I've used eclips for warm-ups, content and for fun. Once I start, sometimes hard to stop showing more. Not only are they full of great info, but the quality is much higher than other clips found on the web. In addition, the actors, scientists, or hosts, whatever they may be, are actually enetertaining. Gone are the monotone ramblings of an uninterested reader. Keep them coming!!!!

I started using eClips last spring. After state testing, my kids were "done," I was "done," and we needed something to get us excited about learning again. Being a John Glenn groupie, I've been interested in the space program since I was in elementary school. I checked out the NASA website and found so much information that got ME excited again, so I tried it with my class. I started out asking current event type questions. Was there a launch about to happen? Did it involve astronauts or unmanned spacecraft? As I found things, I shared the web addresses with my students and they found more things they were curious about. I am able to feed my computer link into a projector and we had an on-going NASA TV center in the back of the room. I then found the eClips were great resources for answering questions in a short video. We checked out what astronauts wore, how they ate, how they exercised, and how they communicated with mission control. One of our books had an article about the Hubble and we expanded the work with eClips about the Hubble.

This year we had a story about a woman astronaut. We tapped into eClips, and the NASA website for astronaut training, how they sleep, how they live, etc. I've heard my class discussing some of this with their peers in the other third grades. It just so happened this coincided with when the Colbert treadmill went up to the space station this year. We again found out about exercise and how it's different in space rather than on earth. We've also checked out how our bodies change in space because of zero gravity. Our Time for Kids Magazine had a wonderful issue about the new Hubble camera, along with fabulous photos. Those photos were even better on the NASA site. So with this class we used eClips to check out the Hubble.

Since April of 09, I have used eClips with whole group, small group, and individuals. I am amazed that the kids are able to navigate the site easily, and it's at a level that they understand. I've used it to introduce a lesson, to teach a lesson, and to enrich a lesson.

Laurie Casey
Whispering Wind Academy
Third Grade
Phoenix, AZ