Discovery Education Science Presentation for Contra Costa County Office of Education

1. Welcome to Discovery Education Science Connection

2. Log In Screen New users must click the link “New User Login ” to get started.

3. New Users – the school Passcode New users in each school building will need to know the unique 8-character Passcode that has been assigned to their school. When new users enter the Passcode and click the “ submit ” button, they will be taken to an account set-up screen.

4. Setting Up Accounts This is the form you will see when you have entered your school Passcode . The key field in this form is the “Username” field, since your log-in name must be unique to the entire Discovery Education Science Connection subscriber base. Before you click the “Continue” button, be sure that you are familiar with the Terms of Use and click the box that signifies that you agree to Discovery Education’s subscription terms.

5. Logging into Discovery Education Science Teachers will log into the Educator Log In area with their username and password. Students will log into the Student Log In area with their username and password.

6. Enhance Your Instruction with Multimedia Content Browse three areas of science Keyword Search Advanced Search Curriculum Standards Search

7. Browse Units, Topics & Concepts Three areas of science Unit Topics Concepts

8. Inquiry Problems Use the Inquiry Problems to introduce a topic to students.

9. Explore Concepts You can browse media in 3 categories: Interact, Watch and Read

10. Explore Concepts: Interact Explorations Students manipulate variables and make predictions about outcomes Virtual Labs Students design and conduct their own scientific investigations Integrated Science Simulations Students explore concepts by making choices and controlling variables Interactive Video Users click on “hot spots” to pause the video to learn more information

11. Explore Concepts: Watch Videos Video content is exclusive to Discovery Education Science Connection. Videos are divided into segments, so you can show only the parts of the video that best relate to your teaching.

12. Explore Concepts: Read Articles Support key concepts while enhancing reading proficiency with engaging, informative selections from WRC Media’s award-winning libraries Reading Passages Enhance your lessons with these highly visual and dynamic reading passages from Discovery Education’s award-winning book series. Selections include science timelines and interviews with leading scientists.

15. Assignment Builder Search existing assignments Build your own online assignments incorporating Science Connection resources, assessments and links to other websites

16. Process Skills Library Virtual Labs Students design and conduct their own scientific investigations Science Sleuths Students examine science mysteries and use articles, interviews and video to solve the problem MythBusters Episodes have been selected and edited for Middle School audiences and illustrate the adventure and careful use of the scientific process to prove a science myth, or bust it! A variety of media in the Process Skills Library addresses the critical thinking skills students must acquire in order to successfully engage in the scientific process.

17. My Content Use My Content to collect, organize, retrieve, and assign your favorite Science Connection media resources in one convenient place Add media resources and assessments to folders you create Use the pull down menu to view specific media types you’ve added to My Content

18. My Content Add a resource to My Content: 4. Click “Add” 1. Click “View Details” 2. Click “+ Add to My Content” 3. Select an existing folder in My Content or create a new folder to add the resource

19. My Classes This feature enables you to create classrooms and student accounts and assign Science Connection content to students. Click a class to view a list of students Add a Student to a class Click to add a new class

20. Presentation Strategies and Software Integration

22. Teaching Strategies to Consider Determine prior knowledge with a pre-activity assessment. Use assessment results to assign appropriate Science Connection media to individual students. Create “investigative teams.” Have students work in small groups on Virtual Labs or Explorations to develop testable questions, test their hypotheses and record results. Connect your computer to a projector and use Explorations or Integrated Science Simulations as presentation tools to kick off a lesson. Pose questions or prepare thought-provoking “lesson starters” before viewing media to actively engage students. Assign Reading Passages and Articles that reinforce concepts and provide background information. Save time by saving your favorite resources to folders within My Content.

24. Questions?