STUDYJams - Website

STUDY Jams - website

http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/index.htm

Quantitative Reading Level:

 These videos would probably be best for grades 4 -7.  Although some of the topics are higher level the concern would be that the videos and karaoke would be too “cheesy” for older students.

Qualitative Reading Analysis: 

I would rate these videos, quizzes, and songs as Middle High on the “Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Rubric for Informational Text”.  Although this site is not a text it does have some expectations for the viewers.  Students would need to have a moderate level of subject knowledge in order to understand the information presented on the website.

Summary:

 

This Scholastic site is intended to help students learn about a variety of math and science topics.  It has videos explaining different concepts like volcanoes, place value, and plants with seeds.  Some topics provide step by step examples like ordering whole numbers or finding equivalent fractions.  There are also slideshows, karaoke sing alongs, and places for students to test themselves. 

Content Area: Science and Math topics

Curriculum Suggestions: 

These videos, quizzes, and even songs could be used for introductions, extra help, and follow-up during the study of a lot of science and math topics.  

Personal Thoughts:

There were actually some higher level content videos and quizzes on the site but the karaoke and the graphics were a lower level.  Although the content might be appropriate in some places for grades 7 and up I think they would be turned off by the graphics and karaoke.  The whole site had a mixed message.  I think 4^th and 5^th graders would enjoy it and be able to understand it.  6^th graders would depend really on how it was presented to them and their maturity levels.

Organizationally I think the site could use some work.  It would be helpful to be able to see all the topics that have a slideshow or all the topics that have a karaoke component.  Some sort of index of the features would be ideal in helping a teacher plan out how she wanted students to use the site.

Subjects/Themes: Science and Math

High Interest Annotation: Videos, songs, and quizzes about math and science topics.

STEMbite - YouTube Channel

STEMbite – YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/user/STEMbite

Quantitative Reading Level:  

Depending on the science and math topic being studied these videos could be appropriate for as low as 4^th grade and up to 12^th grade.

Qualitative Reading Analysis:

Although this is not a text you can use some of the concepts in the “Text Complexity: Qualitative Measures Rubric for Informational Text” to look at how difficult these videos might be for students to understand.  What is nice about these videos is that he looks at science and math through the lens of ordinary, everyday objects which helps with the knowledge demands.  Because these videos are about science and math a moderate level of subject specific knowledge is needed so I would classify these videos as Middle High.

Summary:

 

This YouTube channel is made by teacher Andrew Vanden Heuvel.  These videos are all roughly 2 minutes long and cover topics in science and math.  I viewed a video on probability (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4uGLkhvQ1g) which could be seen as simply an intro to the topic for 5^th graders and could involve some higher calculations for high school students.  Another video I watched was about gears (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlD8yku95E4&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PLNNCUNuTXfdG7HcBbFGpR_Cr-OJsiJaZR) .  Again this video could supplement a study on simple machines in 5^th or 6^th grade or could be a bit more advanced in looking at cars and how gears work with them.  His video on species and breeds using Jelly Bellies (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H4OpT4GAsgY) would be a great introduction to classification studies in biology.  

Content Area: Physics, Biology, Technology, Math

Curriculum Suggestions:

This site would be fabulous for introducing math and science concepts or following up a lesson.  I would love to see students then make their own videos following his model and see for themselves how math and science are all around us.

Personal Thoughts:

These videos were a lot of fun.  I could easily see using these videos as lesson starters or even as fillers when you have a few minutes here and there before a special or lunch.  Even if they didn’t specifically tie in with a topic being discussed they are short enough and engaging enough that students would get something out of them.

Subjects/Themes: Physics, Biology, Technology, Math

High Interest Annotation:  Explanations of Science and Math concepts in everyday life.