We thoroughly enjoyed the atmosphere at last night’s evening event for Life Sciences. Many of the teachers that came already knew each other either from previous work experience or from attending our prior functions. Conversation flowed while we waited for one or two more people to arrive, and then everyone took their seats for the presentation.

Neels took to the floor and began with an introduction of what we at Siyavula believe in: openness in education, communities of teachers working together, and bringing technology into the classroom. We believe that through these practices everyone benefits, as resources, thoughts and ideas are shared, and top quality resources can result through this pooling of knowledge. By having access to more resources and by using technology appropriately in the classroom, it can result in lessons that are more engaging and more stimulating for learners.

There are so many free resources online, but it takes time sifting through all the content, or even knowing where to look for a start. Some people don’t know that there is all this open content, and that there are organisations with websites that encourage you to download, use and adapt their resources, and then share them further, all for free! With the rise of the internet, sharing of knowledge and resources has become so much easier. And, isn’t this what education is, or should be, all about? It is about imparting this pooled knowledge; knowledge that exists out there, subject matter that is not owned by one individual. Why should we keep paying to see Newton’s Laws written out over and over again, when no one owns the copyright to those laws?

Aside from our Free High School Science Texts (FHSST), the content that is shared under the Siyavula lens on Connexions as well as the resources on FullMarks, there are other similar projects out there with similar goals and objectives to our own. CK-12 is one such website. They have FlexBooks, which like our FHSST books are available for free download, where the user can adapt, change and share the textbooks in whichever way suits them best. Some universities have even shared a large amount of their course materials online. MIT is at the forefront of this sharing revolution, with 50 million people worldwide having accessed their course materials. There is also a whole website dedicated to this open movement – The OCW Consortium – which is a community of hundreds of universities and associated organisations worldwide, committed to advancing OpenCourseWare and its impact on global education.

At our event last night, Neels touched on some websites that we have found that could be useful for accessing free content for the classroom. OER Commons is one such site, where one can refine one’s search for specific content, and the website then comes up with links to open content from various sources. Another website that serves as a database of content is NeoK12, whose philosophy is that “kids learn best by seeing the real world”. They have a large database of free content for many subjects, including Life Sciences. The content includes educational games and videos (mostly from YouTube), as well as a function where you can create presentations using free photo’s and information from Wikipedia. They further encourage teachers to share their presentations on the site.

Websites that we touched on at our physical science evening, but that are also applicable for life sciences and maths (and other subjects too), are the Khan Academy and PhET Simulations. Both of these websites have content that can easily be incorporated into teaching, as they are short snippets of content or demonstrations of single concepts, which makes them adaptable and easy to use.

Neels touched on some citizen cyberscience projects such as Fold It (participate in games where you have to fold proteins) and Project BudBurst (people send in information on what is happening to plants in their area – in America only, but nice to expose learners to these kinds of real science projects that are out there). We have also found a really great website called Bugscope, where learners can send in dead insects (American schools only), and the team at Bugscope mount them for viewing under an electron microscope. The learners take control of the electron microscope via the internet and get to see photos of their insect and ask the scientists questions via online chat about what they are seeing. Schools outside of the USA can also participate in this, by following along as a guest whenever a school is involved in a session (simply login as a guest – no password is required). We also made mention of a game called Spore, which is a basic introduction to biology for younger learners. Although the game is not strictly accurate with its portrayal of evolution, it is a fun way for kids to be introduced to some basic biology concepts.

We are aware that not all schools have computer labs, and if they do, it’s not always easy to get your learners using computers as often as you would like them to. It is also tricky if you as a teacher are not entirely sure what you would do with them once you get them into the computer lab! We suggest that if this is the case, simply using a projector in your classroom, linked to a computer is a great start, as you could start off by showing them a short video that you have found using one of the resources mentioned in this blog. The video could explain a new section you’re about to start in biology for example, and once the class has watched it you could then further explain the content yourself – it could serve as an introduction. You could also use some PhET simulations, which are a great way to demo a concept, especially if your school lacks a well resourced biology lab. By bringing technology into your classroom in small steps, you can build up the confidence to do more and more, while at the same time learning to search online for other resources that are out there, and thus provide your learners with more stimulating lessons and a more engaging experience.

We believe that these resources are not only relevant to teachers, but are also important and beneficial for learners. The more they are exposed to educational resources online, especially fun and interactive content, the better their learning experience will be. When learning is fun, one absorbs and remembers more.

We would love to hear how you are bringing technology into your Life Sciences classes. Please send me an email (Bridget at this domain) with information on your teaching experiences or feel free to comment below.

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