INTERNET WEBSITE ASSIGNMENT
ESCI300
Student: Keith Lee
Date: 2014-10-08
ESCI300 - INTERNET ASSIGNMENT
2014-10-03
Keith Lee
Page 2 of 6
Goal:
become aware of the resources the internet offers science educators
Objectives:  make a brief description of 10 sites as to the material and information
 reference the site to a specific curricular area in science 9 or 10 (may have school
specific areas)
 share with your colleagues sites of special interest (construct an outcome site list)
 make an additional list of 5 sites that are on a single curricular outcome
Contents
Physical Science: Atoms and Elements (AE) ................................................................................................. 3
1.
PeriodicVideos.com .......................................................................................................................... 3
2.
ChemEdDL.org................................................................................................................................... 3
3.
Chemwiki UCDavis ............................................................................................................................ 3
Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics................................................................................................................. 4
4.
Natural Geographic Education: Ecosystems ..................................................................................... 4
5.
Ecoliteracy.org .................................................................................................................................. 4
Life Science: Interactions within Ecosystems (IE) ......................................................................................... 4
6.
Rekindling Traditions – Indigenous Ways of Knowing – Cross-Cultural Science .............................. 4
Life Science: Reproduction and Human Development (RE).......................................................................... 5
7.
DNALC.org ......................................................................................................................................... 5
8.
Genetics Education (NHS UK)............................................................................................................ 5
9.
Genome.gov ...................................................................................................................................... 5
10. Nature.com: Scitable......................................................................................................................... 5
11. John Kryk – Cell Biology Animations ................................................................................................. 5
Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics (CD)......................................................................................................... 6
12. NASA Wavelength.org....................................................................................................................... 6
13. Cleanet.org ........................................................................................................................................ 6
14. NOAA.GOV ........................................................................................................................................ 6
15. Climate Change Education.org .......................................................................................................... 6
ESCI300 - INTERNET ASSIGNMENT
2014-10-03
Keith Lee
Page 3 of 6
SITES FOUND:
Physical Science: Atoms and Elements (AE)
Physical Science:
9 Atoms and
Elements (AE)
AE9.3
Demonstrate an understanding of the classification of pure
substances (elements and compounds), including the
development and nature of the Periodic Table. [SI]
1. PeriodicVideos.com
URL: http://www.periodicvideos.com/
This website from the University of Nottingham and filmmaker Brady Haran presents entertaining and
informative YouTube videos regarding each element on the periodic table. Each video includes
commentary from a university professor and clips of some experimentation; for instance, the Hydrogen
video includes observations on exploding a hydrogen-filled balloon with an electric match! These
resources could be used to provide information and inspiration but to also demonstrate how scientific
knowledge is developed through experimentation and observation. Related sites include Molecular
Videos, Sixty Symbols (for physics), Numberphile (for math) and Test Tube (for behind-the-scenes
science videos)
2. ChemEdDL.org
URL http://www.chemeddl.org/
The Chemical Education Digital Library site includes many interesting tools, including a wiki about
Chemistry (ChemPRIME), interactive games (like “Murder Mystery – Solve a Virtual Crime” and
“Mahjong Chemistry”) as well as “Periodic Table Live”, with a media regarding each element, including
images, videos, and crystal structures. There is also a “Models360” collection of interactive molecular
models that allows manipulation of variables like molecular vibrations and orbitals. There is a ton of
resources for exploration – probably best to introduce a particular item and then encourage students to
explore site or identify specific challenges/tasks to fuel inquiry
3. Chemwiki UCDavis
URL: http://chemwiki.ucdavis.edu/
This is an interactive chemistry e-textbook from UC Davis. Related sites include wikis for biology,
chemistry, physics, statistics and mathematics. -= part of the STEMWiki hyperlibrary. It also includes a
wealth of reference material on the periodic table and lab techniques.
ESCI300 - INTERNET ASSIGNMENT
2014-10-03
Keith Lee
Page 4 of 6
Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics
Climate and
10 Ecosystem
Dynamics
SCI10-CD1
Assess the consequences of human actions on
the local, regional, and global climate and the
sustainability of ecosystems.
4. Natural Geographic Education: Ecosystems
URL: http://education.nationalgeographic.com/education/topics/ecosystems/?ar_a=1
This site from National Geographic contains many useful interactive tools, including a Mapmaker (for
creating and manipulating maps), a tool called Fieldscope (to create graphs and other visualizations),
and Geostories, which allows users to create ‘virtual tours’ integrating maps, photos and narratives.
There are also plenty of interactive games (design your own panda reserve!) and many images of the
natural world.
5. Ecoliteracy.org
URL: http://www.ecoliteracy.org/
This ecology-focused site from the Centre for Ecoliteracy is more for teachers than students, providing
instructional tools, lesson plans, and strategies to inform teaching about ecology and sustainability.
There are pages focusing on specific issues that students or teachers could advocate for, like improving
student lunches and doing ‘citizen science’.
Life Science: Interactions within Ecosystems (IE)
Life Science:
7 Interactions within
Ecosystems (IE)
IE7.1
Relate key aspects of Indigenous knowledge to their
understanding of ecosystems. [CP]
6. Rekindling Traditions – Indigenous Ways of Knowing – Cross-Cultural Science
URL: http://www.usask.ca/education/ccstu/units/index.html and
http://www.usask.ca/education/ccstu/
This site from the University of Saskatoon presents ideas about teaching cross-cultural science,
particularly from a First Nations perspective. In addition to lesson plans, there is a teachers guide and
lessons learned regarding the process of developing local content in collaboration with elders from the
aboriginal community.
ESCI300 - INTERNET ASSIGNMENT
2014-10-03
Keith Lee
Page 5 of 6
Life Science: Reproduction and Human Development (RE)
Observe and describe the significance of cellular
RE9.2 reproductive processes, including mitosis and meiosis.
[CP, SI]
Examine the process of and influences on the transfer of
Life Science: Reproduction
9
RE9.1 genetic information and the impact of that
and Human Development (RE)
understanding on society past and present. [CP, DM]
Life Science: Reproduction
9
and Human Development (RE)
7. DNALC.org
URL: http://www.dnalc.org/websites/
This site from the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory boasts an impressive array of educational subsites
focused on genetics, DNA, and bioinformatics. There are links to a lot of interactive student-centred
sites with creative ways of helping students engage with the material, including ‘DNA barcoding 101”,
“Gene Boy” (like Gameboy) and Greenomes.org. A ton of material!
8. Genetics Education (NHS UK)
URL: http://www.geneticseducation.nhs.uk/
This resource from the National Genetics and Genomics Education Centre seems geared to both
students and health professionals and includes training modules, e-learning modules, clinical images,
animations and videos to help students learn more about genetics.
9. Genome.gov
URL: http://www.genome.gov/Education/
This site from the National Human Genome Research Institute provides lots of information about the
Human Genome Project, including online genetic education resources, education kits for teachers, fact
sheets, lectures, symposia and videos. The site is well-organized and approachable and provides a lot of
information about the Human Genome Project and the history of genetics research (for instance – link
to a timeline of the human genome (unlockinglifescode.org).
10. Nature.com: Scitable
URL: http://www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/mitosis-14046258
This site from Nature Publishing Group provides many articles, e-books and issue discussions regarding a
variety of science topics, and also attempts to help cultivate a community of scientists, researchers and
educators through discussion forums and ‘online classrooms’.
11. John Kryk – Cell Biology Animations
URL: http://www.johnkyrk.com/
This site from scientist/artist John Kyrk has beautiful cell biology animations covering important topics
and processes. The animations allow students to better understand the mechanics of dna replication,
chemical processes like glycolysis and the krebs cycle, and the anatomy and function of cells.
ESCI300 - INTERNET ASSIGNMENT
2014-10-03
Keith Lee
Page 6 of 6
Climate and Ecosystem Dynamics (CD)
Climate and
10 Ecosystem
Dynamics
SCI10-CD2
Investigate the mechanisms that influence Earth’s climate
system, including the role of the natural greenhouse effect.
12. NASA Wavelength.org
URL: http://nasawavelength.org/
This site from NASA includes science literacy strandmaps to llustrate connected concepts in earth and
space science.It also links to earth andspace science data and imagery at introductory, intermediate and
advanced categories. One of the sites includes http://climate.nasa.gov/, which has many interactive
activities like a ‘climate time machine’ and ‘eyes on the earth 3D’.
13. Cleanet.org
URL: http://cleanet.org/clean/literacy/index.html
This site from the Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network contains lots of maps and lesson
plans about climate change, and contains maps showing the Project 2061 AAAS Benchmarks for
Scientific Literacy for the different grade levels. There are also links to several hands-on activities on
other sites like http://www.teachengineering.org/
14. NOAA.GOV
URL: http://www.education.noaa.gov/Climate/
This site from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration includes links to YouTube video
collections from American Museum of Natural History on carbon cycle, climate monitoring, etc as well
as multimedia, lessons and activities, real-world data, background information, reports, and news
articles. It seems to have wide range of information – well sourced and informative
15. Climate Change Education.org
URL: http://www.climatechangeeducation.org/
Though not as fancy as some other sites (dated graphics and formatting), the site (affiliated with the
University of California?) appears to be focused on being a reliable clearinghouse of information to help
students and teachers cut through the thicket of misinformation that is available about climate change.
It links to many hands-on activities (demonstrations, labs) and critiques the quality of many popular
activities, distinguishing flawed/faulty demonstrations versus “scientifically strong” demonstrations –
could be useful for helping students develop critical thinking skills.