INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE

Choose one Instructional Software title. Complete all fields in the following template to describe the
software and how you would use this product in your future classroom to help students achieve required
learning standards.
Note: This template uses the “forms” feature in MS Word. Select the highlighted text boxes and type over
the sample text. Simply click on the boxes to check them.

Name: Jacob Neils

Software Title: phET Interactive Simulations
URL: https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/new
Function(s) of Instructional Software (check all that apply):
Drill and Practice Tutorial Simulation Instructional Game e-books/e-references
Features of the Software (check all that apply):
Assessment Monitoring/Reporting (Keeps track of student data and/or generates reports for
the teacher) Allows teacher to create customized lessons for students Multi-user or
collaborative functions with others in class Multi-user or collaborative functions with others
beyond local class Accessible to students beyond the school day Accessible via mobile
devices Multiple languages Safety, security, and/or privacy features
Strengths of the Software:
 There are many different simulations and games to use, and a variety of topics covered in
multiple different discipline
 There are simulations of concepts and topics that can’t be directly observed in a classroom,
such as gene expression, nuclear decay and nuclear fission
 There are games that provide instant feedback on accuracy
 Access to the simulations is possible on a variety of media, including mobile devices and
chromebooks
 Registration provides activities and homework to use together with several of the
simulations.
 Teachers can share activities and homework they created to pair with simulation on the site
for other teachers to use
 It’s Free!
Suggestions for Improvement:
 While the games provide instant feedback on each problem or level attempted, there is no
way of tracking progress or performance currently, making the games difficult to use for
assessment or homework. Creating a tracking function to measure student progress would
allow the use of the games as homework practice
 Allowing for the use of all simulations without downloads would be nice
Standards Addressed: See https://www.georgiastandards.org/Pages/Default.aspx

S8P3. obtain, evaluate, and communicate information about cause and effect relationships between force,
mass, and the motion of objects.

b. Construct an explanation using Newton’s Laws of Motion to describe the effects of balanced and
unbalanced forces on the motion of an object.

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 INSTRUCTIONAL SOFTWARE

Grade Level/Content Area(s): 8th Grade Physical Science

Bloom’s Level of Critical Thinking Required (check all that apply). See
http://epltt.coe.uga.edu/index.php?title=Bloom%27s_Taxonomy
Remembering Understanding Applying Analyzing Evaluating Creating
Description of how to implement in the class: I would use phET as an introduction and part of a
pre-assessment for balanced and unbalanced forces using the tug of war simulation. The unit
would culminate in a “velocity vehicle” project where students would construct a vehicle to race,
requiring students to connect, analyze and apply what they know about forces and motion. I would
need to know how much my students already know about forces and acceleration; for this I would
use the tug of war simulation by having students put varying sizes and numbers of people on each
side and observing what happens. They would answer a set of questions in small groups on a
worksheet that I will collect to determine how much they knew already.

Plan:
 Students will divide into small groups
 Depending on the technology I have access to into the classroom, they will either place one large figure on the right side of
the simulation on their devices, or I will on the projector
 This will be followed by one large figure on the right and one medium and one small figure on the left
 Then we will have one large figure on each side and one small on the right, hit play on the simulation, and immediately
remove the small figure.
 I will then hand out the worksheet
 The worksheet will ask students to explain what happened in scenario one, two, and three and why.

* Examples of common instructional models include whole group, teacher-led, student self-paced, small
group, or individual learning activities. Use as many of these descriptors or other descriptors as apply.