Many teachers avoid the use of microscopes in the classroom due cost, storage, lack of training, or students that are overwhelmed by tool. As a 5th Grade science teacher (departmentalized classrooms), I see the need to give students access to tools that help them become better scientists and tools that encourage wonder and inspiration, without being overwhelmed. It also promotes an increase in science and math achievement in the US, where 5th Grade science (along with 8th and 11th grades) is a measured state assessment.
Giving the students the chance to look closer at the world around them gives them a sense of place and a building block for further explorations in the sciences. “By showing students the thousands of tiny organisms in water or the hairs of different animals, there is a 'wow' factor there that cannot be achieved from a text book,” said Phil Sumidi. The Plugable handheld microscopes are easy to use, can be placed on a stand for steady viewing, or taken outside to explore. They can be connected to student iPads or connected to a teacher's Macbook Pro computer for display and discussions. The travel cases are to protect the investment by keeping the portable stand and the handheld microscope in a safe place when not being immediately used and a convenient carrying case to share with other teachers in my building. By including the various Apple device connectors, provides for an array of device uses with the microscope.
Currently in my 5th Grade science classroom in Kansas, the science standards focus on Living Systems (ecosystems, plants, food webs, cycles, interdependence, biotic and abiotic organisms), Earth & Sun (distances, seasons, spheres of Earth, shadows), and Mixtures & Solutions (crystal structures, mixtures, solutions, dissolve, changes in states of matter).
About my class
Many teachers avoid the use of microscopes in the classroom due cost, storage, lack of training, or students that are overwhelmed by tool. As a 5th Grade science teacher (departmentalized classrooms), I see the need to give students access to tools that help them become better scientists and tools that encourage wonder and inspiration, without being overwhelmed. It also promotes an increase in science and math achievement in the US, where 5th Grade science (along with 8th and 11th grades) is a measured state assessment.
Giving the students the chance to look closer at the world around them gives them a sense of place and a building block for further explorations in the sciences. “By showing students the thousands of tiny organisms in water or the hairs of different animals, there is a 'wow' factor there that cannot be achieved from a text book,” said Phil Sumidi. The Plugable handheld microscopes are easy to use, can be placed on a stand for steady viewing, or taken outside to explore. They can be connected to student iPads or connected to a teacher's Macbook Pro computer for display and discussions. The travel cases are to protect the investment by keeping the portable stand and the handheld microscope in a safe place when not being immediately used and a convenient carrying case to share with other teachers in my building. By including the various Apple device connectors, provides for an array of device uses with the microscope.
Currently in my 5th Grade science classroom in Kansas, the science standards focus on Living Systems (ecosystems, plants, food webs, cycles, interdependence, biotic and abiotic organisms), Earth & Sun (distances, seasons, spheres of Earth, shadows), and Mixtures & Solutions (crystal structures, mixtures, solutions, dissolve, changes in states of matter).
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