Teaching Tech (Or: How to Be an Ed-Tech Rock Star)

As part of Teacher Appreciation Week, I was given a free trial of the Discovery Education Science TechBook.  This is one of many services offered by Discovery Education (as in Discovery Channel—so you know it’s great content).  School districts around the country have begun using this as their primary curricular resource…instead of a textbook!  I know…that probably scares most of you and you might turn your nose up at the idea.  However, this is a great way for students to access enriching content that can be as dynamic as science itself.  In the areas of science and technology, things constantly change; having a resource that evolves with these fields is great.  The content is divided into several tabs: Engage, explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate.  The content under “Engage” and “Explore” is all about getting students interested, providing context and activating prior knowledge.  The “Elaborate” content helps to continue the conversation and is great for practical applications and differentiation.  As you probably guessed, the “Evaluate” content provides tools that can be used to measure student learning.  As if this weren’t enough, the content (as with other Discovery Education content) is aligned with state standards and benchmarks, as well as the Common Core Standards.  For each portion of content, help is provided along every step of the way in the form of: 5 minute prep, background information, model lessons and an overview of student assignments.  All in all, this is a powerful tool and I look forward to additional school districts adopting it.  If your district doesn’t currently subscribe, ask for Discovery Education!