Science inquiry using PhET: A global resource of 100 free interactive simulations Kelly Lancaster and the PhET team at the University of Colorado

What is PhET? Suite of >100 interactive sims on science!

Where is PhET? Or download! (  140 MB)

Who is PhET? Team of scientists and educators

How can PhET be free? NSF Carl Wieman and Sarah Gilbert King Saud University O’Donnell Foundation Hewlett Foundation University of Colorado

Who uses PhET? Website: 15 languagesSims: 58 languages Of 15 million sims run in 2010, 34% international!

PhET around the world Serbia VietnamUganda Brazil

Initial design Interviews Redesign Final design Research Classrooms PhET Design Process

What do you think?

What do students think?

How did we change the sim?

Is the sim intuitive? Do students find the controls?

Can you spot the changes? BeforeAfter

Initial design Interviews Redesign Final design Research Classrooms PhET Design Process

Using PhET in lecture How will adding water affect the pH? A. Increase pH B. Decrease pH C. No pH change

Using PhET in lab Add 100 silver bromide pairs to the water. How many silver and bromide ions dissolve in the water? Repeat this for all salts. Investigate different salts. What features do salts have in common, and how do salts differ from each other?

How do we assess PhET? Pre-testPost-test Sim Activity

How do students feel? How __________ was this recitation compared to others? 1.useful for your learning 2.enjoyable N = 155

One sim, two uses Circuit Construction Kit CCK in grade school: “What do you need to make the bulb light?” CCK in college: “Why does the light dim when you turn on the heater?”

How is PhET used in K-12?

What’s next for PhET? Sim Sharing New Sims

How do kids use PhET? Do they differ from college students?

Stay in touch with social media

How can you contribute? Report bugs Send us your ideas for new sims!

Suite of interactive simulations (>100) Physics, chemistry, math Expanding into biology, earth science Research-based and user-tested Free! Online or downloadable (~140 MB) Easy to use and incorporate in class

How is PhET used in college? Opportunity for students to explore like scientists But, no silver bullet: Context and activity critical Lecture Lab & Recitation Homework Exams

Other ways to use PhET Creative Commons – Attribution license

What did students learn? N = 930N = 110