Free Resources from the Net for (Special) Education

[You may have noticed that I've been including some music videos on my VodPod by one of my favourite young artists, Katie Melua.  I highly recommend having a listen.  I think Katie is an artist whose music is a "cut above", and she seems to me to be an excellent role model. If you're looking at this in a reader, you need to go to my blog to see the latest offerings on my VodPod.]

On Twitter this morning, Karen Janowski commented about some exciting science resources. Anyone involved in teaching science definitely needs to take a look!

The Concord Consortium is a nonprofit organization that creates “…interactive materials that exploit the power of information technologies”, and whose “…primary goal is digital equity–improving learning opportunities for all students.”  Toward that end, they are engaged in research and the development of a wide range of practical projects.

I’ll highlight just one completed project and one planned project here, but there may be others projects that will also be of interest to you.  I highly recommend spending some time at the website.  You may need to allow considerable time because there is a great deal to explore.

The Molecular Workbench is a well developed resource intended for middle and secondary schools.  It offers “workbench” software (open source) that can be downloaded to your computer, and that provides interactive visual simulations and activities for scientific exploration at the molecular level.  There is also an extensive and well organized database of lesson modules with a wide range of excellent supporting materials.  The quality, as well as the practical utility, of this resource is extremely high.

The UDL Science Project is setting out to “…develop technology-rich science curriculum modules for grades 3-6, which acknowledges that students learn in different ways. ” The goal is to “…use UDL principles to create practical science materials that teachers can use in inclusive classrooms.” I’m excited to read this because I believe the same approach needs to be adopted for the development of materials to support teachers in all areas of the curriculum.  This project has not been fully fleshed out, but I believe it is worth keeping an eye on it as the plans that have been spelled out come to fruition.