Distance Learning Tech Tools for Science Teachers

I’m one month into the distance learning adventure with my middle school science classes and I have had ups and downs with various tools that I’ve tried. I tried a handful of educational resources that caused my students or me confusion and stress and I knew immediately that I would not be using these again. So, the engaging, helpful, age-appropriate, and easy on my end tools ended up on this list! I organized this list of distance learning tech tools into general categories. I hope that you find this list helpful!

Integrate Questioning Into PDF Documents and Online Articles

Insert Learning

I am SO excited about Insert Learning. This tool can be installed as a browser extension. You can go to any article or website online and using the extension, add short answer and multiple choice questions, highlight text, add sticky notes with links to supplementary resources like videos, and create discussion boards. Once you have annotated the article, you can assign this to your students through classes that you build within the Insert Learning website, or through Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams. Then, you can view your students’ responses and provide feedback and scores. I have used this to help my students to interact with new science vocabulary and concepts in online articles and to generate discussion.

Formative

There is so much to Formative! I have only scratched the surface with this tool, but so far it allows for a ton of flexibility with the type of content that your students can interact with. For example, you can choose to Enhance Your Own PDF file that you pull from your Google Drive. Add multiple choice, short answer, matching, and categorizing questions that overlay the PDF. You can even tag standards to each question so that you can keep track of students’ mastery of certain concepts and skills. Assign this in Google Classroom and view all of your students’ responses on your Dashboard.

Have Students Annotate and Draw

Kami

Kami is a PDF and Document Annotation and Markup Tool that works with Google Drive and Google Classroom. With the Kami extension on their internet browsers, students will be able to type onto a PDF, add highlights, shapes, doodles, images, and even voice commentary! And you can assign, collect, and assess students’ work through Google Classroom! Check out this blog post to learn more about how I’ve been assigning Doodle Notes using Kami!

Incorporate High-Quality Simulations

Gizmos by Explore Learning

The Gizmos Simulations at Explore Learning are, in my opinion, the absolute highest-quality science simulations available. If you follow me on Instagram you may have seen me post about Gizmos. These simulations are not only beautiful, but they are rich in standards-aligned content! There are also wonderful teacher notes and student pages that you can use to help plan lessons around these simulations.

Concord Consortium’s STEM Interactives

If you are looking to incorporate the NGSS Science and Engineering Practice of modeling into your distance learning lessons, check out the Concord Consortium’s STEM Integrations. These are organized by science content area and grade level. There are interactives on everything from ecological population dynamics to membrane permeability to hurricane modeling to the effect of environmental factors on the growth of plants. Students use the Global Climate Change model in my Intro to Climate Change Digital Unit.

Interactive Sites for Education Interactives

The website Interactive Sites for Education has a really nice gallery collection of online interactives and simulations for teachers. The older interactives ran Flash, which does not work on Chromebooks and other devices, but the website has a statement that they are upgrading everything away from Flash. Click on any topic and you’ll find tons of great resources to engage your students!

PhET Simulations

PhET is the O.G. in high quality science simulations! Just be sure to select simulations that will definitely work on your students’ devices. My students have 1:1 Chromebooks which do not support Java, so when I’m looking for simulations to use, I only use the HTML5 ones, which are compatible with Chromebooks, iPads, and other laptops and devices. Don’t miss my post about PhET Labs!

Appeal to the Middle Schooler in Them!

FlipGrid

My friend showed me her students’ FlipGrid and I knew I had to try it with my students so I could see their faces and hear their voices that I miss so much! I tried this with my 6th graders in my Plastics in the Oceans Digital Unit and it went SO well. Basically, you can create a class grid and within that grid you can create topics. Your students respond to the topic prompt with a short video clip. They can edit their clips, add text, emojis, and fun effects. It’s pretty much educational social media. My students created short clips that were public service announcements about plastic in the ocean. As they watched each others’ videos, they engaged for almost 18 hours with the content!! Now that’s engagement 👍

Flocabulary

What do you get when you mix content-specific vocabulary + songs + review quizzes + an analysis of content that you should re-teach? Answer: Flocabulary! Your middle schoolers will find this interaction with science content very refreshing! The pre-written songs with printable lyrics and corresponding video animations are a fantastic way to reach both auditory and visual learners.

Quizizz

Quizizz is normally my go-to for quick content review at the end of class. I love the inclusion feature of this game because students can log in at any time but still compete with other students who are farther along in the game or who have already finished playing. Now that we’re distance teaching and learning, I love that I can still use my Quizizz quizzes (hehe). The ‘assign homework’ feature integrates with Google Classroom, Microsoft Teams, and other learning platforms. I have not done this yet, but for the added interaction you can also try playing a live game during a synchronous video class (using Zoom or Google Hangouts) and display the leaderboard on your screen while the students play. Another idea is to make this student-directed and use the ‘Challenge Friends‘ feature.

GimKit

I had just started using GimKit the week before quarantine began. It. Is. So. Much. Fun. Once we played one time, my students begged me to play more! Similar to Kahoot and Quizizz, GimKit is an interactive quiz game that gives students the instant gratification that they crave, BUT GimKit includes a layer of complexity and fun. Instead of earning points for correctly-answered questions, players earn ‘dollars’. Harder questions earn you more money. When a player earns enough money, he or she can go to the ‘shop’ and purchase ‘upgrades’ and ‘power-ups’ including fun features such as being able to freeze or blur another player’s screen for 15 seconds during the game! For a remote-learning scenario, you can still take advantage of GimKit’s fun by creating assignments and KitCollabs (read more about these features on GimKit’s Remote Learning Blog Post).

Try Interactive Science Applications

Chemix.Org

Chemix.org is such a neat website for virtual chemistry and biology labs! You can create lab setups using the big, easily-searchable directory of lab equipment, plus the neat accessory features like bubbles, flames, safety equipment, and the ability to change the colors of the chemicals, etc. There is also a great feature that smart-detects subscripts in chemical formulas 👍 Your students can create the labeled chemistry and biology lab setups and download the image to submit to your through Google Classroom!

Read about how you could use this website to have your students create lab setups paired with my favorite way to teach lab safety — the Gummy Bear Sacrifice Demonstration!

Genially

I learned about Genially from Kelly at Super Sass and Science Class. On her blog, she writes about a really cool Mystery Planet observation versus inference activity that she does with her middle school students. But this year with having to do things remotely, she used this website called Genially to create a clickable image that her students will use to make observations and inferences. I have played around with Genially a little bit and I’m getting some ideas for how I might be able to use this with some of my lessons. But, check out Kelly’s blog post and her Instagram stories to learn more about how she used this cool tool!

Use Videos to Help Explain Concepts

EdPuzzle

EdPuzzle is a helpful tool to keep students accountable for watching video clips. Embed any number of multiple choice, checklist, or short answer questions as ‘checkpoints’ throughout your favorite video clips. As students watch the video clip in EdPuzzle, the video will pause at the checkpoints and these questions will pop up on the screen for them to answer. On your end, you can create classes and view students’ answers in the EdPuzzle gradebook.

TEDed

I love TEDed animations. They give lessons an element of depth because they present new angles to questions with visually diverse, dynamic, and engaging animations. Go ahead and type the next topic that you’re teaching into the search bar. You’re bound to catch something great to share with your students! What’s better, each TEDed video is supported by a mini-lesson of ‘Think’ questions and ‘Dig Deeper’ resources.

Screencast-O-Matic

Screencast-O-Matic is my go-to for creating screencasts for my students. I have made multiple quick video clips over the past month to post as ‘Material’ announcements on my Google Classroom. The screencast shows students YOUR screen as you talk. These videos have served to explain the gist of my distance learning lessons before my students jump into them or to remind my students of ways that they can keep organized with all of their classes.

I hope that this curated list of technology tools helps you to discover a new way to deliver your curriculum to your distance learners. I would love to hear about some of your favorites that are on this list or about tools that you’ve found that are working for you! Please leave your ideas in the comments below!