PhET simulations, short for the PhET Interactive Simulations project at the University of Colorado, Boulder, is a teaching and learning tool for physics, biology, chemistry, earth science, and math content. It provides free, game-like, animated, interactive, and research-based simulations in an open exploratory environment where they can engage and interact with math and science concepts.
PhET simulations engage students in learning, exploration, and discovery within a game-like environment. The focus of the simulations is conceptual understanding and the cause/effect relationships of the simulations’ content. All simulations are open source. Phet simulations are designed to be flexible tools that teachers can integrate into their classroom in a variety of ways. The PhET website has a variety of grade-appropriate activities, which have been written by other teachers that use PhET in their classrooms.
Teachers can adapt or modify the activities in PhET to suit students’ needs. If students have access to computers at home or in a computer lab in school, teachers can assign assignments in which students work with the simulation on their own and answer questions about it. PhET simulations can be used for demonstrations in lectures and can be used to supplement demonstrations when physical, real-time exploration is not possible.
PhET uses inclusive design approaches to create accessible interactive simulations that allow students to experience math and science concepts in new ways. Accessible simulations include verbal descriptions and feedback, the use of sound and music to represent foundational science and mathematics relationships, and alternative navigation that moves beyond mouse or touch inputs. Additional features include alternative input (ex. keyboard navigation), sound and sonification, interactive description, interactive description on mobile devices, pan and zoom, and voicing. PhET simulations have been written so that they are easily translated to languages other than English, and can be translated into more than 100 languages.
PhET Interactive Simulations is available for download from the iOS App Store, and the Google Play Store. The Privacy Policy and Terms of Use used for this evaluation can be found on the University of Colorado’s website, iOS App Store, and the Google Play Store.