My First Online Science Module

I have completed my first module of sixth grade science, an introduction to the course, to science, and to the scientific method. During the process, I got to simulate being the student, read the lessons contained in 9 documents, completed and submitted the assignments. Most of the documents included a portion known as “extreme upload”, which further detailed the lesson. For example, in the lesson on the scientific method, the extreme upload included a Wikipedia link to website that gave the steps of the scientific method, and links to a website from a school in Illinois that gave a great deal of attention to what the scientific method is all about. Please see:
http://www.twingroves.district96.k12.il.us/ScienceInternet/ScientificMethod.html

The lesson also directed the student to learn about some “extreme” inventions, such as roller blades, mountain bikes, safety helmets, etc. and linked each to interesting websites to learn about these inventions. As a student, I was asked to pick one item and do some research on it from the website. The entire process went smoothly, and all of the links worked correctly. Several of the lessons had corresponding documents to upload as assessments to be graded by the teacher. Students learned how to open the “ex-File” document, how to name it and save it as a RTF file, how to fill it out, and how to upload it. The directions given to the students for completing assessments were clear and easy to follow.

One assignment caught my interest. The students were asked “What is a scientist?” They were asked to describe a scientist, and then were asked to fill out an informative table that organized information gathered from researching three different inventors or scientists. The students were directed to three excellent websites of inventors: Women Inventors A-Z, Black Inventors A-Z, and Famous Hispanic Inventors A-Z. I was very happy to see students learning about science and diversity during this lesson. The table was easy to fill out, and should not cause any students difficulties.

The final assessment prior to a module test was a summary chart. Students filled in the topic of each of 8 of the lessons, and wrote down in their own words 3 concepts they learned in each lesson. If students did not know how to change font size or text box sizes, this project may give them a little trouble. There is a test on the module, but I did not have access to it.

The entire first module provided an excellent introduction to the online learning environment, to science, scientists, and the scientific method. The computer procedures were clearly stated, the pages were easy to navigate through, the document uploads were quick and efficient, and websites all worked. As stated before, I might add a laboratory for the students to complete at home. I believe a student completing this module through a virtual school would receive information comparable to what they would learn in a traditional classroom.