edim508 Discovery Education

discoveryeducation.com offers vast resources to support content.  Although I have been using the service since it was unitedstreaming, I have found new opportunities and resources to support learning at the Alternative Education Program.  At Alternative Education, nearly all of the coursework is completed in an independent manner, facilitated by online courseware.  Because students are not generally available for group or whole class instruction, the ability to access and complete courseware and supplements with minimal difficulty, ambiguity or frustration is a key factor in resource selection.  DE's assignment builder tools offers students direct links to specific instructions and resources.  Embedding the link into the courseware will allow a student to access it on his or her independent pacing and schedule.

In many cases, the DE resources are provided as supplements to the subscribed courseware.  I have found that the varied approach to course content offered by the combination of DE and courseware benefits students.  The courseware is often provided in a verbal/linguistic manner.  The DE videos provide animation, simulation, and visual imagery that is difficult to achieve in the courseware.  This option offers reinforcement which can benefit varied learning styles.

For independent reinforcement, and review I have chosen the Standard Deviants series.  The Standard Deviants offer a fast paced overview of key topics within units.  Often these are done with animation or comic relief.  Each segment offers verbal cues and on screen text of the essential concepts.  The mix of verbal and visual support the students.  The chunking and energy of the series aid in content retention.

Example,  Standard Deviants School Geology: The Basics 

http://assignments.discoveryeducation.com/?cdPasscode=T0637-4D97

This video covers the key concepts of Geologic Time Scale and interpreting the rock record.  The video can be used as initial instruction, supplemental instruction, or review (although it lacks some detail to be highly effective in isolation).  The video is broken into segments for each topic.  A student could access each segment directly to reinforce specific content, or review the entire video