Science Teaching Challenge

The Tech Savvy Teacher has always focused on how technology can enhance teaching.  In today’s fast-paced and technological world, it is vital that we as educators provide our students with the latest information and do so in a manner that is most accessible and convenient for them.

 Technology can be used at any grade level to teach any subject, given the right preparation and materials.  However, it is especially important when teaching science because so much of our scientific world depends on tools and gadgets.  Science instruction, like science itself, should be real and exciting, and above all, it should allow children to interact with their world.  In my 3rd grade class, I used Google Earth, a virtual tour program that uses digital satellite pictures to construct up-close views of the whole earth, to teach my students about ecosystems and landforms, as well as how to use and read physical maps.

My students have not always been interested in science.  Most of them had workbooks for their 2nd grade science curriculum, and I received many new 3rd graders who dreaded science each day as a result.  However, I found that by using a little creativity, as well as the computer lab at the school, I could reengage my students to want to learn science, and I found teaching it much more enjoyable.

       With the Google Earth tour, I created waypoints, or stops where the students would find pictures, instructional videos, and textual information about the area on the map.  After viewing the media and following the steps at each stop, the students would then click on the next point in the tour and be “flown” to that point on the globe.  Rather than using a textbook and worksheets to teach the students about our physical world, this process not only helped the students make observations about the various biomes by giving visual, 3D representations, but it also enhanced their learning experience because they were able to manipulate the scenes and viewpoints and use multiple senses for informational input.  The program also allows students to create their own virtual tours of interesting places, historical sites, capital cities, major landforms or parks, etc.  I feel that the more involved children can be with their own learning experience, the more valuable that experience will be for them. 

This is a top-view of the school at the start of my tour, where the students will be briefed on their assignment before undergoing their virtual journey.

Here is shown several pictures of wildlife living in a tundra biome, as well as an instructional video describing caribou migration.

The tours allow users to zoom in or out at areas of interest.  This view of the Florida Everglades waypoint is zoomed out so the user can see the borders of the Everglades National Park. 

Here is a quiz I put in a link at the end of the tour.  The students are able to click on the link and are taken directly to this page.  It is an easy way of assessing students’ knowledge and experience with the tour.

This is a horizontal view of the simulated terrain of the Grand Canyon.  Notice the detail of the topography, which can be very useful in helping students recognize certain landforms.