It seems everybody loves a freebie! The Google Slides free writing journal with picture prompts from a few weeks back has been a big hit. Hopefully it’s being used, shared and modified in classrooms around the world.
For this freebie, I thought I’d move beyond language arts and in to STEM (science technology engineering maths). Once again using Google Slides, I have created an interactive, digital workbook based on the scientific method. I like the flexibility of layout in Google Slides which is why it’s probably my most used app.
STEM activities lend themselves to multimedia, as do Google Slides. The workbook has been set up to encourage the inclusion of multimedia. This can either be audio, video and images found online or those created by students as they research and complete their experiment.
The digital workbook can be used as a digitised version of a traditional workbook or can be used as the springboard for a hyperdoc. A hyperdoc is a:
…carefully crafted digital lesson plan…[that is a] visually engaging and packaged learning experience…[for students to] create, collaborate, think critically and connect.
http://hyperdocs.co/about_hyperdocs
I highly recommend the above website for more ideas on utilising hyperdocs in the Google Classroom and for lots more great freebies!
What’s included in the FREE digital workbook
- Created in Google Slides so you can create your own copy to modify and share
- An interactive menu to navigate the workbook
- A slide for each of the following areas:
- Problem
- Background research
- Hypothesis
- Health and safety
- Experiment
- Results
- Conclusion
- Instructions on what to include in each section
- Links to more detailed explanations in the speaker’s notes
- Placeholders for multimedia and links
The screenshot below illustrates the typical structure of each slide:
Accessing the FREE digital workbook
The link below to the template is VIEW ONLY. This means you will need to create a copy IN YOUR OWN GOOGLE DRIVE to be able to edit the file and share the file with your students. To do this use the following menu path:
File > Make a copy…
FREE Google Slides scientific method digital workbook:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Z8g3bqRH7hSZ4h8BTHPvfX8Fcj2_4ILEQyHSIPZlEO4/edit?usp=sharing
Ideas for using the workbook in the classroom
- Can be used with any STEM activity.
- Best suited to middle to high school students but can be adapted to all ability and age levels – for example, for student requiring more support, create and add your own mini-YouTube video explanation.
- Can be used individually or as part of collaborative projects.
- Can be used across platforms including Chromebooks, iOS and Android tablets and smartphones. (Not all features available on all platforms).
- Use with Google Slides tablet and smartphone apps so students can capture video and photos of their own work into the digital workbook.
- Take photos of experiment setups using Google Slides on tablet or smartphone and label using the desktop version (including on Chromebooks).
- Encourage students to personalise the workbooks to match their own style.
- Record results data in Google Sheets and insert charts into the Results page.
- Use the Doctopus add-in to create a copy of the workbook for each student.
- Provide teacher or peer feedback using comments.
- Distribute the workbook to students via Google Classroom.
- Can support science fair projects.
- Can be used as evidence of learning as part of project based learning (PBL).
- Embed finished workbooks in your school website to share with parents, carers and the community.
References
http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_scientific_method.shtml
https://18670-presscdn-pagely.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/scientific-method-graphic-organizer.pdf?sfvrsn=0
http://barnett.nebo.edu/sites/barnett.nebo.edu/files/Scientific%20Method%20Graphic%20Organizer.pdf