Real people sharing real success

Gizmos

“I think the Gizmos helped students have the ability to talk about what was learned by pulling data from the Gizmos. This has increased engagement, especially with students being prompted with "well what evidence from the Gizmos helps support this?"”

Gizmos

“I have found the students are much more engaged in the conversations and dialogues on topic when completing a Gizmo. They are always asking each other for the results and clarifications. They are willing and eager to help one another and check answers. It is a wonderful thing to see.”

Gizmos

“Gizmos were well-aligned with the TEKS for Chemistry. For example, our classes utilized the Electron Configuration, Ionic Bonding, and Element Builder simulations, all of which directly supported the concepts outlined in the TEKS. The skills and content addressed in these Gizmos matched the learning objectives students were required to master, making them a strong instructional fit for our curriculum. Additionally, the practice questions provided also help students assess themselves to see if they understood the concepts.”

Gizmos

“Students are very engaged and love Gizmos. In the classes I have led, the conversations we have been able to have around the Gizmo and deepening their understanding has been great!”

Gizmos

“My students absolutely loved the Gizmo about building the storm-proof home. I received good feedback from parents that their children even went home discussing how fun it was learning about what materials can be used to storm-proof homes in areas where hurricanes are common. I observed that my students enjoyed experimenting with the different options presented on the Gizmo before starting the activity.”

Gizmos

“Gizmos naturally foster engaged conversation and dialogue because the interactive models prompt immediate "what if" questions and testable predictions. Students in groups were constantly negotiating which variable to change next and justifying their predictions based on their prior knowledge or observations from the simulation. The simulations encourage students to use scientific vocabulary to explain the phenomena they were seeing, moving beyond passive learning into active explanation.”

Gizmos

“Gizmos helped them [students] prepare for the exams and have a better understanding of how systems work.”

Gizmos

“The 'hands-on' nature of the Gizmos lessons has helped students gain confidence in engaging in science, because they want to actively participate.”

Gizmos

“They [students] learned that science is fun and like a game, so they had no hesitation when it came to following the scientific method. They loved doing the online experiments and were so curious, they wanted to do it at home.”

Gizmos

“After completing the fan cart Gizmo I had my students design a new ride for a theme park using the information about mass and speed from the gizmo. They loved it! We were also able to work in math as they had to purchase the materials and bid out the project for their prototype.”