Weekend Website #102: Interactive Simulations

Every Friday, I share a website (or app) that I’ve heard about, checked into, gotten excited to use. This one is a math book and app. Since ‘math’ is by far the most popular search term of readers who seek out my blog, I know you’re going to enjoy this review.

Age:

Advanced Elementary science, Middle school-University

Topic:

Science, math

Address:

Interactive Simulations

Review:

Fun, interactive, research-based simulations of physical phenomena from the PhET™ project at the University of Colorado. All delivered Free to schools and Universities. Here’s an example:

Click to Run

PhET believes that their research-based approach enables students to make connections between real-life phenomena and the underlying science, deepening their understanding and appreciation of the physical world. To help students visually comprehend concepts, PhET simulations animate what is invisible to the eye through the use of graphics and intuitive controls such as click-and-drag manipulation, sliders and radio buttons. In order to further encourage quantitative exploration, the simulations also offer measurement instruments including rulers, stop-watches, voltmeters and thermometers. As the user manipulates these interactive tools, responses are immediately animated thus effectively illustrating cause-and-effect relationships as well as multiple linked representations (motion of the objects, graphs, number readouts, etc.)

Topics include:

• states of matter
• buoyancy
• gravity and orbits
• molecules and light
• build a molecule
• resonance
• and more

These can be downloaded, embedded in a school website, or played on the University website. With contributions from science professionals around the world, this site delivers more than 75 million simulations for educational use. I can’t even get my head around that number. Go. Check it out. Let me know what you think.

Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.