InterActivate

http://www.shodor.org/interactivate/

I can’t tell you how lucky I was to stumble across a site as valuable as Shodor.  Shodor is a national resource for computational science and education.  They have a mission to advance science and math education through the use of computations science, modeling and technology, and they do just that, and very well I might add.   I am going to focus on the curriculum materials, specifically Interactivate, but you should be aware that the site offers options for faculty development and student internships and workshops. 

Interactivate is comprised of lesson, activities and discussions that facilitate and encourage exploration in science and mathematics.  Again, I must mention that I am a math teacher and therefore cannot comment sufficiently on the science portion of Interactivate, but the math activities are terrific.  If you have ever wanted materials to support your lessons, this is the way to go; Interactivate has interactive games that reinforce what you have taught your students and in doing so incorporates technology.  Any lesson that you can think of you can find an activity to support it (149 to be exact).  The site is easy to maneuver; there are multiple ways to find exactly what you are looking for, I will explain the route that I find to be the most beneficial. 

Here’s How:  Once you access the website you will see two separate sections, one for Learners and another for Instructors.  Under the Learners section, click on “Activities”, this is a good option when you want to allow your students time to look around and check out what is available and is helpful for the teacher as well.  The reason I like this choice is because you are given a descriptive list of all of the activities, separated by topic.  One the first screen you will notice that Number and Operations is selected and all of the topics related to Number and Operations are listed and describe underneath.  You also have a list of other areas such as Geometry, Algebra, Probability, etc., clicking on any of these headings will provide you with a list of the activities that pertain to that specific area.  Again, this is just the route that I choose to take because I find it easy to click on the heading of the area of math that I am focusing on and getting to see a description of each activity available.  If you want to cut right to the chase than there is also a “Search” box available, in which you can type in exactly what you are looking for.

 I recommend that you take some time and see what is available to you.  Although they request donations, this site is free and is an excellent resource, it will save you from purchasing separate games and applications that cost a lot, and what is available is priceless.