The brief, entertaining videos are wonderful for introducing science concepts to upper elementary students.
Community Review for StudyJams!
My Take
The videos are animated, informative, explain concepts clearly, and use analogies that are relatable to children. The quizzes, which are brief and multiple choice, are good for a quick review of the concept(s) at hand. My students have expressed interest in the videos, even asking, "Is there a StudyJam for this new topic?" However, one of my 5th grade classes felt the videos seemed like they were created for younger children. Although, I only had one class that felt this way, it may provide insight into how 6th or 7th grade students would feel about the videos.
How I Use It
I sometimes use StudyJams in my 4th and 5th grade science classes. I have projected the videos for the whole class to watch when introducing a topic. When showing the entire class, I sometimes pause the video to check for understanding or to clarify a portion of the video. I have also shown my classes StudyJams videos after a hands-on lab to help clarify the concept we explored. Finally, I have had the students visit the StudyJams website to watch videos and take quizzes as part of their webquests.