Seventh Grade Science Teacher Tom Ferguson joined Noblesville Schools in 2022. With twenty years of teaching experience, he brought a lot of sensibility about blending paper with paperless to his new classroom. Like most science teachers, he aims to get students moving, manipulating, and measuring as much as possible. That being said, Tom also looks for ways that technology can make the previously unimaginable imaginable. Here are some of his recent go-to tech tools:
PHET Interactive Simulations
PHET is a free website with simulations for teaching physics, chemistry, biology, and math from the University of Colorado Boulder. Tom reaches for PHET several times yearly to help students visualize complex concepts. Leveraging PHET also helps students maintain precise measurements. Data collection can be less than consistent when working with 11-14 year olds. With accurate data to interpret, the students can shift their focus from record-keeping to analyzing and evaluating.
ChatGPT & Problem Attic
Tom and his team have been playing with the Open AI chatbot ChatGPT to generate formative assessment questions. He knows the platform isn't perfect and relies on his expertise to catch errors. Fixing errors aside, ChatGPT has been an excellent tool for speeding up quiz creation. The team has also been trying out Problem-Attic, a free, extensive database of questions for building formative assessments.
Kahoot
When asked about game-based and gamified learning, Tom shared that Kahoot is a classroom favorite. He points out, however, that it's even more powerful -- and fun -- when the kids create their own vocabulary practice using tools like Blooket. Love it! Visiting Tom was a highlight of my week. He quickly credited his colleagues for his running start with Noblesville Schools. Way to go, Noblesville East!
Kristin Patrick, Blended Learning Coach
PHET Interactive Simulations
PHET is a free website with simulations for teaching physics, chemistry, biology, and math from the University of Colorado Boulder. Tom reaches for PHET several times yearly to help students visualize complex concepts. Leveraging PHET also helps students maintain precise measurements. Data collection can be less than consistent when working with 11-14 year olds. With accurate data to interpret, the students can shift their focus from record-keeping to analyzing and evaluating.
ChatGPT & Problem Attic
Tom and his team have been playing with the Open AI chatbot ChatGPT to generate formative assessment questions. He knows the platform isn't perfect and relies on his expertise to catch errors. Fixing errors aside, ChatGPT has been an excellent tool for speeding up quiz creation. The team has also been trying out Problem-Attic, a free, extensive database of questions for building formative assessments.
Kahoot
When asked about game-based and gamified learning, Tom shared that Kahoot is a classroom favorite. He points out, however, that it's even more powerful -- and fun -- when the kids create their own vocabulary practice using tools like Blooket. Love it! Visiting Tom was a highlight of my week. He quickly credited his colleagues for his running start with Noblesville Schools. Way to go, Noblesville East!
Kristin Patrick, Blended Learning Coach
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