Using Digital Resources to Help Improve Student Understanding of Science

Shuana Jordan
Product Manager, eLearning

As a science teacher you are constantly faced with how best to meet the individual needs of your students and help improve their understanding of key science concepts. Your students have a wide ability range, and their understanding and preferred learning styles also vary. The use of digital resources as a part of your instructional toolset is 1 way that you can address the needs of individual students, engage them in science learning, and begin to fill content gaps. But where can you find appropriate resources? And will it be easy to blend these resources with other tools you already use?

Blending quality digital resources with your existing curriculum and hands-on activities can help support effective teaching and learning. But finding appropriate digital content can be difficult and time consuming—particularly if searching the Internet is your only option. Never fear, Carolina has you covered! We’ve done the work for you by identifying hundreds of effective free and for-fee digital instructional resources and putting access to them in 1 location: our Carolina Science Online™ Web site.

We examined a number of playlists created by Carolina Science Online™ users. (A playlist is an easy way to create a lesson using 1 or more of our digital resources; you add the digital resources to a playlist and share the playlist with your class or even assign it for homework.) We observed that many teachers use our Learnetic science lessons and Learnetic math lessons as interactive teaching and learning activities to address a variety of instructional needs:

• Increase student engagement with interactive elements, simulations, and animations. The use of real-world applications is key to building that connection for students with everyday examples and science.
• Appeal to multiple learning styles. For example, audio support is part of the introduction of vocabulary terms and definitions for auditory learners. The use of video and animation appeals to visual learners. Interactivity (such as simulations) throughout the lessons appeal to kinesthetic learners.
• Access high-quality content that is easy for both teachers and students to use, whether a teacher is using the lesson for whole-class instruction or students are working on an activity for homework.
• Fill content gaps through the use of clear objectives and good practice exercises that encourage the use of problem-solving skills.
• Help assess student learning of new topics and reinforcing the learning of key fundamental concepts through sound instructional design.
• Review and re-teach difficult and hard-to-teach science topics.
• Integrate digital content that addresses standards-based topics in science.

Try Learnetic for yourself

Now it’s easy to try out Learnetic science lessons and Learnetic math lessons in your classroom! Simply sign up for a FREE 30-day trial at Carolinascienceonline.com. You’ll get access to a large library of math and science activities for middle and high school. After you use Learnetic resources, let us know how you integrated them into your science classroom to improve the overall science experience for your students.