It’s Science Week and exam season is also fast approaching. How do
you help students to get organised, get good at note-taking, and revise in a way that suits them best?
In this blogpost, I will show you all of the simple,
free interactive tools I use in my science class to help students easily record
their learning, study more effectively and make learning more interactive, and
even FUN!
One of the aspects of science that students find difficult is trying
to remember the ins and outs of experiments they complete in class. What
chemicals did I use to produce oxygen gas? Was it sodium hydroxide or
hydrochloric acid I added to the burette? What happened when I put a glowing
splint into the collection jar? The list of questions goes on.
The trouble with experiments is that students normally complete them
once, document the steps into a copy, and never actually see the process in
action again. This was causing my students difficulty when they were trying to
visualise the steps from a series of handwritten notes in their copies. To
combat this, we have now started to document experimental procedures using
videos instead.
While completing an experiment, students now take pictures and
videos as they complete each step. When the experiment is complete, they can
compile all of these into a video using
Adobe Spark. Text can be placed along
with each image to annotate the steps involved and the results can be relived
again and again instead of just seeing it once. This makes it a lot easier to
visualise and remember what was actually done.
These videos documenting students’ experiments can then be stored on OneDrive, the photo gallery on student devices or even embedded into their OneNote Notebooks.
Example video found
here.
The first image that may come to mind when we think of students revising and studying for exams, is that of them sat pouring over their notes hoping that all the information will magically diffuse into their heads as they read it. For students however, this method can become very boring and leave them unmotivated for their revision. This is where we can introduce an element of fun and make student copies interactive with
Halo AR.
Halo AR works by combining a project/video/poster a student has made to a trigger image in their copy. When they scan the trigger image in their copy using the Halo AR app. Whatever they have linked to it will automatically pop up on their screen, making it look like it is jumping out of their copy pages.
The example above combines the experiment video we saw earlier with the student notes copy. The diagram drawn in the copy of the apparatus is the trigger image and when scanned, the video created will appear. It doesn’t even have to be an original artefact produced by the students that is linked to it. They can get a diagram they like from online, a nice tutorial video from YouTube, whatever they like!
As you can imagine, this makes revision a while lot more active and fun when interactive elements like this are built in.
In the video below I demonstrate how to use the Halo AR app to create interactive notes with your students.
Mind maps are a favourite of students when it comes to revision. A mind map is a drawing of a basic concept, that stretches out into detail through branches and stems, like a plant.
There are a few reasons why mind maps are useful:
1. Studies have shown that drawing/creating art along with words helps you remember information 6 times better than if you just learnt from words alone.
2. By linking and breaking down each idea into smaller ideas, you're simplifying the topic and making it easier for yourself to understand.
3. Studies also show that your long-term memory can improve up to 10% by using mind maps!
I find that digital mind maps are quicker and easier to create then a hand-drawn one, lending more time to revision. One of the best apps to use for this is
Coggle.
Coggle will draw all the branches you need
for your mind map, and also allows you to add not only text, but also images to
the mind map as well. Once the mind map is created there are options to print
it, save it to the photo gallery, embed into OneNote or even store it on
OneDrive. An added bonus is that it can easily be shared with everyone in the
class. So even if just one student creates one, it could benefit everybody.
Example of a mind map created by one of my students
Video on how to use Coggle to create mind maps for revision in science or any subject
Another creative and visual way for students to revise is through
the production of posters. This, like the mind maps, can be done physically or
digitally. One of the benefits of doing it digitally, is the fact that there
are numerous templates available for use which makes the designing a whole lot
easier and helps students to organise their thoughts in a more coherent way.
One of the best tools for making posters is the app
Canva.
Canva allows students to add images, text and their own drawings to
poster. They can design the poster themselves from scratch, or they can use
templates to help them with their design. The easy to use interface means even
if they have no background in creating posters, they will find this easy to
navigate and use. Again, like Coggle, these can be saved or printed and act as
a vital revision tool. They can also be used to jazz up the science room walls
with student-created work.
Examples of some of the work produced by my students
Video on how to use Canva to create posters to revise learning
The biggest take home message for our students
should be that studying, and revising doesn’t have to be boring. There are lots
of great tools out there to help and there’s no better time to give them the
chance to explore them than during Science Week.
If you’d like to learn more about
using digital technology to bring your science classroom alive, please check
out my course on
iPad and Office 365 in the Science Classroom.To assist your students and their parents
further with their revision, send them the registration link to our webinar on
Effective Study Skills for Students on Tuesday 16th November at 7pm.
