The Science Project Begins...Again

We are off and running developing the earth-shattering new online interative science curriculum.
Our working title- Science4Us.com.

Science Curriculum Development – K-8th grade - We are starting development on an online K8 science curriculum. The goal is to build a computer-centric online progressive science curriculum informed by the latest research.  Our conceptual foundations:

1. Students can absorb significantly more complexity than is usually offered (Taking Science to School).
2. The science curriculum should be structured around the Big Ideas  (Taking Science to School andNSTA Vision of Science Anchors) with details treated as such.
3. Standards and curriculum should be organized in grade bands rather than by specific grades: K-2nd, 3rd- 5th, middle school, and high school.
4. Students should learn science and scientific method in an integrated process in which they experience the scientific process (Taking Science to School),
5. Scientific study should be inquiry based with significant room for experimentation and failure.
6. A technology-based solution will, in a significant portion of the market, yield more cost-effective results than traditional approaches (train the teachers, create an environment for experimentation.  (Science4Us.com hypothesis).
7. An online animated and video environment can provide an inquiry-based experiential environment which largely achieves the educational goals (Science4Us.com hypothesis).
8. The real need in providing online curriculum is in creating an integrated curriculum with a common user interface, teacher and parent support materials, and an effective scope and sequence, and a learning management system. Although the web is full of powerful interactive science simulations, they are too isolated to be able to weave together into a meaningful curriculum.
9. The concept of citizen-science will be a foundation of some of the hands-on suggested further activities.  Particular emphasis will be given to the fact that the frontier of scientific inquiry is within reach surprisingly often.
10. Areas that we intend to explore include how community, social media, and web-based tools can be used for scientific education and collaboration.