Jenny Kolls
Biology Internet Sites for Classroom Use
July 28, 2003
ED 6310
Dr. Eisenwine
With the establishment of the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), the biology curriculum is well defined for teachers. We know what content we have to teach. The TAKS Science test is organized into five main objectives: 1). The Nature of Science, 2). Organization of Living Systems, 3). Interdependence of Organisms and the Environment, 4). Structures and Properties of Matter, and 5). Motion, Forces, and Energy. In the San Angelo Independent School District, our weakest objectives were the Nature of Science, Structures and Properties of Matter, and Motion, Forces, and Energy. As teachers we have the responsibility to find lessons and implement ideas and strategies into our classes that will improve our weak areas. The more resources that are available to us, the easier the process can be accomplished. Focusing on my individual Biology classes, I also see some weak areas in regards to cellular processes, genetics/mutations, and ecological concepts. In the following pages of this paper, I will list Internet resources that will be beneficial to teachers in working to improve our curriculum and in trying to help students think at higher levels. Ultimately these practices and the incorporation of these innovative teaching ideas will bring our science scores up to a recognizable performance level. These internet sites will contain authentic lesson plans and activities, information that deals with current teaching strategies, and places for teachers to find additional information on new and interesting scientific topics to be incorporated into classroom lessons.
1. Access Excellence
URL: http://www.accessexcellence.org/
Access Excellence was launched in 1993 and is a national educational program that provides high school biology and life science teachers access to colleagues, scientists, and sources of new information. Access Excellence was originally developed by Genentech, Incorporated. In 1999, Genentech donated the Access Excellence website to the National Health Museum. From the site, teachers can stay current on scientific news, biotechnology, and what is expected to be happening in the classrooms of the Twenty-First Century. For classroom purposes, the Activities Exchange is outstanding. Under Activities Exchange, there is a Mystery Spot with activities that encourage problem solving and inquiry on the student's part. The Classic Collection examines people and events that have shaped science. The activities focus on people and events and put them into a historical context and then relate it to modern science. The unit activities have resources, graphics, and printable handouts. Activities-To-Go is a huge database of innovative teaching strategies and classroom activities where students can learn concepts and processes of science. There are activities that directly apply to some of the weaknesses that I mentioned in the introduction.
URL: http://www.cellsalive.com
Cells Alive was written by James A. Sullivan and has been on the Internet since 1994. This website contains film and computer enhanced images of living cells and microscopic organisms to be used for educational and medical research. It contains background information and images in the fields of cell biology, microbiology, immunology, and microscopy. Some of the most beneficial components of this site are the interactive diagrams that can be downloaded for classroom use. The interactive graphics deal with the identification of plant and animal cellular structures, the stages of mitosis, the cell cycle, and a comparative image of how big cells can be in terms of surface area per volume ratio. These are difficult concepts for students to grasp and these interactive graphics identify, describe, and explain these various cellular processes. The Cells Alive site also contains a Cell Gallery of graphics and additional links to resources that can be used by both the teacher and the student.
3. SMILE: Science and Mathematics Initiative for Learning Enhancement
URL: http://www.iit.edu/~smile/index1.html
SMILE is designed to enhance the elementary and high school learning of science and mathematics through the use of the phenomenological approach. SMILE is hosted by the Illinois Institute of Technology. This site contains about two hundred lesson plans and activities for Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics. There are a wide variety of lessons that would be very relevant to use to boost some of our weak areas, especially the TAKS objectives focusing on matter and forces, motion, and energy. These lessons could be implemented into any curriculum and used very effectively to increase student learning.
URL: http://www.sciencespot.net/
Mrs. Tracy Trimpe who teaches seventh and eighth grade science and health at Havana Junior High in Havana, Illinois developed the Science Spot in March of 1999. The site includes several neat and very useful features for science teachers. The Science Classroom contains lesson plans, activities, worksheets, and project ideas. This site is designed to be searched by topic. The site includes a Reference Desk with links to additional resources. The Puzzle Corner offers an assortment of puzzles that are ready to print. The puzzles range from word searches to jokes pages and include several worksheet designed to challenge students. There is an online Nature Center that brings an outdoor classroom to the web. It provides tips for developing your own nature spot, lessons to engage your students, and excellent nature links. The Idea Factory is full of great ideas to help the teacher deal with classroom management, first/last days of school, and holidays. This part of the site is directed towards new teachers. The Science Spot also has daily science trivia that might be used to stimulate student interest in various scientific topics.
URL: http://www.biology.arizona.edu/default.html
The Biology Project is an interactive online resource for learning biology developed by the University of Arizona. The site offers problem sets and tutorials for teachers to assign to enrich or assess their students learning of the topic. The site focuses on lessons, activities, and resources dealing with biochemistry, cell biology, chemicals and human health, developmental biology, human biology, immunology, Mendelian genetics, and molecular biology. Some of these topical sites are also presented in a Spanish version.
URL: http://www.chemicalelements.com
Chemical Elements.Com is an interactive Periodic Table of Elements created by Yinon Bentor in 1996 as his Eighth grade science fair project. The interactive periodic table allows you to click on an element and receive information about the element. Some of the information given includes the symbol, melting and boiling points of the element, its classification, and its crystal structure. These are just a few examples of the information provided. The interactive site also has a graphic image that reveals the atomic structure of the element and how many energy levels the element contains. The site also gives generic facts about the element and related links to find out more on that particular element. The actual periodic table can be displayed in a wide variety of ways that reveals information about all the elements such as boiling points, dates of discovery, and the various crystalline structures. The table is also color coded to represent the various element groups. This particular site would be very beneficial to use when studying the structures and properties of matter.
URL: http://enc.org/features/lessonplans/?ls=fe
The Eisenhower National Clearinghouse (ENC) Lessons and Activities site contains teaching materials that may include teaching units, activity books, and lab manuals categorized by math and science subject area. There is a link to search specifically for lessons and activities in science. The site also includes web links for curriculum resources, related educational topics, and ideas for developing and implementing professional development. ENC was established in 1992 and is located at the Ohio State University. This site is funded through a contract with the United States Department of Education.