Youtube

YouTube is a video-sharing website. The site allows viewing, uploading and sharing videos. Available content includes video clips, TV clips, music videos, and other content such as video blogging, short original videos, and educational videos.

Getting started

• Create a special teacher's account. YouTube is owned by Google and that means that personal and business content will be mixed when you use your personal Gmail account.

• After registration you can go to Youtube.com and click login at the top right of your screen

• You can now either browse the search bar at the top of your screen or start uploading your videos. If you want to upload a video click on the upload button at the top right of your screen.

• Also at the top right you will find an icon in blue. If you click that icon and then click the little wheel you can change your settings.

How to integrate YouTube into your science lesson

• Try to Flip your classroom! This means that students prepare for the class at home by watching your instructions online. And for the low achievers this means that they can watch it several times, if needed, in order to understand it better. Afterwards the topic will be discussed in class. To do so you would first have to record an instruction and then upload it to YouTube. You can easily record instructions by using the video recorder on your mobile device.

  Subject:
  Level: Junior & Senior
  Duration: 1 hour

• YouTube’s National Geographic channel offers a range of videos on diverse topics that are suitable for science education. Also you can search this channel for interesting videos by using the search bar.

  Subject:
  Level: Junior & Senior
  Duration: 10- 30 minutes

• Khan Academy’s mission is to provide world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Check out this video about the concept of energy in nature.

  Subject:
  Level: Senior
  Duration: 10- 30 minutes

• Educational TED Talks. Try for example this one about the global challenges of sustainability
  Subject:
  Level: Junior & Senior
  Duration: 20- 40 minutes

 

•  Or this one dealing with the future of renewable energy:
  Subject:
  Level: Junior & Senior
  Duration: 20- 40 minutes

 

YouTube: Tips & Tricks

• You can upload any type of video file with your account. Be careful with copyright of certain elements such as music, pictures or sample videos.

• Explore the channels and individual videos. There is a lot of useful content, but quality isn’t always guaranteed.

• Try to be careful with publishing videos with students in them or, even better, avoid it. Especially without explicit (parental) permission.

•  To structure your videos put them into different categories.

Sporcle 

Sporcle is a trivia quiz website on which users have a set time limit to name all the items within a given subject, such as the most polluting countries in the world. Students or teachers can create their own quiz in their own language. Also many existing quizzes can be played. What makes it unique is the ability to challenge other students.

Getting started

• Create your account on Sporcle and click the ‘join for free’ button’.

• You can browse the site for relevant quizzes. Found one? Just hit play. The fun thing about Sporcle is that a timer is set when you start your quiz. This makes it more exiting.

• Go to your personal profile, upload your own quiz on Sporcle and challenge your students or let your students put together a quiz for you.

 

How to integrate Sporcle into your science lesson

• Let your students challenge each other in the quizzes and see who of them gets the highest score. To do this you have to connect Sporcle to Facebook. The website will ask you to link these two platforms when you choose the ‘challenge’ option.

  Subject:
  Level: Junior & Senior
  Duration: 10- 30 minutes

• Can your students name all the elements of the periodic table?

  Subject:
  Level: Senior
  Duration: 15 minutes

• How many facts about deforestation do your students know? Let’s find that out by taking this quiz.How many facts about deforestation do your students know? Let’s find that out by taking this quiz.You can let your students use Google to find the answers to the quiz or make them guess the answers so you have something to discuss.

  Subject:
  Level: Senior
  Duration: 10 minutes
  

• Can your students name the assortments of physics, chemistry, and astronomy terms? 

  Subject:
  Level: Senior
  Duration: 10 minutes

• Do they have any idea which countries are amongst the top 25 of polluting countries?

  Subject:
  Level: Junior & Senior
  Duration: 5 minutes
• If everyone in the world lived like people do in France, we'd need 2½ Earths to cope with the food and pollution. But which ten countries would need the most?
  

  Subject:
  Level: Junior & Senior
  Duration: 5 minutes
  
  

Homework
Use a Sporcle quiz as homework for your students
Students can use the site to study, by taking quizzes relating to anatomy, the Periodic Table of Elements, geography, and other academic subjects as useful for their learning.

Sporcle: Tips and tricks

• Choose quizzes for your students yourself rather than letting them look for them. There are many distractions on this website; you don’t want to have your students stuck on the ‘Entertainment’ or ‘Just for fun sections’
• When selecting an appropriate quiz check the ranking of that quiz and try it yourself first! Also check the comments that are given.
• With Sporcle you can also create a game. This YouTube video shows you how.
• Find out How to make a picture quiz