Click here for the ExploreLearning Gizmos Course Catalog
Quebec
The ExploreLearning Gizmos lesson materials are great tools for student learning and Gizmos integration lesson planning. The student exploration sheets provide students with activities relating to the specific content of the Gizmo; while the vocabulary document ensures that students ustilize correct terminology and the assessment questions support the retention of content aquired from the Gizmo.
The ExploreLearning teacher guide for each Gizmo is a very unique document and a great resource for educators to take advantage of. It provides a suggested outline of the Gizmos lesson, activities to do prior to the Gizmo as well as activities to extend the lesson. The teacher guide also provides great discussion questions to encourage communication within the classroom which will gives students the oppportunity to share their knowledge and thought processes while allowing the educator to catch misconceptions that may be developing. The last section provided to edcuators in the Teacher Guide is the Background information relating to the Gizmo. Having the background information relating to the Gizmo allows educators to have the content at their finger tips in order to best support their students.
Love Gizmos and want your colleagues to discover how they can change their classroom planning and student learning? Share a Gizmo list with other educators on our website, by logging in and going to your My Homepage.
- Select the class tab with the Gizmo List you want to share.
- Select the Manage Class drop-down menu under the class name, and choose Share Gizmo List.
- Complete the pop-up form and select Share Gizmo.
You can view all of your Shared Gizmo Lists (including the newly-created list) by selecting My Gizmo Lists in the upper right of your My Homepage.
You can also share a Gizmos list with others via email and social media.
- Select your name at the upper right of the page and choose Public Profile.
- Select the list you want to share from the Shared Gizmo Lists on the right.
- Select the email, Facebook or Twitter icon from sidebar on the right, and then follow the directions in the pop up window.
High school students now have even more opportunities to act like scientists with STEM Cases: award-winning, research-proven, interactive case studies in the Gizmos library.
STEM Cases engage students to become active learners by presenting a scenario that puts them in the role of professional scientists tasked with solving a real-world problem. For example, in Enzymes students play veterinary technicians tasked with saving a Great Dane named Claire that has lost weight despite eating normally. During each STEM Case, students learn the scientific concepts and use critical thinking and apply scientific practices as follows:
- Learn the science
- Collect data
- Analyze and interpret data
- Form a hypothesis
- Test the hypothesis
- Communicate findings
Assessments (15-25 per case) report student achievement and progress in real time as a “heatmap,” giving teachers the ability to quickly address problem areas and differentiate instruction. STEM Cases are aligned to state and NGSS standards and help prepare students for tests. Research from the University of Georgia found that replacing just three traditional classes with STEM Cases elicited significant learning gains.
Each STEM Case offers a general biology and an AP biology version. There are currently three STEM Cases available–Evolution, Enzymes, and Photosynthesis, with more coming soon.
Interested in saving time while planning your Gizmos lesson plans for your courses? Shared Gizmos lists created by other educators in QUEBEC/ONTARIO can save you time and give you ideas for how to deliver course content to your student. The shared Gizmos lists for the grade levels and subject areas you are teaching can be found on the QUEBEC/ONTARIO blog by clicking HERE or by viewing shared Gizmos Lists on your My Homepage by scrolling down to the Shared Gizmo Lists section. Please ensure you are logged into your Gizmos account.
To add the shared Gizmos list you must first select the title of the list and see the Gizmos are those that you would like to use. If you would like to add only one of the Gizmos you can select Add to Class next to the Gizmo to add it to your class, or Import Gizmos List to Classes in the top right to add all the Gizmos on the list into your class.
Teacher presets let you save a configuration of a Gizmo, then load it at any time. This makes it easy to start a Gizmo with specific variables already set. This functionality is accessible to the right above a launched Gizmo. These Gizmos currently offer the preset feature (you must be logged in to view this Gizmos list). More will be launching soon.
To create a new preset:
- Modify the Gizmo until you reach the configuration you want to save.
- Click the + (plus) icon on the Presets Note: If you are creating a preset for the first time, the button will read Create New Preset.
- Enter a name for your preset, then click Save.
You can save multiple presets per Gizmo. To access saved presets, click the Preset button and select the preset you want to use. Once a preset is applied, the Gizmo can be manipulated as normal. To return a Gizmo to its default state, simply refresh the browser page.
To rename or delete a saved preset:
- Launch the Gizmo you want to edit, then click the Presets
- Find the preset you want to edit, then click the icon (three dots) to the right of the preset name.
- To delete the preset, select the delete (red icon) button; to rename the preset, type in a new name and click the Rename button to save your change.
You cannot edit variables on an existing preset and save it with the same name, only rename or delete it. To make a preset with a different set of variables, create a new preset or edit and rename an existing preset.
Have you created your own Gizmos activity sheets or translated the ExploreLearning Gizmos lesson materials into French and want to share them with your fellow colleagues? We encourage teachers to share the supplemental materials they’ve created using Gizmos with other educators.
If you would like to contribute your lesson materials for a Gizmo, follow these steps:
- Select the Contribute Lessons icon next to the Gizmo.*
- Complete the pop up form and select Add Lesson Materials when finished. Your submitted materials will become available to other users upon approval.
If you would like to gather new ideas from other teachers for how to use, scroll down to the section From Our Community to see other User Lesson Materials.
*You’ll find a Contribute Lesson Materials icon also under the User Lesson Materials.
In addition to the great Homepage features and terrific lesson materials ExploreLearning provides you with Community Features so you can share your passion Gizmos with other educators in your school and school board through recommendations, contributing teacher submitted lesson materials, teacher presets and shared Gizmos lists.
Recommending a Gizmo is helpful for other educators who are new to Gizmos and are navigating our large library of Gizmos. To recommend a Gizmo, go to the Gizmo and select the Recommend Gizmo icon. Enter your comments about the Gizmo and your class information in the pop up window and select Add Recommendation.
Sharing Gizmos from the ExploreLearning website through email and social media is a great way of encouraging others to discover why Gizmos are so effective in the math and science classroom. Here is how: Under the Gizmo, click the Share Gizmo icon. Select either the email, Facebook or Twitter icon, and then follow the directions in the pop up window.
Be on the lookout for upcoming blog posts about
- Contribute Teacher Submitted Lesson Materials
- Teacher Preset
Now that you have your educator account, created your class lists, found and added your Gizmos let’s do a little organizing to make using Gizmos even easier.
On a Class page you can modify the arrangement and display of Gizmos by hovering over a section heading or Gizmo to bring up an editing menu. Hover over an icon to see a tooltip description.
To reorder a Gizmo, click and hold the Drag to Reorder icon on the far left to move it to a new location. You can also click the More Actions icon on the far right to move a Gizmo or group pf Gizmos up or down. You can only move groups if they have a section text heading.
Text headings allow you to label and organize content within your class. This can be especially useful for including instructions or steps.
To add a heading, go to the class and click Manage Class below the class name. Select Add Heading from the drop-down menu, then enter your text and click Add.
After adding a text heading, you can modify it by hovering over the text to bring up an editing menu. This includes the ability to drag or move to reorder, hide the heading from students and delete.
To hide a Gizmo or text heading, click the Hide from Students icon in the middle to hide the content from students. The hidden content will appear grayed-out to indicate it is hidden. Simply click the icon again to unhide it.
To delete a Gizmo or text heading, click the Delete icon. Deleting a text heading only removes it, not the Gizmos under the heading.
Please visit us at the following conferences as we present Gizmos and Reflex to educators across the province of Québec. We are available to share about ExploreLearning’s Gizmos and Reflex, answer your questions, provide updates, give access to educators and much more. Don’t forget to enter to win our conference door prizes!
- QPAT-Montreal QC-November 2018
- AAESQ/QESBA-TBD-May 2019