Online Tools for Teaching Science (OTfTS) is a website that offers scientifically accurate, pedagogically proven and highly engaging virtual science tools that help students understand science better.
Have a look at Science Tools, and find out the advantages they can bring to your classroom. These online science tools are great resources that provide you with access to information in an easier way then traditional reporting. They also help students practice their skills using engaging material such as simulations, graphics and activities to enhance the learning experience. Further, they can be used anywhere they are needed in the classroom without any limits …
Are you the type that gets curious and can’t stop tinkering with things? Do you sometimes get caught up in the works or wonder if you made the right decision? I was once that way but have gotten much better at knowing when to let go. Here are some resources I have found useful throughout my career as a science teacher.
The science of the 21st century is rapidly changing with advances in technology and understanding, and does not fit easily into the traditional categories of scientific inquiry. Online Tools for Teaching Science introduces web-based education tools and how their use fits into today’s science classroom. Integrating relevant research throughout, this book examines educational tools and related technologies as they progress from theory to practicality.
Digital resources for teaching science
The Periodic Table of Videos
Teach the Earth
The Science Education Resource Center at Carleton College has compiled just about every fathomable resource for geoscience educators. By serving as the portal to helpful web pages from dozens of independent project websites, the site provides visuals, classroom activities and course descriptions for everything from oceanography to “red tide and harmful algal blooms.”
Stellarium
Stellarium is a planetarium for your computer. Just input your location and explore the sky outside or the view from any other location. The program offers up information on stars, nebulae, planets and constellations according to 12 different cultures. In addition to being ideal for classroom astronomy lessons, Stellarium’s open source software is also used to light up the screens of a number of real planetariums. Even though Google Sky won’t give you a view from a specific location, it will direct you to specific galaxies, planets and stars or to a map of the moon that notes where each of the six Apollo missions landed.
YouTube
Eduplanet21
Eduplanet21 recently began allowing teachers and groups to receive a free subscription to use their platform. Developers also released a software module called “Lesson Planner,” which helps you to produce and alter lesson plans for remote learning.
The website has great resources for “10 Minute Tuesdays,” quick conversations with educators from around the world. Their webinars also offer valuable tips to help educators and students.
ClassMax
ClassMax’s online education tool shows teachers exactly how to set up the system, so no guessing required. You can create seating charts, monitor behavior and track student progress. It also eliminates the need to use paper, which is an environmental bonus!
Skillshare
Skillshare’s vast library of over 20,000 classes earns top honors as one of the best online learning platforms. Courses consist of presentations lasting 20 minutes or less along with a class project.
Skillshare membership levels include:
- A two-month free trial.
- Free membership allowing access to 2,000 classes.
- Premium membership for $15 per month or $99 for a year. You receive access to 20,000+ classes.
Students learn new skills through online courses about productivity, business and creativity.
Kahoot!
Engage students with their distance learning features, play in class, and dive into game reports to assess learning. Create your own Kahoots! or choose from 40+ million existing games.
edX & Open edX
EdX.org (course marketplace) and Open-edX are two sides of the same coin. EdX is the learning platform where students find online courses from various universities and Open-edX is an open-source content management system.
Both were created by a team of scientists from Harvard University and MIT with the goal of providing online university-level education across the globe.
EdX.org has powered over 8,000 online courses from 100 prestigious universities and businesses that are currently offering higher education in many disciplines. They mainly specialize in the sciences–engineering, computer science, data science, math, humanities, business, and management.
Pros:
- Free and open-source. (for instructors)
- App available on iOS and Android
- Interactive online classes, allowing students to chip in
Cons:
- Discussion forums seem to be outdated and difficult to navigate
- Requires technical knowledge or hiring a developer/web designer to implement (for instructors)
- Comes with the additional costs of a self-hosted server and its maintenance (for instructors)
Who is it for?
Students (EdX): it has a very diverse library of courses suitable for most ages looking to learn a subject or new skills.
Instructors (Open-edX): It’s great for businesses who can afford a team or outsource the development and maintenance of the platform in their own servers.
Pricing for Instructors:
Free to join, but there may be additional costs of procuring a server and system support and in getting expert help from Open-edX’s service providers or freelancers whose pricing varies according to your project’s requirements and budget.
LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is our very own cloud-based platform that comes as an all-in-one solution offering the ability to build your online academy while creating unique, interactive, and social learning experiences.
Our platform brings everything you need in one place, making the process of creating online courses easy and affordable at the same time. On top of that, it’s designed to give you the right marketing tools to help you promote and sell online courses.
Pros:
- Very easy to set up and create courses
- Does not require any technical skills to use
- Comes with built-in course authoring capabilities
- Offers a modern and customizable course player
- Offers a state of the art website builder
- Offers a fully customizable, coding-free Mobile App Builder for iOS and Android
- Has built-in e-commerce, marketing, and affiliate features
- Includes a variety of learning tools and assessment engines
- Offers a robust prerequisites system
- Comes with a built-in online community and discussion
- Supports SCORM and HTML5 files
- Offers responsive 24/7 customer support with onboarding for new customers
Cons:
- No pre-built sales funnels
- Limited gamification options (badges only)
- Does not support TinCan
- Offers limited built-in email marketing capabilities
LearnWorlds also comes with the most powerful website builder for elearning sites, with website, page, and zone templates. The platform is a 100% white-label solution with fully customizable branding. Enables you to control who sees which zones/pages, and control the navigation experience of the users.
Who is it for?
It’s ideal for entrepreneurs, individual instructors, educators, small/medium businesses, professional trainers, companies that want to train their employees or educate their customers.
Pricing:
It offers a 30-day free trial and then subscription pricing plans at:
- Starter plan: $29/month (plus $5 per course sale)
- Pro trainer plan: $99/month
- Learning center: $299/month
- High Volume and custom corporate pricing are available
Thinkific
Thinkific is a standalone course platform that helps you sell online courses. Thinkific provides everything you need to create your online education business including an easy-to-use interface to build courses and rich multimedia to add right into your course content.
Pros:
- Includes a landing page builder
- Offers built-in sales and marketing tools
- Has various integrations with popular software
- Is a cloud-hosted platform you can connect your domain with
- Has a white-label option
- Has 24/7 support
Cons:
- Offers limited control over website design
- Can be difficult to build complex courses
- Does not support SCORM, TinCan, or AICC
- Doesn’t include social features
- Focuses more on sales features rather than learning
Who is it for?
It’s ideal for solopreneurs, small/medium businesses – SMEs, and coaches.
Pricing:
Free to join with limited functionality. It offers a 30-day free trial on the Pro plan.
Subscription plans include:
- Free plan: $0/month (limited functionality)
- Basic plan: $49/month
- Pro plan: $99/month
- Premier plan: $499/month
Teachable
Teachable is an online teaching platform that serves the everyday instructor. Teachable provides an easy and simple solution for uploading your learning content, customizing your online school, and communicating effectively with your students.
Pros:
- Simple and easy-to-use course authoring with quiz capabilities
- Has a landing page editor and blogging capabilities
- Comes with built-in eCommerce features
- Includes built-in affiliate, marketing, and sales tools
- Comes with a built-in email marketing tool
- Offers an app that is common to all schools
Cons:
- Limited learning/teaching and assessment capabilities
- Does not support SCORM or TinCan
- Offers limited customization options on landing pages and branding
- No social or community building features
- Not very responsivecustomer support
- Limited white-labeling options (e.g. sign-ins and emails cannot be white-labeled)
Who is it for?
It’s a great option for new course creators, solopreneurs, coaches, and creative professionals.
Pricing:
Teachable has the following pricing options:
- Free plan: $0/month (limited functionality and $1 + 10% per transaction)
- Basic plan: $39/month (plus 5% transaction fee)
- Professional plan: $119/month
- Business plan: $299/month
What Are Your Favorite Online Teaching Tools?
Teaching online in a virtual classroom is easier than it seems—the difficult part is getting used to it. Once you have the tools you need to be efficient and engaging, every lesson is easier than the one before it.
Most of the online teaching tools in this list can be used with Visme. Simply upload your Visme creations to your preferred tool and you’ve got the perfect combination.
Conclusion
Online science tools is a collection of virtual science tools that are useful for enhancing science teaching and learning. These tools are being use in formal and informal settings. They can be used by teachers, researchers, administrators, parents, and students themselves.
For online teaching, the best video conferencing software is one that doesn’t lag and starts when you push the “Start Meeting” button. Basically, it should be responsive and not crash when a number of students join it. This article talks about the best technology tools for online teaching.