Blog Archives
Sixteen New S.T.E.M. related Courses from NC School of Science and Mathematics and NC DPI
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction in partnership with NC School of Science and Mathematics have developed sixteen open courses in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) with over 3,500 resources. These STEM courses, now available in the NCLOR, have been designed to give teachers the materials they need to teach four, full-year courses in the subjects of: Agriscience & Biotechnology, Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, Energy & Sustainability, and Health & Life Sciences. The courses are organized into topical lessons and those lessons are organized into units based on themes. Many of the units are fully integrated STEM units, meaning they contain real-world challenges and authentic assessments in science, technology, engineering and math.
All course content is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License. 
Course Details: Click on any of the courses outlined below to view course contents in more detail.
- Course 1: Fundamentals of Flight (15 Units)
- Course 2: Material Science and Electrical Applications (10 Units)
- Course 3: Automation ( 8 Units )
- Course 4: Security (6 Units)
- Course 1: Agricultural Ecology (9 Units)
- Course 2: Agricultural Genetics (7 Units)
- Course 3: Agricultural Biotechnology (8 Units)
- Course 4: Agricultural Solutions (8 Units)
- Course 1: Foundations (7 Units)
- Course 2: Planetary Boundaries (8 Units)
- Course 3: Human Impacts (10 Units)
- Course 4: Paths to Global Solutions (10 Units)
- Course 1: Biomedical Systems I (8 Units)
- Course 2: Biomedical Systems II (7 Units)
- Course 3: Biomaterials, Statics, and Strength of Materials (7 Units)
- Course 4: Neuroscience, Neuroengineering, and Neuroeconomics (4 Units)
To access these courses, you can do any of the following:
- Click on any of the links above.
- Log into the NCLOR and click on “Browse by NCSSM STEM Courses ” on the left menu bar.
- If you are K-14 faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)
Sumanas Inc. Learning Objects added as new Series
Sumanas Inc is a education multimedia group that specializes in accurate high-impact interactive learning activities for higher education. Sumanas has made available 105 examples of the work they have completed for science textbooks and related fields. The subjects included in this series are: General Biology, Molecular Biology, Microbiology, General Biotechnology, Biopsychology & Neuroscience, Environmental Science, Astronomy, and Chemistry. This series is a open educational resource and available to everyone.
Example: Screenshot of the “Blood Flow through the Human Heart” learning object. from the Sumanas Inc. series. Click the image to view the resource.
The suggested NCCCS courses these resources may benefit are: BIO100, BIO111, BIO112, BIO165, BIO166, BIO168, BIO169, BIO170, BIO175, BIO275, BIO280, ENV110, EHS115, AST151, CHM080, CHM082, CHM090, and CHM094.
To access this series, you can do any of the following:
- Log into the NCLOR and click on “Browse by Resource Series” and then the Sumanas Inc. series.
- If you are NCCCS faculty, you can add the links to the resources directly to your LMS based course. (learn how)
- Simply, click Sumanas Resource Series to view the series as a guest.
Nation Science Foundation Resources Updated in NCLOR
The National Science Foundation collection is now updated in the NCLOR to include 206 new videos. The National Science Foundation, along with its partners at NBC Learn and CBS News, have created a digital collection of science, technology and engineering related videos. The video series included in this collection are: Chalk Talk, Changing Planet, Chemistry Now, Green Revolution, Innovation Nation, Profiles of Scientists and Engineers, Road to the New Energy Economy, Science Behind the New, Science Nation, Science in Motion, and The Science of the Summer Olympics.
These new video series join The Science of NFL Football, The Science of NHL Hockey, The Science of Speed (NASCAR), and The Science of the Olympic Winter Games series which were previously made available in the NCLOR.
Collection Example: Science of the Summer Olympics: The Biomechanics of Usain Bolt, Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt holds the World and Olympic records for the fastest time in the 100-meter sprint. Bolt’s stride, strength, and muscle coordination make him not just a biomechanical marvel, but also a gold medal winner at the 2012 Summer Olympics.
The subjects included in this collection update are: Agricultural and Natural Sciences, Arts and Humanities, Computer Science, Education, Engineering, Health Medical Sciences, Information Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Social and Behavioral Sciences.
The NCCCS courses that could be enriched by using these resource are: ANT210, BIO130, CHM080, CHM082, CHM3001, CTS287, EDU271, EGR110, ENV110,ENV120, ENV230, FOR171, MSC160, MSC172, MUS110, PHY080, PHY090, SOC210, SOC220, SST110, and SST140.
Accessibility Statement: All of the videos in this collection are closed captioned or have links to the text version of the video narration.
To access this resource series:
- log into the NCLOR www.explorethelor.org or through your institution’s learning management system (LMS)
- navigate to the Browse by Resource Series area
- click on the National Science Foundation series.
V-Scope Explorer Resource Series Updated
The Multicellular Animals, Multicellular Plants, and Single Cell Organisms V-Scope Explorer™ slide sets have been updated to include references to the new activity guide. A link to this guide has been included in on every slide in the set. V-Scope Explorer™ Microscope is a is a simulated experience of using a real microscope.
Image of cover page of the new V-Scope Explorer Activity Guide
This simulation adds a new dimension to your lab experience and can supplement textbook and classroom sessions by learning through this virtual lab.
The Multicellular Plants, Multicellular Animals, and Single Cell Organisms slide sets join the Anatomy and Physiology slides which are already available in the NCLOR.
The V-Scope Explore Series is ONLY available to the North Carolina Community College System faculty.
The NCCCS courses that could be enhanced by using these resources are: BIO090, BIO092, BIO100, BIO110, BIO111, and BIO112.
To access the V-Scope Explorer series you can:
- log into the NCLOR or through your institution’s learning management system
- navigate to the Browse by Resource Series area
- click on the V-Scope Explorer (Virtual Microscope) series.
Princeton University Video Lecture Series Added to NCLOR
Today, 40 new video lectures were added to the NCLOR from Princeton University. These resources are video captures of their famous public lecture series and include lectures given by Tom Brokaw, Noam Chomsky, Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, and Dr. Cornel West just to name a few. The subjects included in this series are broad and include: Political Science, Finance, Biology, Literature, Religion, and Physics.
To access this series, you can do any of the following:
