2011
Learning Magazine Teacher’s Choice Award
Teachers’ evaluation comments
 Back
in September we were very proud to announce that our
Mini Advance incubator and OvaScope egg scope had
won 2011 Learning Magazine Teacher's Choice Award for
the Classroom.
This
annual program was first introduced in 1994 and has
become one of the most recognized and prestigious awards
in the educational market. A panel of teachers across
the country evaluates each product in the classroom.
The
products are evaluated in real life situation on quality,
instructional value, ease of use and innovation and
Brinsea’s
Mini incubator and OvaScope scored highly
on all counts. We really could not ask for better reviews.
Read
on to find out what this panel of teachers had to say
in answer to the following questions:
What
aspect of the product did you like most?
EVERYTHING!
This is my 11th year incubating chicks in my Kindergarten
classroom, and my 1st year that it has been worry free!
The ease of programming and having it all be automatic
was so reassuring of a successful hatch. The size and
design made it easy for the students to observe the
eggs during the process, and made it easier to store.
Clean up was amazing! The OvaScope was awesome too.
For the first time, I was able to easily candle the
eggs and display the images on the Smart board using
my webcam. The students and I were awed and excited.
The
simplicity and durability. This was my 1st time to study
life cycles. It was so wonderful to have this product.
The set up was easy, cleaning was wonderful. It was
so nice to have such a wonderful study be magnified
by the ease of this product.
For
teachers who have never incubated eggs before and don't
know much about it, this is a great way to get started.
The digital set up does all of the monitoring which
takes much of the guess work out of incubation for novices.
The OvaScope is a great way to candle eggs. The light
was bright enough and the extra piece that covers the
egg makes candling in bright classrooms easier.
It's
ease of use was most important to me. Once I had keyed
in the temperature, number of days to incubate, and
auto turn, the rest was a breeze. I didn't have to do
anything but add water every day or two. The students
could see everything going on. Once we were able to
view the progress of egg development, the OvaScope was
used with our Activboard and students could view the
embryo on a big screen.
The
incubator was easy to use. The aspect I liked the most
was its accessibility for children to view. The OvaScope
made a closer look for the children to understand the
developmental process of hatching chicks.
How did you make use of the
product or integrate it into your lesson plans?
As
a unit on life cycles, I incubate chicks every year
in my Kindergarten classroom. The OvaScope provided
a clear, easy way to see the inside of the eggs. I was
able to show and explain how some of the eggs didn't
have anything in them, meaning that they wouldn't hatch.
In the past the kids were left with the question of
whether or not the chick had died
inside the egg, but this time I was able to show them
what it looked like.
The
students were so excited about the whole project! The
excitement of seeing the eggs and being able to look
inside them gave the entire class a great learning experience.
It
was integrated into our science elective class for students
in middle school who are studying zoology and botany.
We used it for a traditional unit on embryology and
also for animal care. The students weighed the eggs
for the first 15 days and compared the percentage of
weight change. Students also viewed the eggs via the
Ovascope.
I
used this product to enrich my unit on the human body.
This was an excellent hands on way to engage students
and extend beyond the regular curriculum to introduce
students to embryology. Students enjoyed checking the
eggs every day. They were excited to record new observations
in their lab journals. They could not wait until hatching
day.
We
studied the life cycles of animals, particularly chicks.
The incubator/Ovascope gave us a unique opportunity
to witness the development and birth of chickens. Never
before have students been able to view the progress
and birth so easily. The product was easily incorporated
into my lesson plan due to the fact that we were able
to track the days of incubation and stages automatically.
The children were so excited when the first chick pecked
out of its shell. Then they anticipated the arrival
of the next chick and the next.
What
skills did your students learn from this product?
My
students learned patience (waiting 21 days for the hatch,
without any visible signs of activity on the outside.
As we candled them through the process we were able
to graph and compare the developmental stages which
were occurring to those in a book. We were able to explore
the life cycle of chickens. Watch them develop with
the Ovascope and wait with greater patience because
of the clear dome construction.
Students
gained a higher interest in animal development. They
learned that care begins before the babies are born.
They learned basic embryology skills.
Students
were able to further develop the scientific skills of
observation and recording data. They were also introduced
to embryology using real life examples.
They
learned the process of egg to chick. We were able to
track the days as it was automatically displayed on
the incubator read-out. We actually watched and recorded
a chick hatch. The students were thrilled and amazed.
Never before had we observed the process so thoroughly.
My
students learned the stages of development from egg
to chick. They also made predictions, wrote stories,
and enjoyed art activities to correlate with this lesson.
The hatching of the chicks was recorded, and the children
watch the clip repeatedly with excitement.
Would
you recommend this product to a teacher?
I
would ABSOLUTELY recommend this product to any teacher
at any grade/age level who would like a convenient,
no-hassle way to study life cycles by hatching baby
chicks. The instructions are very clear and easy to
understand, making it even easier to provide this incredible
learning experience to kids.
Yes!
This product is well constructed, easy to understand
and operate. Its simple use made this a great product.
Yes!
This was an easy and kid-friendly way to hatch eggs
in the classroom!
I would recommend the kit! It was perfect, especially
for a teacher who did not have any experience hatching
eggs in the classroom. It was student-friendly and easy
to use.
Absolutely!
All the teachers and students in our building have enjoyed
this product by coming by and viewing ours. It’s
agreat classroom tool!
I
highly recommend this product to other teachers at the
elementary school level or any level. The enthusiasm
in our school was overwhelming. Students stopped by
to see the chicks daily checking on their progress.
This high tech incubator was awesome!
You
can download a list of fertile
eggs suppliers and get answers to the FAQs
for hatching eggs in the classroom.
Join
us on Facebook
for great images of developing embryos seen through
the OvaScope and a neat video of eggs hatching in the
Mini Advance incubator.
© Brinsea®
Products Inc 2012
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