PhET Blog

PhET (http://phet.colorado.edu) will be unavailable from Friday, March 20 at 10:00 PM Mountain Daylight Time until Saturday, March 21 at 8:00 AM Mountain Daylight Time due to necessary maintenance performed by the University of Colorado Office of Information Technology.

We apologize in advance for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.

Did you miss Conifer Chemistry Teacher and PhET K12 Specialist Trish Loeblein discuss her personal experiences on how and why she uses PhET in her chemistry classroom last fall?

This Wednesday, Trish will give an encore presentation, including addressing suggestions and questions from the over 190 attendees from last fall’s webinar. Listen to and chat with Trish as she shares her strategies, course planning documents, lessons, and student handouts for regular and advanced chemistry.

Date: Wednesday, February 25, 2015
Time: 5 PM, MST
Register at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/4007410185230266626

Have you seen our latest video, Facilitating Activities with PhET: An Overview? This video gives an overview of strategies for effective facilitation of K12 activities using PhET. Hear about some examples from fellow teachers. Should students play with PhET before discussions? How do you address questions about the simulation? How do you enable students to explore on their own?

We’ve joined with Science Friday to offer a great new Teaching Activity “Simulate Net Forces to Predict an Object’s Motion” with our Forces and Motion: Basics sim.

Thanks Science Friday!

We’ve made it easier to learn about how best to use PhET simulations in your instruction. All centrally located now on the “For Teachers” page, you will find a variety of useful information along with a new video: Teachers and Students Speak: An in-depth look at the PhET simulations and their uses in college and K12.

Use the “Tips” button to find videos and written resources on integrating PhET sims. Easily search for teacher-submitted activities including labs, homework assignments, lectures, activities, and concept questions with the “Browse” button. Or, if you’d like to “Share” your activities with the PhET community, learn how to contribute your own materials to our growing database.

Thanks for supporting the PhET Teacher Community.

Try the latest teaching guides from PhET’s Amanda McGarry for #HTML5 Graphing Lines. These activities can be used as part of a three-day sequence or individually. The lessons are aligned with the CCSS in Mathematics and the Standards of Mathematical Practice and include complete outlines as well as annotated activity sheets.

• Day 1: Slope allows students to make connections between the slope formula and a graphed line, and to discover how the slope formula works.
• Day 2: Slope-Intercept has students exploring slope-intercept form of a line as they manipulate either equation or graph.
• Day 3: Point-Slope has students exploring point-slope form of a line and testing their knowledge of graphing lines with the built-in game.

Want to see more simulations for iPads and tablets?
Please Donate Now!

Try the latest teaching guide for Fractions Intro. Just like the three-day lab for Circuit Construction Kit (DC Only) featured in our blog last week, this three-day activity was also developed between Meaghan Hixson and our PhET Team.

• Day 1: What is a Fraction?: students explore what makes a fraction by manipulating numerators and denominators. Through discussion and various fraction representations, students learn that numerators are the number of pieces being considered and the denominators are the number of equal pieces in a whole.
• Day 2: Comparing and Ordering Fractions: students use their knowledge of numerators/denominators from Day 1 to compare and order fractions and come up with rules for discussing the size of fractions.
• Day 3: Equivalent Fractions: students explore fraction equivalence using the Build a Fraction sim. By using the sim to create various representations of  the same amount, students explore and discuss rules for finding equivalent fractions.

Want to see more simulations for iPads and tablets?
Please Donate Now!

Teachers, join us for a free webinar with experienced high-school chemistry teacher and PhET K-12 specialist Trish Loeblein.

Sponsored by the American Association of Chemistry Teachers, this webinar will provide a more detailed look into how Trish implements PhET in her classroom, along with tips in how you can in yours.

Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Time: 7 PM, Eastern Daylight Time
Register at https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/628516250

Have you seen our latest teaching guide for Circuit Construction Kit (DC Only)?

Ideal for elementary school students, the three-day lab explores basic electricity relationships. Developed through a collaboration between Meaghan Hixson, 4th-grade teacher at Burlington Elementary, Longmont, CO, and our PhET Team, these activity sheets and lesson plans are engaging for both students and teachers, incorporating frequent student exploration and discussion. The lessons are aligned with NGSS physical science standards and CCSS literacy standards. (Both lesson and activity sheets are annotated to support teacher implementation.)

• Day 1: Lighting a Bulb explores how electrons flow through a loop from the source (battery) to the receiver (bulb) and the difference between open and closed circuits. What happens when more batteries are used?
• Day 2: Exploring Kinds of Circuits delves into deeper concepts of circuits, including lighting several bulbs in series or parallel circuits.
• Day 3: Conductors and Insulators applies what the students have learned and explores what makes an insulator or conductor, looking at commonly found objects from the Grab Bag such as paperclips and pencils.

Want to see Circuit Construction Kit for iPads and tablets?
Please Donate Now.

Watch our new video in the Featured Gallery section #OfficeMix to learn how to create fun, exciting and interactive lessons using PhET simulations and OfficeMix.