Science and Math Podcasts

One of the assignments in our Math and Science for English Learners class is to locate 2 math and 2 science podcasts for our classmates to view and review/make comments on. I have posted several videos on my wikispaces page (http://kurtsedsjourney.wikispaces.com/) but in order to ensure that I have met the requirements for this class I am posting again. 

Science Podcast 1: The Chemistry of Love - This short videocast is a short introduction to three neurotransmitters that play a role in emotions: Serotonin, Dopamine and Adrenalin. This would work great for most levels of science from grades 5-12. You just need to tailor how you use it - as an introduction to class discussion (advanced) or simply a brief explanation of how chemistry affects emotions (less advanced). Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYDZNUzbUcg

Science Podcast 2: Light Reaction of Photosynthesis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hj_WKgnL6MI
This videocast is for AP-level biology only but could be shown to honors level students for those who want to know the biochemical reasons for the capture of electromagnetic energy by plants. The academic, content-specific language in this video is advanced but the narrator speaks slowly, uses great animations along with key terms appearing on-screen. This can be used as both an introduction and final review. 

Math Podcast 1: Basic Sampling Techniques - Estimating deer populations. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nr9rQpm2A4&list=PL5BRja99NkXlF5CU0TILV1IKzidCTs2Uh
 This videocast would be a great introduction to a unit on on how scientists use math to estimate animal numbers. This would work for a middle school science unit where you would follow up with an activity using some sort of ‘mark/recapture’ technique with some sort of inanimate object (skittles for example – i.e., how many red skittles are in the population? See the following link for an example of an activity: (http://www.biologycorner.com/worksheets/estimating_population_size.html#.UeKsAtLCaM4)

In a more advanced class students could sample a ‘wild’ population such as pill bugs, snails or lizards such as anoles. Have Fun! 

Math Podcast 2: Estimating a Population: the Lincoln Index

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVcQZerdIdE  In this videocast the mark-recapture method is explained using snails as an example. The narrator speaks very slowly and uses simple English and graphics to explain this technique. I think that this would be better suited for older students that can work independently.