Choosing just the right sessions to attend at a technology conference is sometimes a difficult endeavor. This session had a catchy title-“Cheap Thrills: Science and Technology” and an even better description:

“Technology integration in the science classroom can take many forms; the cheapest is the use of the Internet. There are literally thousands of sites that science teachers can use to improve the use of technology in their classroom. This session has information on exciting, little known web sites that not only provide content, but delivers it in a manner that is interactive and exciting. Topics include the invisible web, conversion tools, NASA, interactive and virtual field trips, virtual museums, and animations in earth, physical, and life science.”

Because I work with in a science grant-funded project, I was particularly interested in attending sessions related to science. A large portion of my job is to assist teachers with technology integration. Use of the Internet has been one of the tools I have used with the teachers involved in our grant. I have spent countless hours “surfing the net” to obtain information and activities that will assist my teachers and have found many useful sites. But as I continued to read the description and read that the session provided information on little known websites, it seemed this was definitely a session I was meant to attend!

“Cheap Thrills” was presented by Brian Felker, an Educational Technology Integration Specialist with the Clarke County School District in Athens, Georgia. Using a PowerPoint presentation, Brian shared many interesting and yes, some little known, sites. Because the PowerPoint show is available at Brian’s website which is listed on the card that was given to each session participant, it was not necessary to take notes. Our attention could be focused on the information presented. His website may not be accessible and permission was granted to publish his PowerPoint presentation on this website. You may download and view his presentation here (12 MB).

The majority of the 50+ websites presented were science sites. There were informational sites, sites with interactive activities for the students and sites that had links for teachers. Some of my favorite sites are:

http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/archivepix.html (Astronomy Picture of the Day) There are some phenomenal photographs included in the archives of this site.

http://www.explorit.org/science.html ( Explorit Science Center) Here there is information, quizzes, challenges and K-6 teacher resources.

http://www.lacoast.gov/education/kids/index.htm (LaCoast Kids’ Corner) U. S. Geological Survey’s site LaCoast has information about Louisiana’s wetlands. Links provided include information on animals, birds, wetlands photographs and coloring book pages.

There were a few sites that could be used for math classes. Several of those sites provided calculator resources. Others provide visitors with interesting information such as what things are made of and weird uses for items.

After I returned to Savannah, I compiled a list of the websites. I visited each of the sites and added a short description of each site to my original list. I emailed this list to the other Instructional Technology Specialists for my school system. I also provided the teachers with whom I work a digital and a hard copy of the list. Many of the sites have information which can be used to teach and/or supplement our science objectives. The response from those teachers was very positive and greatly appreciated.

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