Web links
Created by Erik Heinemann
Here I have created a list of links that I have found useful for the reasons that are listed. This in essence is my favorites list available for teachers to take a look at to see if you will find them as useful as I have.
Chemistry resources for the classroom
1) http://www.quia.com/ws/65919.html
This site provides four games: matching, flashcards,
concentration, and a word search to help students recognize elements on the
periodic table using symbols visa versa.
The site can be used to allow
the students to play the games and familiarize themselves with some names and
symbols. The flashcards can also be used
to drill students and play an interactive game with the class.
2) http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/quantum/atspect.html
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This website shows the line
spectra (although it omits the wavelength values) of several different elements
and if one chooses to view the Hydrogen spectra there are fantastic diagrams to
illustrate how the line spectra for each element is produced.
3) http://mr-31238.mr.valuehost.co.uk/assets/flash/psychic.swf
This site provides a mind reading trick using numbers and
symbols.
Though the site is a mind reading trick, it is based on a
mathematical equation and could be used by presenting the students with the
challenge of solving the trick. In a
chemistry classroom this activity demonstrates the analytical thinking and
creative thought processes that are useful in lab interpretations and other aspects
of the class.
4) http://gemini.tntech.edu/~snorthrup/chem111/tutorials/chap4c/start.html
This site provides a quiz that the students can take in
naming inorganic compounds.
This site can be used to have the students work in
collaboration (due to the lack of computers for each student) and answer the
questions on the quiz. There are several
types of questions and the students need to answer the question correctly
before being able to proceed to the next question. This gives the opportunity to think about the
rules for naming compounds and plan carefully the answers while at the same
time an opportunity to see where they need growth if they answer incorrectly.
5) http://www.wfu.edu/~ylwong/balanceeq/balance.html
This site is an interactive site allowing students to
step-by-step balance chemical equations.
The site goes through the steps and then gives some practice equations
for the students to attempt and will not allow them to proceed to the next step
in the process until they first step was completed correctly.
Because the site is interactive the students are able to
actively inquire about the process of balancing equations and see it all on the
screen in front of them. This is a
wonderful site and a lot of fun to use due to the colors and silly antics that
take place when the equation is balanced correctly. A second site that balances combustion
reactions is http://www.wfu.edu/~ylwong/balanceeq/combust.html.
6) http://www.science.uwaterloo.ca/~cchieh/cact/c120/limitn.html
This site provides a brief text on limiting and excess
reagents in chemical reactions as well as some practice problems.
The practice problems are provided for the students to
think about what was read and put it to use.
The good thing about the site is that if the students are unsure how to
answer the problem, they can click back and forth between the text with little
difficulty and without having to flip through pages to find the material.
7) http://old.jccc.net/~csilla/branchn.html
This site provides a quiz for students to name organic
compounds.
The quiz is provided and can be used in the class, but with
the use of the site the students are able to link to the rules of nomenclature
and are also able to link to hints and other sites that can be of assistance
and then link back without interruption.
It is a great site promoting an active inquiry.
8) http://www.nationalgeographic.com/resources/ngo/education/plastics/index.html
This site provides and interactive text on different
polymers. The text provides information
ranging from historical reference to chemical structure to where the polymer is
found in nature (if found in nature) and much more.
The sites pictures and simple to use interactive nature
makes it a great tool to introduce polymers to a chemistry class and allow the
students to explore some possibilities on their own.
9) http://matse1.mse.uiuc.edu/~tw/polymers/polymers.html
This site provides some simple text for the students to
read about polymers.
Using a pre-prepared worksheet, the teacher can allow the
students to read and answer questions supporting what was covered in class as
well as what is located on this website.
The site provides a text that is easy to read and is a good reference to
use (especially since there is little to nothing in the textbook for this
subject).
10) www.chem.uiuc.edu/rogers/Text2/Tx25/SpecificHeat/specificheat.html
This site provides a specific heat lab that the students
can walk through by clicking and following the steps. There is also a link to text that will aid in
the explanation of the lab and some calculations that the students will need to
solve.
This site is good as reinforcement. In the chemistry classroom a good teacher
would hopefully actually do the lab and have the students work through the
concepts by performing the experiment and making the measurements needed for
the calculation. However, since specific
heat is often a challenging subject for students to master, this website and
lab could serve as an interactive supporting mechanism for the students in the
class or at home if they have access to a computer and are not able to solve
problems on their own.
This site provides a variety of information on many of the
chemistry topics.
Because it is designed for “kids” it is written in a simple
format that is easy to follow and is supported by pictures and diagrams. This site serves as support for material
covered in class and can be used to promote an active inquiry on behalf of the
students if they are having difficulty with a subject and wanted to investigate
further.
Professional development
This website lists current events for teachers, textbook
information, news and more. It is good
for keeping abreast with current events and news, but is especially useful
because of the opportunities to link to other teachers and discuss common
problems or questions and see how other schools have responded.
2) http://www.education-world.com
This site provides tips for teachers, references, tools and
templates. The tools and templates are a
useful thing and can be very helpful for teachers. This site also provides links to other
schools and can be used for development through the contact and interaction
with other schools and districts.
This site is the main site for the National Education
Association, an organization of teachers throughout the country that focuses on
teacher issues and education legislation.
The site provides a list of upcoming development gatherings and events. The site also provides information on news
and current events in education.
This site is primarily a news site to provide teachers with
current information on what is happening in the world of education. It is a good site for teacher to reference
and use to stay on top of issues that affect the profession in which they
engage.
5) teachers.net
This site provides news and events, but is extremely useful
for teachers due to the teacher links and chat rooms in which they can
communicate with other teachers around the country (and maybe beyond) about
issues and topics concerning teachers.
This site is a site with several online journals for
teachers to read about topics and current research. By keeping up with the research and news,
teachers are able to further develop professionally through the use proven
ideas and practice and integrating new ideas into the classroom.
7) askERIC
This site too is a wonderful source of
journals and current research. This site
provides a list of many materials and journals that would be useful to teachers
but often does not have full text versions online. However, with a good library and other
resources, this site can help teachers to find research on topics quickly and
give them a place to start if the full text is not available online.
This site is the primary site for the
American Chemical Society. Though
membership to the organization may be required, this site provides news and
events for chemistry and chemical engineers.
The site is not necessarily aimed at teachers, but a chemistry teacher
might do well to develop professionally by not only staying abreast with the
educational aspects of the career, but with the current events and discoveries
in chemistry. This site can provide that
type of information.
9) www.academicinfo.net/chem.html
This site provides news and information for
chemistry teachers as well as links and tips for teaching the subject. This is a wonderful site geared directly
toward content teachers and can be used for development through the news and
links.
10) http://physics.wwu.edu:8082/jstewart/scied/chemistry.html
This site provides information in the way
of news, courses, recent discovery and images, and safety tips for chemistry
and chemistry teachers. This type of
development will help teachers with issues that directly
affect the classroom (safety and safety equipment) and is useful in that
regard.
11) schoolnotes.com
This website is a fantastic website for
communicating with students. It is a
site in which the teacher can go and post assignments or information that
students may need and all students can access the site simply by typing the
school’s zip code.