Smart Application - Lego Fix The Factory

Lego Mindstorms Fix the Factory is a free application yet of high quality which can not be said for many free applications. It teaches basic programming/coding skills to children in a game environment. Children help EV3RSTORM, a humanoid robot, to navigate the massive NOGO factory maze and put the dislocated batteries back in place to proceed to the next level. Each puzzle introduces new skills to master for example logic gates, functions etc.

Price: Free

Links for:
IPad/Iphone
Android

Smart Application - Star Walk

Details by developer

Star Walk is specially designed for amateur star gazers but will also pleasantly surprise professional astronomers. Star Walk is fun & educating at the same time!

Star Walk is an excellent guide to stars, planets, and constellations. You can play and learn them all while sitting comfortably in the arm-chair at home or during actual star gazing outside.

Unrivaled smooth 3D graphics
Full coverage of celestial bodies
Moon phases, sun rises, sun sets
Location based star gazing
Wiki knowledge base
Night view mode
Meteor showers
Time Machine

Links for:

IPhone

Ipad

Currently StarWalk is not available for Android but you can give Google Sky Map a try which sounds similar.

Light Bot

Light Bot uses a game interface to teach basic programming/coding skills to children as young as 4 years old but can be used by older kids as well. very interesting interface and teaches the skills like logic, step by step commands etc. without being overwhelming. an option to turn music off, and my girl had to literally snatch the device from my hand in order to play herself

there is an IOS version, an android version and a web version as well. some puzzles are free, and some are a paid version but the price is very appropriate.

IOS free: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/light-bot/id749337888

IOS paid: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/light-bot/id657638474

Android free: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lightbot.lightbothoc

Android paid: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.lightbot.lightbot

Web: http://light-bot.com/

WWW–Dragon Breeder

Review: Dragon Breeder (BETA) is a game where players progress by using the principles of Mendelian Genetics. Breed target dragons, or determine the genotypes of the dragons in your den. Purchase special skills and upgrades, and work your way through a storyline mode that will take your knowledge of genetic principles to their limit. Because the game is written in HTML5, you will need the latest version of whichever browser you use. When I studied basic genetics in school, we did it in context of pea plants, but lets face it, dragons are a lot cooler than pea plants. And the colorful graphics and easy interface makes it hard to give up! You need to register though to use this resource but registration is free and easy. And once you have registered take some time and explore the wonderful Sponge Lab site further, there are tons of wonderful and innovative resources out there.

Suitable for ages: 10-15 (although my 7 year old is up to her eye ball in it now, so let the younger ones have a go with it as well!)

Disclaimer: I am not being paid by anyone for these reviews and mention on my blog. I only share the stuff I have used myself in our homeschooling journey and like it so want to share with everyone.

Engineer Guy

A fantastic site with 10 very detailed and interesting videos on engineering details of different stuff like why the cell phones look like they do, what is inside a LCD monitor and even the engineering behind pop tab on a soda can. Do give them a try! You can download the videos in MP4 format for easy ipod viewing. Every video has a “learn more” section where you can find links to further information and recommended books.

WWW–Make Me Genius

Review: Make Me Genius has tons of science  videos and ppts for elementary aged kids, on a wide range of topics.
Suitable for ages: 5-12

Free Kindle Book–Homeschooling In Your Garden

 

You can download a free kindle ebook from Amazon, “Homeschooling In Your Garden”. It has many fun ideas and projects to make gardening more fun and educational for you and your kids. If you do not have Kindle device, you can still use this resource. Simple download Kindle for PC and then download your free ebook to it.

WWW–Planet Quest

 

Review: Planet Quest is another excellent site offered by NASA. Planet Quest is all about humans’ quest for exo planets or planets outside solar system. It has many neat interactives. Interactive Timeline is an excellent resource tracing the history of astronomy and space exploration from the Greek philosophers through today. This timeline has actually three elements combined into one: technology, discovery, and culture as they relate to astronomy and space exploration especially exo planet quets. Each element on the timeline is narrated. Users can select individual elements on the timeline or choose autoplay to hear the narration of each item in sequence. Alien Safari is a small interactive map that you can click on to discover the homes of the "most extreme" organisms on our planet. We can discover organisms that live at the coldest temperatures, hottest temperatures, deepest depths, and highest elevations. There is a short audio lesson about each of the organisms. The Interstellar Trip Planner is a simple interactive  in which students learn how long it would take to arrive at destination inside and outside of our solar system if they were travelling by plane, car, or rocket. Other interactives include 3D guide to galaxy, Extreme planet makeover etc. Don’t forget to have a look at New world atlas and the educators’ page to find other amazing stuff and resources. There is some music in the interactives so you may need to keep the sound off, or shuffle the on and off switches on your speakers quite frequently. Over all this site is an asset for students and educators alike like the other resources from NASA.

Suitable for ages: 10-18

My GCSE Science

My GCSE Science is a site that has video lessons and resources on Biology, Chemistry and Physics for, as the name implies, GCSE level students. They were developed for a specific curriculum and program, but can be easily used by homeschoolers for these topics.The videos are good and there are notes pages that go with them. The notes pages have images from the video along with space to write your own notes. All resources are organized by subject and topic and the videos are hosted on YouTube. Notes are available in PDF format.

Stop for Science

Stop for science is a site by Chandra X ray observatory. This site has tons of high quality content available for free.There is a set of beautifully illustrated posters on many scientific concepts including force and motion and when stars die. Poster are informative without being too detailed and the facts are explained with the help of pictures. They can be a good visual reference when studying one of these topics. There are many videos and animations on topics like Solar system, Photon emissions etc. Or you can download and print Chandra coloring and activity book, one of many printable content available, a 28-page coloring and activity book which includes general information on X-ray astronomy, Chandra and the STS-93 mission. It also looks at black holes, supernovas, galaxy clusters and more. Activities include mazes, word searches, connect-the-dots, crossword, code break, and word jumble. There are also presentations and powerpoints, screen savers and many other stuff so take some time and explore this site.

WWW–Cell Craft

Review: Cell Craft is a state of the art game that invites students to delve into the world of the cell, learning about how a cell functions while helping it survive in hostile environments. The student will gain an understanding of important molecules such as glucose and ATP, as well as a variety of cellular organelles, while going through an entertaining story guided by Platypus scientists in need of help. The game encourages students to balance resources and grow a robust cell in order to fight off cold, starvation, and viruses. Can they use their cellular knowledge to grow a super cell and save the Platypus species? I love this game because it not only makes the process of understanding and remembering fun but students must apply their knowledge in order for the cell to survive. There is music in this game but you can turn it off from the menu. It is one of those resources that need to be seen (or played with) to discover the full potential.



Suitable for ages: 7-15

Water Cycle Webquest

I have made a webquest for my kids on the topic of water cycle. I like the idea of introducing a topic through different web activities and books. From there we go to the more hands on activities which may include experiments and further exploration.

What I like about webquets is that it eliminates “a teacher delivering information” setup. Learners are able to learn on their own with out some one delivering the information to them. It is a first step towards being a self directed learner. From webquests, I would like to go on where my children search, analyze and sift through the information on their own.

I have included some review activities at the end, some from the lower level and some from the higher level of Bloom’s Taxonomy. As always, this activity was made specifically for my kids, so it is suitable for an age range of 7-10 or grades 2-5.

You can access it on Muslim Kids’ Interactive Blog.

Wednesday Weekly website–Learning Circuits

 

Learning Circuits

Review: Learning circuits is an interactive resource that takes the children on a learning journey from very basic to more complex information about circuits and how they work. It can be a good starting point when doing a unit on electricity. Topics covered include electricity basics, simple circuits, circuit diagrams, switches, changing circuits, insulators and conductors. There is also an optional worksheet available for printing.

Suitable for ages: 7-10

Art Generator of October 2011

 

Sketchcast is a new way to express yourself. You can draw or sketch something and record yourself doing it WITH OR WITHOUT voice. There are lots of possibilities with this tool. You can explain stuff, make tutorials or simply have fun while drawing or making art. The finished sketchcast can be shared via email or can be embedded in a blog. You will need to register in order to use this tool, but registration is free and quite easy. You can learn more about using this tool here.

Sneaking in Learning: There are really tons of activities you can use this tool in. Fro language practice, have the child draw something and describe their art. I like to use this tool in our Arabic lessons. Or children can make tutorials and how-tos. Another great way to use this tool is to let them explain mathematical and scientific concepts as end of project assessments. You can also watch others’ sketchcasts, for inspiration or to learn as many people have made tutorials on different stuff using this tool.

Wednesday Weekly Website–Exploriments

 

Exploriments

Review: Exploriments is a site that has interactive simulations that help students learn and understand math and science.They get to explore different topics and ask, and answer, questions like "what-if" and find the cause and effect of things. There are learning objectives for each Exploriment and everything works together and builds on previous knowledge. The Exploriments are organized by three subjects: Physics, Chemistry and Math and then further organized by topic. The free access does not give you full features, but there are some great things to use. You can upgrade to the premium access if you want to.

Suitable for ages:7-15

Big Picture Science Magazine

Big Picture is a science magazine from Welcome trust. Published twice a year, it is a free post-16 resource for teachers that explores issues around biology and medicine. Past issues are also available for download. The content is high quality and can be easily used as the main lesson source on given topics. I found that some of the content is even suitable for 14+ ages. There is reference to evolution and Darwinism though, so you will need to be careful in explaining Islamic believes regarding evolution. Topics like Sex and Genders also contain material which may be unsuitable for young learners. And in the Obesity issue, some pictures are not in accordance to Islam. So you will need to review the issue before introducing it to the pupil. There are also some animations available on the site on topics like DNA, parasitic diseases, bacterial diseases etc.

Wednesday Weekly Website–Sun and Moon Scope

 

Sun and Moon Scope

Review: Sun and Moon Scope is a neat interactive to help you study the relationship between earth, moon and sun. You can use it when learning about the moon phases on any given date or any other lunar/space study. Easy interface and no music! It will show you the sun and moon phase of current date, and current season. You can change the seasons or dates and see how it effects the positions of the moon and sun.

Suitable for ages: 5-50

Wednesday Weekly Website–Eskeleton

 

ESkeleton

Review: ESkeleton is an excellent resource for students of anatomy. It provides an interactive environment in which to examine and learn about skeletal anatomy. The purpose of this site is to enable you to view the bones of both human and non-human primates.You can have a look at the skeletons of different animals including gorillas, chimpanzee, bush babies and lemurs etc. Click on any animal to look more closely at different bones. In the resources section there are some wonderful resources to print out, like the life size skeleton of human, (adult and child), scramble puzzles of skulls, jumble puzzles for “what are teeth” etc.

Suitable for ages: 9-15

Wednesday Weekly Website–Material World

 

Material World

Review: Material World has been designed for use by KS1 & 2 children during lessons. Pupils will learn about materials, processes and techniques used in art through the different categories of Paint, Wood, Metal, Clay, Animal, Stone and Composite. Within each section there is information about:
. Where the material comes from.
. The different types of each material.
. The processes that are used with each material.
. How museums care for each material.
The ‘Fun’ section for each of the individual materials contains an interactive activity designed to be used by children using this site. They can gain more information about key works of art by visiting the ‘Gallery’ and unusual words are defined in the ‘Glossary’.

Although we are not big fans of all kind of arts, and as some forms of arts (like sculptures, nude art etc.) are totally prohibited in Islam, we do not study art. But I use this site as a means of introducing the different materials that make up our world.

Suitable for ages: 5-10 years.

Wednesday Weekly Website–Nobelprize Education

 

Nobelprize Education

Review: While I do not agree with the criteria based upon which nobelprizes are given, (recent nobleprizes for peace, for instance) there is some very good educational material available on their website at Nobelprize Education. There are animated games and simulations, based on Nobel Prize-awarded achievements, that will teach the concepts in a fun and inspiring way. There are games and simulations on tons of topics. Some of the games are easy enough for early elementary aged children, while some are geared to more advance topics. Through these games children can learn things like what is a blood type, how immune system works, what are x rays, how is malaria cured, what is DNA, understand insulin and diabetes, what are conductive polymers, what is genetic code, to name only a few. I haven’t seen all the games/simulations so I don’t know about music etc, but the ones I have seen didn’t have music and they were quite straightforward and easy to understand. Use this site as an aid when teaching any of the topics or on its own. Take your time exploring this wealth of knowledge, as speeding through it can be a bit over whelming for some non-scientific learners.

Suitable for ages: 8-18