, Biology, and afterwards, it lists many sections of biology in order. If a student has no background information on biology, they can begin learning from the first section of videos. It is very helpful because the videos allow students to go back to the basics if needed. The videos are created in a flipped classroom setting where the instructor teaches by talking and writing on a screen, but you cannot see the actual instructor. I like how this website is organized and provides students with all the prior knowledge they must know in order to understand the next video in order because I feel like this is where successful learning begins. If a student understands every concept starting from the beginning, there is no need to fall behind and not understand the next lesson due to misunderstood prior knowledge.

In my Biology course, I would definitely take advantage of this website. It is easy to use and provides students with another resource to learn if they miss or do not understand a lesson in class. First, the students go to the science and engineering subject and click on Biology. They will be directed to a page with various concepts in Biology listed in chronological order (shown below). The different sections have a brief summary of the key concepts that will be covered in these sets of videos.

The students can then click on the chapter they are learning about. The website provides a unit test that students can take before they start learning to see which areas they need more help in. After the test, the website recommends certain videos for the students to watch that will help them grow in the areas they require extra knowledge in. There are lessons on every concept in the chapter so the student is able to skip around if they do not feel the need to take the test, or simply just want to review one certain concept. The lessons in the chapter are on the left side of the screen so it is easy to navigate (shown below).

As the students watch videos, they are rewarded with points that unlock certain rewards which ultimately helps motivate them to keep watching more videos and learn more. After they have watched all the videos in the section, there is a unit test they can take to see if they fully understand the lessons.

I believe Khan Academy is an amazing resource for students. Whenever I do not understand a concept in class, I always go to khan academy and watch Sal Khan’s videos to reiterate a lesson my professor gave that did not make sense to me. Watching the videos online is great because I am able to pause, rewind, and take notes on my own pace, which really helps me learn. I thank Khan Academy for teaching me physics when I was not grasping the concepts from the textbook or from my own professor. This is a great resource for learners that cannot focus in class or simply just need a different teaching style, like Sal Khans, to learn effectively.

Another website I found to be helpful is hmxearthscience.com. This is a website that focuses around lessons in Earth science. Student have the option to choose Astronomy, Geology, or Meteorology. For example, once you click on Astronomy, there are different lessons on concepts in Astronomy, such as the solar system or the universe. After the student chooses the desired lesson, in this case, the solar system, the website provides a summary of the lesson along with background information. On the right hand side, there are additional resources to help the student learn about this concept. There are tabs that direct students to different helpful videos, diagrams, animations, handouts, and even labs (shown below).

I found the animations to be very helpful. They show the students animations of the solar system and provide them with handouts that allow them to complete practice problems on the content area. This is helpful for students who need extra practice.

In my Astronomy classroom, I would first give the students an in-class lesson on the solar system followed by an introduction to this website. I would allow the students to explore the website and further their knowledge using the provided resources. My students would then be required to watch certain videos from the ones listed followed by a handout from the tab. This is a helpful website because it allows students to learn at home, similar to a flipped classroom. After the students watch the videos and complete the handout, we will go over the handout the following day in class and review any misunderstandings the students may have.

The last resource I chose is the website www.brainpop.com. I like this website because it is very vibrant and fun and makes a student want to learn. Like Khan Academy, this website has different subjects students can explore and is easy to navigate through. First the student will click on the subject they are learning, like science, and then they have the option to choose from different science units they would like to learn about. The student can then click on a unit which will direct them to various concepts within that unit (shown below).

After choosing the topic, they are directed to a video explaining the concept, such as the different types of cells (shown below).

The website provides students with a quiz they can take after watching the short movie on the concept to see if they understand the material. The ‘challenge’ button provides another test so the students can assess themselves. There is also a game the student can play that deals with different types of cells. This is a fun way to teach a lesson to students because it is interactive and they get to learn through playing an educational game. This website also provides activities dealing with different types of cells that the teacher can do with his/her students for more fun learning.

As a future educator, I would allow my students to explore a certain concept on this website either before or after an in-class lesson. It could be effective to either introduce a certain science concept to my students, or use is as a post-assessment to see where my students are struggling. In all, I feel like this website would be very successful in keeping my students engaged in my lesson and making them want to continue learning.

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