If you are like me, you have spent hours trying out interactive biology websites, only to get frustrated and overwhelmed. Many of them are overly complicated, or require so many instructions that the message of the activity is lost to your students.
And then we lost Flash! That was a huge blow to me, and to science teachers all over the world! Compiled here are six of the best interactive biology websites that DON’T use flash, and are FREE!
Jump to the bottom of this list for my very favorite interactive biology website!
NOVA Labs:
Topics include: Evolution, Earth’s Climate, Cybersecurity, RNA, Clouds, the Sun. Educators Guides for each Lab provide a lot of great info and extra resources.
Students can log in as a guest, or easily create an account which saves their work to come back to later.
Each lab includes a sequence of video clips with questions students can answer and get feedback from. Students can submit their ‘report’ by clicking ‘my lab report’ at the top right, choosing the lab they are working on, and then save the webpage as a PDF (‘print’ then ‘save as PDF’ or Save to Google Drive). The PDF can then be sent to the teacher.
Interactive games align with the Labs and offer students another way to interact with content and go deeper with their learning. The games are involved, though not overly complicated, but will take time. Sometimes I have students just complete part of a game, rather than the whole thing.
To ‘turn in’ their work, I ask for a screenshot of their progress, which they can see by clicking the ‘man’ icon at the top left of the game screen.
Utah Genetics:
Topics include: Genetics, Neuroscience, Plants, Cells, Evolution
Utah Genetics is one of the best free online interactive sites for Science…ever. The website offers articles, video clips, and interactives which teachers can choose for different levels and needs of their students. The resources are very well organized by topic and layer information, allowing you to go deeper, or stay simple.
When you select a topic, the button at the top right will bring you to some additional resources and ready-made student sheets. Keep it digital by letting your students complete the sheet online using Kami or some other PDF editing tool!
NOTE – Utah Genetics did take a hit when it lost Flash. Some of my favorite activities were lost. But there is still great content there, and from what I have heard they are working on replacing the Flash activities with something new! Fingers crossed!
HHMI Biointeractive:
Topics Include: Bimolecules, Evolution, Cells, Anatomy, Ecology, Genetics, and Anatomy
An amazing resource, full of videos, activities, and interactives that cover Biology and Ecology topics. The best part of Biointeractive: connection to the real world! Real science, real data, real experts in bite sized pieces that are easy for students to understand.
Resources are searchable by topic, type, and level. If you are looking for AP resources, this is a great place to find them!
Most articles and activities provide ready to use student response sheets in PDF form. Keep it paperless by having students answer on Kami or another PDF editor!
The Concord Consortium
Topics Included: Populations, Evolution, Genetics, Cell Membrane Transport, Protein Structure…and much more!
Concord Consortium offers an awesome library of interactive biology activities for High School and AP Level Biology (as well as younger grades and other science subjects!). Finding what you are looking for is easy with the filters and search bar.
The interactive activities are fun and well made. They have been a life-saver in my classroom for helping students understand difficult concepts. My favorite ones to use are about Cell Transport – diffusion and osmosis. They really help students see what is happening on a molecular level.
Concord offers teachers a free account that allows them to create classes and assign work. Another plus: many come with a Teaching Guide to give you some extra info and support as you use them in your classroom.
CK-12 Biology for High School
Topics Include: The entire Biology curriculum!
So, this is not strictly an ‘interactive’ activity website…but it is online learning. Students move through a digital text book with integrated video clips and long-form questions to get them thinking about the text. Sprinkled in are some interactive images!
The most valuable part, in my opinion, are the Practice question sets. To get there, click the green button in the bottom right corner of any topic page. Students get immediate feedback if their answer is incorrect. A link pops up to direct them to information that will help them answer the question. Most are multiple choice, while some are fill in the blank or true/false.
The proficiency scale changes as you answer questions (see image below) which becomes very motivating!
The goal is to answer ten questions correctly – once you have done that, your done! Built-in differentiation! Teachers set up an account which allows you to monitor student progress!
My favorite Biology interactive website – BioMan Interactive:
Topics Include: Body Systems, Cells, Ecology, Evolution, Genetics, Scientific Method, Respiration and Photosynthesis
BioMan is my favorite biology interactive website because the activities are fun, simple, and focused. BioMan activities can be used as an introduction to a topic, as reinforcement or review. Each game includes information and built in question sets. Student answers are even recorded and stored on BioMan!
Teachers can create an account on the website. When students complete the activity, they have the option of emailing their score to you or submitting it to a registered teacher. When you log in to the BioMan account as a teacher, all of your student’s work and scores are available in one place – it is great!
BONUS Resource: HowToSmile.org
Topics Include: Life Sciences, Human Body, Chemistry, and more!
HowToSmile contains a huge library of hands on resources for your classroom! I know this post is about interactive biology websites – but sometimes you just need to make and do in real life!
The link above takes you to the main topics, scroll down to Life Sciences for biology-specific resources. When you click on an activity, you will get information about how long it will take, the age range it appeals to, and how long it will take to prepare. Not all of the activities are geared for high school, but I have found some really fun ones!
Do you have any favorite interactive biology websites? Let us know about it in the comments!
Originally published on our sister site – TeachEveryDay.com
