Integrating Technology to Learn Math and Science

It is refreshing to go through the concept of multiple intelligences in a Special-Ed. course, I am taking currently. In the words of  Howard Gardner ,  “We are all so different largely because we have different combinations of intelligences. If we recognize this, we will have a better chance of dealing appropriately with the many problems that we face in the world. "  According to Howard Gardner, all humans have varying degrees of intelligences (nine types) based upon their experiences and genetics set-up. These multiple intelligences can be nurtured, strengthened, or ignored and weakened with use or by paying special attention. His theory is widely accepted in the education community, as it enables us to understand the significance of incorporating music, art, visuals arts and drama to make learning a meaningful process. Besides, it also supports the concept of differentiated instruction. By acknowledging various learning preferences, teachers can create authent...

‘Help your students become better searchers' is the mantra for  Google  to have Google Search Education. Not only, for students, but it is a great tool for educators as well.  I feel this is yet another resource must to have in one’s library!   With power search option, it offers tips and tricks to become a fast and effective fact-finder.  Besides, it provides help in downloading appropriate lesson plans and activities   and also  give s live trainings in the form of webinars. One section, I found very interesting to check out is a puzzle ‘A Google A Day challenge’ that facilitate to develop complex search skills  among students , and thereby ignite their interest, thus engaging them to learn and explore more. Here are few examples of the challenges from the Science section of the website: Questions: While quietly standing at sea level, you are suddenly whacked on the ankle with a guitar. Did you hear it or feel it first? If you...

It was intriguing to watch the astronaut Chris Hadfield giving elementary school students at Chris Hadfield Public School in Milton an out-of-this-world lessons, on CTV news . Chris Hadfield interacted with the students from the spacecraft Soyuz and is actually the second Canadian to take part in a long-duration spaceflight aboard to the International Space Station (ISS), to work for five months as part of the crew of Expedition 34/35 . And the thing, worth taking note was the excitement and thrill of students as they spoke with someone directly from the space. I felt a great jest among the students as they asked questions about his scientific space discoveries, the solar system and life aboard the space station. One second-grader asked how the stars really look like in space, so she can draw them better. He told them facts about gravity and showed how he adjusts in weightlessness. Another interesting tidbit the astronaut told them that he watches sunset 20 times a day as their ISS or...

Ontario curriculum strongly emphasizes learning science by the inquiry-based framework, as inquiry is central to the teaching and learning of science. Inquiry-based learning is based on the constructivist approach as it encourages learners to learn inductively through concrete experiences and observation with the help of real-world exemplars (Colburn, 2004). Collecting data through observations or measurements is a key element in science education. Often times, students use a wide range of instruments to collect, analyze and interpret data. For example, most widely used equipment are thermometers, pH paper, ammeters, voltmeters and hygrometers. T he collected data is written down and then represented in tables/ graphs for further calculations, interpretations or to draw various conclusions. Until recently, this was done and still being done in many parts of the world manually. Today, however, another dimension of technology being used in science labs (besides Simulations) known as ...

In this post, I am again going to refer to the parents and teachers regarding one of the latest trends in K-12 education, “flipping the classroom.” The model better known as ‘ Flipped classroom ’ needs no introduction, in the education community.   In the simplistic form, flipping the classroom means teacher provides their lessons as homework to the students; that implies much of the direct instruction is sent home, and the homework is done at the school. The homework (lectures or the  learning material) is in the form of videos, podcasts or audio lessons and can be seen or heard on the computer, iPads, cell phone or television. The aim of flipping the classroom is varied ranging from the introduction, exploring, reviewing the topics/lessons, and also to supplement the classroom experience/material. It also provides the opportunity to the students to rewind or re-watch the lessons. This helps to create more classroom time   that can be used for in-depth discus...

I have encountered so many parents complaining and worrying that their child does not seem interested in studying; all he or she does is sit in front of computer playing games or watching videos. Sometimes they overlook the fact that in an era where our lives are so interwoven with technology, incorporating technology for their learning is certainly the best bet. And that is what our education system is thriving for; as its vision is to create an effective learning community with the wise use of technology. So parents, if you see your child sitting in front of computer, ipad, doing a video recording or playing with latest apps for his school work, certainly he or she is a 21st century learner. A 21st century learner has higher digital literacy, is a natural thinker, creative, communicative, and is a good collaborator; whereby he/she has got the freedom to show the innate qualities, as well as to monitor his/her own learning, be able to set goals and most importantly they learn by...

Another good resource, I found worth trying is  WizIQ . This is a web-based virtual classroom software that is designed for teachers to do on-line teaching, tutoring, or to even create a course.  Its online teaching tool helps teachers to design, manage and deliver their own online courses and run virtual live or recorded classrooms.  This tool works on any ope rating system, requires no installation and offers browser-like tabbed interface and MS Office like keyboard shortcuts. One just need to log in to start their online classroom and can invite any number of attendees, it could be just one student getting one-on-tutoring or many people attending it. It is also designed to help teachers to develop subject expertise as they can attend public classes given by experts on a variety of topics. Worth mentioning it is also great for students as they can attend online classes, find teachers, download educational tutorials and can even attempt and create their own onl...