Archives: Resources

The U.C. Berkeley Library has developed a methodology for evaluating the quality of resources and evaluate their authority and appropriateness for your project. Useful for both students and … learn more

S.O.S. for Information Literacyis a dynamic web-based multimedia resource that includes peer-reviewed lesson plans, handouts, presentations, videos and other resources to enhance the teaching of information literacy (K-16).

Dihydrogen Monoxide is one of the most dangerous chemicals in existence. It causes death and severe tissue damage, is a major component of acid rain, causes severe burns, … learn more

You don’t have to be a science news junkie to find yourself constantly confronted with scientific facts and factoids. The truth is slippery, and it’s not always graspable … learn more

If you are looking for an alternative to WampServer or want to use a different operating system, this up-to-date list can guide you.

Editing PHP files can be done with any text editing program, like Windows’ built in NotePad editor or one of a number of free, open-source options. Our webmaster … learn more

Another good starting point for learning PHP is this entertaining tutorial series written in part by Vikram Vaswani.

W3Schools has a good introduction to PHP, as well as other web technologies like HTML, CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) and XML.

How do I install it on a computer? You can download it directly from the PHP.net web site and install it yourself, or …

Google Maps includes satellite zooming in and out as part of its map service. Your younger students will get a kick out of finding their home and school. … learn more

JSFiddle.net creates an interface in your web browser window where you can easily create, test, and share JavaScript programs. This video by Jason Diamond introduces JSFiddle and some … learn more

jQuery allows JavaScript to interact with the web browser. Everything from simple menus (like the one on this web site) to complex animations — jQuery drives a lot … learn more

W3Schools’ tutorial starts with a simple Display Date button and goes thru the language step-by-step. The built in Try It Yourself buttons allow you to see and modify … learn more

This video teaches some basic programming concepts using JavaScript. It introduces programming using RoboBob (worth watching just for that) and goes on to show how you can start … learn more

Here is an index to Code.org resources broken out by age range, plus links to additional videos and resources.

Includes the Hour of Code one-hour introductory segments, and computer science fundamentals courses for all ages.

This news report by CBS News includes an overview of what happens in the classroom and how kids are engaged.

Code.org, sponsor of CSEdWeek, is a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color. Their vision is that … learn more

Here’s an overview of what Code.org can offer, why it’s important, and how it works.

This web site allows you to create fully functional applications for Android cell phones. It uses a variant of Scratch, the drag and drop programming language. While App … learn more

This video introduces MIT App Inventor, which allows anyone to create Android apps using just your cell phone or tablet and a web browser using a variant of … learn more

This review shows the Sphero SPRK Edition robot and SPRK app are a great introduction to robotics, coding, and STEM principles. The SPRK app lets kids give their … learn more

Alice is an innovative block-based programming environment that makes it easy to create animations, build interactive narratives, or program simple games in 3D. Unlike many of the puzzle-based … learn more

Wanda Dann, Dennis Cosgrove and Caitlin Kelleher go into detail on the new version of Alice (3.0) and why you might want to use it in the classroom … learn more

Kodu lets kids create games on a PC and Xbox via a simple visual programming language. Kodu can be used to teach creativity, problem solving, storytelling, as well … learn more

This video shows you how to crate a basic game using Kodu. By layering on simple commands, you can create complex games.

Here’s an overview of the CS Unplugged project, where you learn about computer concepts without touching a computer.

CS Unplugged is a collection of free learning activities that teach Computer Science through engaging games and puzzles that use cards, string, crayons and lots of running around. … learn more

Michelle has created a free, printable “Coding a LEGO Maze” activity that can grow with kids. No computers are used. Just paper and (optionally) a maze made of … learn more

Scratch for Educators.  Students can use Scratch to code their own interactive stories, animations, and games. In the process, they learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work … learn more

Scratch is an educational programming language and multimedia authoring tool developed by MIT. It can be used by pupils, teachers, and parents for a wide range of educational … learn more

Colleen Lewis has an extensive collection of YouTube videos on Scratch. This one shows how to get started with a simple guessing game. You can see how students … learn more

A video introduction produced by Paula Aguilera and the Scratch Team at the MIT Media Lab.

Marshall Brain looks at a number of different options for teaching kids about programming, from simple games (like Light Bot and Magic Pen) to working with robots and … learn more

Here is a fun site for younger children from the BBC. Takes them from the home row thru more advanced skills. Includes worksheets you can print out (make … learn more

What happens when you show kids 6 to 13 a typewriter. No, it’s not a computer that prints while you type.

Here are some more keyboard exercises and games from Crazy Games.

Fact Check has received many awards as a neutral and non-profit group. Located within the Annenberg Center at the University of Pennsylvania, it assesses the accuracy of U.S. … learn more

This HowStuffWorks page talks about the magic chip that changed everything.

Supporting weather and climate learning, The UCAR Center for Science Education provides online educational resources and professional development opportunities for educators. How does a cloud form? What’s a … learn more

Saurabh Narain is 12 years old, in 7th grade, and created a robot out of Legos and a microchip controller that can solve any Rubik’s Cube in about … learn more

HowStuffWorks includes a number of good articles on the workings of computers. How Bits and Bytes Work describes the basic element of computer technology — 1’s and 0’s.

FactMonster provides a good, “easy read” overview of Computers and the Internet.

Information on the topic of polymers (like “Why does shrink wrap plastic shrink?”) can be found at the Polymer Science Learning Center site.

ChemTeam, a site created for high school students, includes tutorials and worksheets (e.g., atomic structure) and, almost best of all, humor and history.

The article in EDUTOPIA describes choreographical designs for understanding concepts in chemistry like valence.

The Science History Institute has created role-playing games designed to enhance the classroom experience for high school chemistry students and teachers. The games can also be implemented in … learn more

The Science History Institute has a great resource site with everything from artifacts, photographs, advertisements, letters, rare books, oral histories, and more. Check out the section on Alchemy.

What Stuff offers the chemical composition of lipstick, tanning potions,cheese whiz, baseballs, chocolate–all intended to motivate students.

The Molecularium Project has created a number of ground breaking projects to encourage exploration and understanding of the molecular nature of the world around them. NanoSpace is a … learn more

The American Chemical Society provides a wide range of resources for educators and students, including Adventures in Chemistry for younger students, and a club, magazine & Olympiad for … learn more

The challenge is to design a distinctive, carefully considered smell or fragrance.

Like most high school chemistry teachers, you have probably inherited someone else’s laboratory and prep room – and be promptly overwhelmed. What does that label say? Should I … learn more

An index of lesson plans, including many for younger students. Topics include: The Atoms Family (see the video on this page), the Christmas Cookie Mystery, Element Trading Cards, … learn more

The Atoms Family is a song about atoms based on the Adams Family theme song. It’s a fun way to focus younger student’s interest. You can find different … learn more

An interactive guide to all 118 elements – and designed to work on all sizes of screens from desktops to phones. Swipe and tap your way across the … learn more

Throughout the history of science, many major discoveries came accidentally. Sometimes they came from recognizing potential in an unexpected product or waste. Other times, discovery came out of … learn more

Cooking is a true experience in chemistry. One of the many resources from the Exploratorium in San Francisco.

Shodor showcases forensic science, certainly a popular draw on television today.

The Catalyst is an online journal for high school chemistry teachers.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Chemistry Professor Bassam Z. Shakhashiri shares the joy of science through home science activities, public presentations, scholarship, and other programs of the Wisconsin Initiative for … learn more

This resource looks at what are crystals and how do they form? A crystal is a solid material with atoms and molecules that are arranged in a consistent … learn more

In this lab activity from NASA, students will become materials scientists for a day. Designing a satellite or a rover means understanding the properties of metals under conditions … learn more

Using a family’s genetic test for Huntington’s disease as a springboard, this post from the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, looks at the choices … learn more

Evolution is essential to our curriculum and to scientific literacy. To understand the big picture of biology, students need to understand life in terms of both its history … learn more

For a deeper understanding and manipulation of mutations Look at the Molecular Workbench, developed at the Concord Consortium.

The National Institutes of Health has created a primer on stem cells. Topics include the biological properties of stem cells, the important questions about stem cells that are … learn more

Completed in 2003, the Human Genome Project (HGP) was a 13-year project coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Institutes of Health. The Publications … learn more

The DNA Learning Center provides educator workshops, student research partnerships, and an index of educational, media-rich web sites.

The Genetic Science Learning Center is a wonderful site for anything genetic and includes topics like “How to extract DNA from anything living” (using detergent, meat tenderizer, and … learn more

Years before they conquered the Internet, cats colonized our sofas. This video summarizes the same study featured in How Cats Conquered the World. The researchers analyzed DNA from … learn more

This website, produced by scientists at the Wellcome Genome Campus near Cambridge in the UK, contains videos and activities describing genetics and genomics. Suitable for older students, this … learn more

This animation, part of the YourGenome site, shows the many steps and enzymes needed to make a copy of DNA in a cell. It shows how both strands … learn more

Scientific American has this well written recipe for extracting DNA from a strawberry using things you’d find in just about any kitchen. The post includes step-by-step instructions and … learn more

Celebrate Darwin’s birthday by adapting resources at Darwin Day. The site emphasizes verifiable scientific knowledge.

“Operation RubyThroat: The Hummingbird Project” is a cross-disciplinary international initiative in which people collaborate to study behavior and distribution of the Ruby-throated Hummingbird (Archilochus colubris). Although K-12 teachers … learn more

The Puffin Colony illustrates the revitalization of endangered environments.

When it comes to making noise, both parrots and humans rely on extremely specialized vibrating organs in their throats. Now scientists at Indiana University and Leiden University in … learn more

Gav and Dan, the Slow Mo Guys, go to a bird sanctuary to film birds big and small in slow motion. See how an eagle blinks or a … learn more

Dinosaurs have been getting slowly more birdlike for decades—perhaps not in mainstream depictions, but at least in the minds of paleontologists. This resource looks at the evidence. Since … learn more

At least one entire class of dinosaurs seems to have had feathers — including velociraptors, and maybe even T. rex. Find out how we know, and how we … learn more

Humans have invented a variety of instruments to monitor the health of ecosystems. However, in some cases we can examine change in the habitat without instruments by studying … learn more

Centre of the Cell is a science education center hosted by Queen Mary University of London. It is the first science education center in the world to be … learn more

The University of Arizona has also developed a site that illustrates evolution thoroughly and engagingly, Becoming Human. Becoming Human–the title of this site pretty much tells the story! … learn more

Biology in Motion,developed by an inspiring teacher, uses the Web’s animation capacities to illustrate such phenomenon as evolution, the cardiovascular system, and cell division. There are also free … learn more

The Virtual Cell is not so dazzling as Cells Alive; the content, though, is extensive and interactive.

Students can compare the form and functions of various marine, mammalian brains at Manatee. Quite interesting.

BrainPOP is a commercial site but an especially engaging one–movies, experiments, etc. about blood, cells, hair. It is suitable for ages 6-14 but it does include sensitive topics … learn more

A huge collection of cross-sectional slides of the brain (more than 100 species) has been cataloged at the Brain Museum, co-sponsored by the University of Wisconsin, Michigan State, … learn more

The snooze button – one of life’s luxuries. But is it really helping you out, or making you more tired? A entertaining look at the biology of sleep. … learn more

In this TED Ed video, Alexandra Horowitz illustrates how the dog’s nose can smell the past, the future and even things that can’t be seen at all. You … learn more

The neuroscience project at Washington University has developed a special study of the olfactory system. The site is graphically appealing and utilizes some new technology tools such as … learn more

What makes yawning so contagious? To get more oxygen? To cool the brain down?!?! Why are yawns contagious? Why do some groups yawn less? The Yawn-O-Meter video — … learn more

Neuroscience For Kids is so successful that several other sites link to it as the primary source on this topic. Explanations for the aroma of flowers and the … learn more

The post looks at the impact of invasive plant species and illustrates the adaptation of non-native vegetation in different ecological environments.

Fast Plants was developed as research tool at the University of Wisconsin and has been used by K-12 teachers around the world for nearly 30 years as an … learn more

The images and drawings make Botany interesting to a wide range of students. This site provides in-depth resources and compendium of botanical art past and present for anyone … learn more

Plants communicate among themselves. This video shows the how and why. You’ll never look at a lawnmower the same way again.

The Great Plant Escape, appropriate for very young children, is similar to LifeLab’s content. Presented as mysteries, a half-dozen experiments, like “Is it dust, dirt, dandruff or a … learn more

Life Lab cultivates children’s love of learning, healthy food, and nature through garden-based education. LifeLab describes how a school can turn a patch of its open space into … learn more