Podcast Script
Hi, I am Brian Barackman....and I am Gus Lindstrom....and we are pre-professional
secondary education instructors at Kansas State University. we are here today to talk
about some valuable resources on the web that teachers across the country can access
FOR FREE!
Brian: The first resource we are going to look at today is called Interactive Biology. This
is a website that allows students to access videos about a wide range of biological
topics. These videos are a great tool for teachers to explain certain biological processes
in a simple and interesting way. For example, if a class is learning about how sound is
transferred into the ear, a student could search this topic on the site and find a detailed,
colorful, interesting, and descriptive video about how the process works. You can find
this site at www.interactive-biology.com
Next, we will look at the national science teachers association website. This site offers
an incredible amount of information and resources for teachers. Some of the resources
include a learning center, webinars, conference transcripts and dates for future
conferences, pod-casts, interactive resources, and ways to get involved, just to name a
few! Needless to say this website is jam packed with great information, resources, and
tools. Simply go to www.nsta.org.
My last resource can be found at www.biologycorner.com. As the website says, It
contains a variety of lessons, quizzes, labs, web quests, and information on science
topics. Also, a teacher can view class curriculum for a wide range of classes from
anatomy to physics. Another great resource biology corner offers are worksheets for
each of these subjects. This could be a great resource for teachers to offer their
students educational practice without the stress that sometimes is inherent with
attempting for format a worksheet on a word processing program. I know I sometimes
have difficulty getting the program to cooperate with consistent format throughout the
whole document.
These three websites offer an incredible amount of information and tools for science
teachers across the nation. Now let’s take a look at some valuable resources for social
studies instructors.
Gus: Hi again this is Gus Lindstrom and the first social studies resource that we’re going
to view today is a website created by PBS titled NOVA. This website allows students to
explore not only tools for social studies, but a variety of different subjects. The site gives
them many resources such as historical time lines, interactive charts, videos, and links
to other educational websites. NOVA offers students information about social studies,
science, math, physics, and even engineering. This site would be a great resource for
projects, group activities, and research papers. NOVA can be accessed at
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova
The second resource we will look at is called historyteacher.net. This website is chalked
full of links to historical projects, maps, and websites. It is an excellent tool for resource
links, curriculum resources, and news feeds. Here are also numerous quizzes over
various subjects available that can be taken online. Susan Pojer, a history teacher from
New York, is the creator of the site and her site has been mentioned in the New York
Times for being an outstanding History resource. Historyteacher.net covers multiple
topics in history including American history, American government, European civ.,
global studies, and even history through film. Ms. Pojer’s website can be found at
www.historyteacher.net
The final resource we are going to observe is smithsonianeducation.org. This site offers
a wide variety of content for educators, families, and students. For teachers, the site
offers many lesson plans that can be used in the classroom mainly pertaining to history.
The site is keyword search able and very easy to use. The site even features an
interactive activity titled “Secrets of the Smithsonian”. This activity teaches students
about various collections at the Smithsonian museum. Although this site is a great
history resource, it also offers information about art, science, and language arts. This
site can be accessed at www.smithsonianeducation.org.
These 3 sites are great sources of information for all social studies teachers, students,
or just someone with an interest in the social sciences.
Well that is all the resources we have for you today... Thank you all for listening to our
podcast... once again I’m Gus Lindstrom... and I’m Brian Barackman... thanks for
listening.