PhET Interactive Simulations

 

It is always nice to find a real interactive activity for students to explore rather than relying on worksheets of any sort.  PhET is run by the University of Colorado in Boulder and is free.  It has 806 simulations for math, physics, chemistry, earth science, and biology currently.  What makes this site different is that the majority of stimulations are written in HTML5 rather than Flash so they can be used on the iPad or Mac.

When you click on Math, there are 44 total simulations but only 39 of them are done in HTML5. They cover topics like ratios, proportions, algebraic concepts, number lines, fractions, equivalents, quadratics, vectors, graphing, and more.  

Each simulation comes with a basic version to explore and play with and at least one more complex version to use what you learned with the introduction.  I did not find instructions for the student to read but it was quite easy to play with the simulation to figure out how to use it.  Fortunately, the site has extensive materials for the teacher.  

Furthermore, each simulation can be assigned via google classroom.  You also have the option of downloading the simulation or embedding it in something else.  At the bottom there is a description of the activity, the topics it covers, sample learning goals, and standards alignment.  Under the teachers section for the simulation, there are suggestions and teacher created lessons but you need to join the site to access them.  If you are working with students who are not proficient in English, there is an option to translate the activity into another language. 

In addition, they let you know about related simulations. For the curve fitting activity, there is a least square regression, and a calculus grapher.  The last two parts cover software requirements, which digital devices it can be used on, and who wrote it.  Lots of great information.  

There is a short about section which provides general information on the site if you look under teaching. In addition, there is a huge section of tips for using these simulations in the lecture, with clickers, designing and facilitating their use, and videos on facilitating the simulations.  There is also a professional development workshop available for this site.

Then there is a browse section which is actually a search engine so you can click on the type of simulation you'd like such as area model or function machine, choose the type of simulation such as remote, homework, lab, guided, or other choices, choose the subject, grade level, and/or language.  I tried the search engine by clicking on build a fraction, homework, and English.  The engine came back with 18 suggestions that I could choose from

The 18 were all listed under one title and if the title is clicked, there is information on who wrote it, when, language, and a downloadable document to go with everything but you do have to set up an account to do this.  It doesn't take long to sign up.

Overall, this site offers quite a lot of activities and support so it is something to think about using when you need an exploration or homework for class.  Let me know what you think, I'd love to hear.  Have a great day.