Fun PhET-Embedded Storylines for Virtual Teaching with Genially
Suzanne Sprague is an experienced U.S.-based science educator and lover of educational technology. The moment the world was hit with the COVID pandemic and inevitable school lock-downs, she sprang into action to create new resources to teach science effectively online. Wanting to help overwhelmed teachers, she began to put her own teaching resources online, creating the Virtual Science Teachers website.
“I started to create and share online escape rooms and fun little science lessons using Genially. And then, I realized I could embed PhET Interactive Simulations into the Genially interactives! This was a game changer. Not only could I create fun and engaging science lessons that anyone in the world can use freely. But, I could also include simulations that allow students to learn by manipulating variables and observing the results.”
Suzanne’s interactives provide structured guidance for self-assessment about concepts that students learn within the PhET simulation, and often also provide a storyline that weaves together an engaging plot, video resources, and questions that students must answer correctly in order to advance.
For example, the Waves Part 2: Electromagnetic Waves Save the Day! follows the visit of a little green alien to planet Earth. In trying to communicate back home through the void of space, students learn about the differences between mechanical waves (which require a medium to travel) and electromagnetic waves (which do not).
Suzanne has produced about twenty-four interactives, about half of which include PhET simulations. To ensure that they are helpful to teachers, her own children, Henry (11) and Hannah (15) work through them and provide feedback. She also reaches out to Genially and PhET so that she can effectively integrate the two tools together.
Among her many interactives, those that include PhET simulations are below. With the support of teachers in Mexico, some have been translated into Spanish as well:
- Atoms Simulation (also available in Spanish)
- Molecules
- Energy and its Many Forms
- Why Does Ice Float?
- Potential and Kinetic Energy Skate Park (also available in Spanish)
- Electromagnetic Waves Part 1: Mechanical Waves
- Waves Part 2: Electromagnetic Waves Save the Day!
Tens of thousands of students and teachers from around the world make use of these interactives and other resources on her website, and we encourage you to check them out!
“My desk is covered with sticky notes of the different ideas I have for new interactives I want to make. So far, I’ve created about two dozen and I plan to keep making many more. I’m having a lot of fun and I feel good doing what I can to support teachers and contribute to the incredibly important cause of science education.”
