With growing expectations for students to engage with material online and the desire of teachers and students to experience the learning process, it is no wonder that PhET Interactive Simulations have become so popular.
PhET Interactive Simulations, produced through the University of Colorado Boulder, have more than gotten the attention of science teachers across the world. Specifically in the US with new Next Generation science standards and assessments (NGSS), teachers are looking for high quality digital resources to enrich and align their teaching.
PhET Interactive Simulations, like Edcite, wants to give back to education through free content which is why all of their simulations are available under Creative Commons licensing. PhET’s open source policy enables many teachers to embed these simulations into homework, in-class practice, or assessments. In fact, we learned about PhET from our teacher community. Earlier this year, we heard from teachers in Ohio that these simulations were fantastic complements to their lessons.
After seeing how useful embeddable simulations were for teachers, Edcite now allows PhET Interactive Simulations embeds! So teachers can further enrich their Edcite interactive assessments with awesome PhET simulations to further engage and challenge their students. Dave Limbaugh, an 8th grade science teacher, has used PhET simulations in his class throughout this year, but now is able to use them on his summative or formative assessments on Edcite.
“With the additional Edcite feature of embedding a PHET simulation, I have been able to assess my Science students higher order thinking skills by having them apply, analyze and evaluate collected data. Using this technology allows me to incorporate 21st Century skills into my 8th grade classroom. ”
-Dave Limbaugh, Oakwood Middle School, Canton, OH
Check out these formative Edcite assignments that assess students using different simulations.
https://support.zoho.com/portal/edcite/kb/articles/adding-phet-simulations
Click here for some directions on how to create your own Edcite assignment using a PhET simulation—and don’t forget to share it in the library. 🙂
The Edcite Blog 
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