Burlington, North Carolina, August 29, 2018 -- Carolina Science Online (CSO), a division of Carolina Biological Supply Company, launched a robust suite of digital education tools and content to enhance and extend the effectiveness of Carolina’s curriculum resources. Following Carolina’s aggressive yearlong effort to develop and deliver phenomena-based science curricula, teachers and students can access CSO, now live, to utilize digital resources and teaching tools designed to supplement and enhance Carolina’s Building Blocks of Science™ 3D K-5 science curriculum, the Smithsonian Institution’s Science and Technology Concepts™ K-8 program, Smithsonian Science for the Classroom for Grades 1-5, and an increasing number of Carolina’s hands-on high school science teaching kits, which also were enhanced with digital resources to support inquiry and practical science teaching.
To complement and extend the 18 units of Carolina’s Building Blocks of Science 3D, teachers and students who adopt the program can now enjoy a variety of digital media: Phenomena videos, interactive simulations, interactive eBooks, and robust formative and summative assessments (scored electronically). In addition, teachers can develop assignments drawing from a variety of CSO resources that can be supplemented by teacher-created materials and content such as PDF documents, Word documents, and images. Carolina content, together with teacher-developed materials, offers a custom learning environment tailored to the unique teaching style and creativity of each teacher and student. Score Reports from CSO help teachers identify areas where students struggle and create sub-groups for reteaching and enrichment. Both the Building Blocks and Smithsonian programs offer eBooks with built-in text-to-speech readers, along with accessibility features to support struggling readers and English Language Learners.
Science educators from across the United States, and increasingly worldwide, rely on Carolina Biological as their source for resources and curricula to support science teaching in Kindergarten through 12 grade classrooms and at top universities and colleges. More than 150 large school districts and tens of thousands of teachers use CSO to augment Carolina’s science materials, embracing digital tools that are growing more prevalent in both the practice of science and science teaching. CSO supports multiple end-user devices and, as a web service, can be accessed anytime, and anywhere teachers and students have access to the Internet.
“The release of this substantially enhanced version of CSO is timed perfectly to support the rapid rise of student computing devices in education,” said Bruce Wilcox, Vice President of Carolina Science Online. “We can support Chromebook, Apple, Microsoft, and countless other browser-based devices. CSO is intuitive and easy to use, eliminating the need for training and professional development.”
“Carolina Biological’s ecommerce website, www.carolina.com, is a heavily-trafficked destination for teachers and science materials buyers who seek resources to equip a modern science teaching classroom,” continued Wilcox. “In these classrooms, student computing devices are often underutilized due to differences between the physical and digital worlds. We’re working to solve that problem by identifying digital tools offered on CSO that complement hands-on science teaching. We make it easy for teachers to shop for what they need on Carolina.com, such as a photosynthesis experiment. Just place an order and receive an access code. Then, using CSO, implement blended learning by combining the online content with the physical experiment shipped to their school room door!”
“We’ve relied on Carolina Biological for supplies to support our hands-on science and inquiry teaching,” said Dr. Sandy Ledwell, Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI) Science Coordinator at the Alabama Department of Education. “However, these new digital resources help expand our teachers’ reach and engage students in a way that is meaningful and, more importantly, relevant to our tech-savvy students’ learning experiences. Our kids deserve the best, and these tools are a critical part of our initiative’s efforts to embrace our science standards.”
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To learn more about Carolina Science Online go to http://www.carolinascienceonline.com. To learn more about Carolina Biological and equip your classroom for blended learning, go to http://www.carolina.com. Visit www.carolina.com/bbs and www.carolina.com/smithsonian to learn more about our K-8, hands-on science curricula.
Carolina Biological Supply Company:
From its beginnings in 1927, Carolina Biological Supply Company has grown to become a leading supplier of science teaching materials. Today, from its headquarters in Burlington, North Carolina, Carolina serves customers worldwide, including teachers, professors, home-school educators, and professionals in health and science-related fields. Please visit our website, http://www.carolina.com, to learn more about our science and related products and services.
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