As an educator, I am constantly searching for new ways to make learning fun and interesting. Digital media has the ability to transform the learning process from a boring, teacher-centered lesson to an enriching and engaging learning experience that is student-centered. Discovery Education has a wealth of digital media resources available to teachers and students that can do just that. I am fortunate enough to have access to Discovery Education's online resources not only through both the Wilkes graduate education program but also through the school where I teach. I search DE frequently for videos and other tools to use in my 6th grade classroom and have been able to find some great resources in the past. My 6th graders particularly enjoyed watching clips from the TV show Mythbusters to help illustrate various topics in our physical science unit. The kids initially think they are just having fun watching things explode, but this little secret brings me great pleasure: Whether they realize it or not, they are actually learning!
I went on yet another adventure through Discovery Education and decided to look for a tool that would be more interactive than just an ordinary video. I searched for resources on simple machines, which my students will study in science early in the school year. While I didn't find any labs or activities that jumped out at me, I did find a new type of resource I hadn't encountered before, an "interactive video."
This interactive video was titled "The Six Simple Machines" (http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=E422DD91-2EDE-45CE-9B55-FDCE4FC9407D). Its interactive nature would appeal to a variety of learning styles at once. There is, of course, the visual images and demonstrations that appear on the screen, which are then coupled with the oral description and explanation of what is happening in the video. What makes this video "interactive" is the fact that students can use their mouse to discover additional content on the screen. Hovering over images brings up new terms and descriptions, while clicking on those same images brings up diagrams that illustrate how each type of simple machine works. Actively using the mouse to hover and click on things would engage the students more than an ordinary video by making them active participants and appealing to kinesthetic/tactile learners.
I am glad that I had the opportunity to discover this new type of resource that is available through
Discovery Education. I will be sure to look for this type of tool, and hopefully discover even more, in the future!
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