PhET: Free online, physics, chemistry, biology, earth science & math simulations

The PhET project offers free interactive science simulations from the University of Colorado.  The following information was gathered from the PhET site to help summarize what the site offers.


In December 2010, the PhET Interactive Simulations Project at the University of Colorado at Boulder received grants totaling $2.5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the O'Donnell Foundation to expand its reach to middle school science. The team of scientists, educators, and software engineers for the ongoing project design online simulations that demonstrate how scientific concepts apply in real-world scenarios. The simulations are made available free of charge to all science classes and students that wish to use them to enhance the practical components of education.


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.)


Principal sponsors of the site include the The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the National Science Foundation (NSF), Excellence Center of Science and Mathematics Education at King Saud University, and the O'Donnell Foundation.

Safe Search Engines

The following list of Safe Search engines was shared on the Tech Learning site:
Top 10 Safe Search Engines by David Kapuler

1. Sweet Search - A group of experts, including librarians and teachers, evaluates all content from this search engine.
2. Top Marks - A great site developed in the UK by teachers who approved everything on this site.
3. Quintura for Kids - An innovative search engine for kids that displays results in a cloud-based style. Also, has apps for mobile devices.
4. Kid Rex - Wonderful search engine designed around Google's safe search. Very nice visual appeal for kids.
5. Ask Kids -  Search engine designed for kids ages 6-12.
6. Yahoo Kids - Previously known as Yahooligans, Yahoo Kids is a fun site for kids to gather information on the internet.
7. Famhoo -  Family-friendly search engine that filters all content.
8. One Key - Developed in 1996, One Key, in collaboration with Google, does a nice job of creating a safe search engine.
9. Google (safe search) - Google has a safe-search setting which can be locked into place at the browser level for those that use Firefox.
10. Nettrekker -  Great paid site for searching the web -- not only for students but for teachers as well.

Wonderopolis

Have you seen Thinkfinity's newest feature? It is called Wonderopolis and it is a place for families to go where parents can interact with their children on a daily topic.

Visit the site to view the Wonder of the Day which includes:

• Video related to the topic
• Have you ever wondered . . . . questions related to the topic
• Did you know?  Background information and facts that may include additional web links 
• Try it out!  Try activities related to the topic 
• Wonder words to know and use:  Words used in the topic information 
• Wonder what's next?  A hint related to the next, upcoming topic

For example, have you ever wondered, "Do French Fries Really Come from France?"  Wonder #24 explores the topic of french fries and where the name originated.   Visit the site daily for a new Wonder topic.  Explore previous Wonders by browsing or selecting a category name.   You can even nominate a Wonder of the Day!  You can share the site with others using social networking tools such as Twitter, Facebook, Digg, Delicious, and StumbleUpon.

Parents will find helpful resources by clicking on the "about" link at the top of the page.  Wonderopolis is provided by the National Center for Family Literacy (NCFL).  Click on "additional resources" on the about page to link to Family Resources provided by the NCFL.

Remember to have fun with your child as you explore this wonderful site!

Teachers:  Ideas on using Wonderopolis in the classroom:
-- Translate the Wonderopolis page from English to Spanish using http://babelfish.yahoo.com
Enter the URL for Wonderopolis on the Babelfish site in the box for Translate a web page.  Next  Select from and to languages.  Then click the Translate button.
--Use a Wonderopolis topic as a writing prompt in your classroom
--Explore the categories for information on a research topic
--Guide parents to the Family Resources provided by NCFL
--Share the site at a PTA/PTO meeting or with parents at conference time
--Add the website link to your classroom webpage