My 3 Favorite Animal Web Cams

  Today I'm linking up with Teaching Trio and sharing 3 of my favorite "Live Animal Web Cams".  Animal web cams are a great way for kids to observe animals in the environment in which they live. They are a fun way to bring animals into the classroom virtually. It's exciting to watch and learn about animals in real time. In addition to it's educational value, it fosters compassion and respect for animals.

Alessondra's OKC Great Horned Owl-Cam features "Mr. and Mrs. Tiger" who have taken up residence in the planter boxes of an Oklahoma City family.  3 eggs have been laid this this year.  If your students are interested in watching owlets hatching keep checking in on this one.  You can also follow the Alessondra's OKC Great Horned Owl on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

This homeschooling family supports classroom use of the web cam. Classes can submit their top five questions about the owl and Alessondra will do a custom video to answer them. How cool is that. Send your 5 questions to learn@okcowlcam.com

Watch Alessondra talk about the owls.

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Africam.com features 6 cameras in animal reserves located in South Africa. Students will be able to view a variety animals such as elephants, lions, cheetahs, and more. Because it's live, and there is a time difference, you will need to find the best time for your students to watch. Mine was in the morning and students viewed a variety of animals at the watering holes.

I love that this site has a built in camera so students can take snapshots of the animals. Snapshots can be posted on Facebook or saved to your computer.

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 Decorah, Iowa Bald Eagles The female has not yet laid her eggs this year but soon will. This is a great time to start checking in on these eagles. Students will get a "bird's eye view" of  raising eaglets. They are fun to watch.

There are so many activities that students can do using live animal web cams. Here are a few I have had students do in the past:

• Keep a log of what you see. Record the time, date and activity.
• Record what the animals eat. 
• Notice any patterns the animals have.
• Create a drawing of what you see.
• Take snapshots (or screenshots) of the animal being viewed. Turn them into a slideshow.
• Make an informative poster using your screenshots.
• Build a nest similar to what you see. We used a dollar store grapevine wreath as a base.
• Do further research on the animal.

You can find these and many more in my 

Amazing Animal Webcams LiveBinder.