PhET Blog

Here’s an important update from our team regarding the ‘Offline Website Installer’:

Dear PhET Users,

If you have previously downloaded the PhET’s ‘Offline Website Installer’ from our web site and installed a full copy of the PhET website on your computer, we have some important information for you.  If you haven’t, please disregard this message.

Due to some recent changes to Oracle’s Java security model (update released January 14), you may encounter problems running our simulations from your local installation if and when you update your Java version.  If you run into such problems, or wish to avoid them, please download the latest update of PhET’s installer from our web site.  You can find the appropriate installer for your environment here: http://phet.colorado.edu/en/get-phet/full-install.  Please note that this affects only the full installation, and not individually downloaded simulations.

If you encounter any problems with this, please feel free to contact us at [email protected].  And, as always, thanks for being a PhET user.

Best Regards,
The PhET Team

A big ‘Thank You!’ to all of you who have already contributed to PhET during our crowdfunding campaigns so far!

If you have considered a donation, but haven’t gotten to it yet, there’s still time!

It takes a village – our village of PhET users and supporters – to bring high-quality science and math simulations to learners around the world. Won’t you join PhET and become a supporter today? Every donation – from $10 donations to larger gifts – helps to fund our efforts, and is much appreciated!

Thank you and Happy New Year!

Choose one or support both!

Build the “Teach with PhET” website:
Help us build the “Teach with PhET” website that will support teachers in your neighborhood and around the world…making it easier to use PhET sims.
Goal: $500,000 (or ~20,000 people giving ~$25 each)
Link: http://www.crowdrise.com/helpbuildteachwithphet

Bring Circuit Construction Kit to the iPad:
Help us publish the next-generation of one of our most popular simulations (used over 1 million times a year!), the Circuit Construction Kit DC. Your support will move this simulation to iPad and tablet compatibility using the latest HTML5 software technology.
Goal: $50,000 (or ~2,000 people giving ~$25 each).
Link: http://www.crowdrise.com/PhETHTML5CCKSimulation

It’s the holiday season and end of the year is approaching fast. As you’re going about your holiday shopping, you are probably also thinking about gift contributions before 2013 ends.

Please include PhET in your end-of-the-year gift contributions and give the gift of science and math to children around the world through one of our  crowdfunding campaigns. Any amount helps — minimum donation is $10. Choose one or support both!

Build the “Teach with PhET” website:
Help us build the “Teach with PhET” website that will support teachers in your neighborhood and around the world…making it easier to use PhET sims.
Goal: $500,000 (or ~20,000 people giving ~$25 each)
Link: http://www.crowdrise.com/helpbuildteachwithphet

Bring Circuit Construction Kit to the iPad:
Help us publish the next-generation of one of our most popular simulations (used over 1 million times a year!), the Circuit Construction Kit DC. Your support will move this simulation to iPad and tablet compatibility using the latest HTML5 software technology.
Goal: $50,000 (or ~2,000 people giving ~$25 each).
Link: http://www.crowdrise.com/PhETHTML5CCKSimulation

Have you received our December 2013 newsletter?

Learn more about the new “Teach with PhET” site, see our new logo and see more on our HTML5 simulations.

Don’t forget PhET this holiday season. Donate to PhET’s Crowdfunding Campaigns:

• Bringing Circuit Construction Kit to iPads
• Building the “Teach with PhET” website

Thank you PI, a manufacturer of precision motion systems, for becoming a corporate sponsor of Optical Tweezers and Applications.  Your support will help PhET upgrade our servers to the latest technology and keep the simulations free for students around the world.

If you’d like to join PI and become a sponsor, please consider supporting PhET in your annual year-end donations. Every donation helps! Together we can improve the way science and math are learned. Choose:

• Bringing Circuit Construction Kit to iPads
• Building the “Teach with PhET” website

Has PhET been slow or unresponsive?

We first want to apologize for the inconvenience, and let you know that we’re working hard to find a solution. But we need your help…

We need to upgrade to the latest technology, and as a non-profit, your donation to the “Teach with PhET” site will also help upgrade PhET’s software and hardware. Just giving $10 to the Building the “Teach with PhET” website crowdfunding campaign will make a difference–a little from our community will go a long way!

Please support PhET in your annual end-of-year donations and you’ll not only be helping you, and your students, but also students around the world. Together we can improve the way science and math are learned.

Please join us this #GivingTuesday and give the gift of science and math to millions of children around the world.

It takes a village to build quality open (that is, free) education resources. And, that’s what PhET Interactive Simulations at University of Colorado Boulder has been doing since 2002. We work hard to make science and math fun and exciting — and accessible for everyone.

But we need your help! If you’re an educator, parent, student, STEM supporter or a company, please consider giving to one of our new crowdfunding campaigns. Any amount helps — minimum donation is $10. Choose one or support both!

Build the “Teach with PhET” website:
Help us build the “Teach with PhET” website that will support teachers in your neighborhood and around the world…making it easier to use PhET sims.
Goal: $500,000 (or ~20,000 people giving ~$25 each)
Link: http://www.crowdrise.com/helpbuildteachwithphet

Bring Circuit Construction Kit to the iPad:
Help us publish the next-generation of one of our most popular simulations (used over 1 million times a year!), the Circuit Construction Kit DC. Your support will move this simulation to iPad and tablet compatibility using the latest HTML5 software technology.
Goal: $50,000 (or ~2,000 people giving ~$25 each).
Link: http://www.crowdrise.com/PhETHTML5CCKSimulation

Consider not only donating yourself, but also spreading the word.

• Post on Facebook and Twitter
• Forward this email to your listservs, schools, colleagues, and friends
• Post on your website
• Share with others this effort of making learning science and math more fun and accessible to children at home and around the world.

 
Thanks for being part of our STEM village this holiday season!

Your PhET Team,
Ariel, Bryce, Carl, Chris, Emily, Jesse, John, Jonathan, Julia, Karina, Kathy D, Kathy P, Linda, Mike, Noah, Oliver N, Oliver O, Robert, Sam M, Sam R, Steele, Stephanie, Trish, and Yuen-Ying

Has PhET been slow or simply not working?

We’re actively working on the problem and hope to have it resolved soon. In the interim, if you’re planning on using PhET in your classroom, please consider downloading the simulations in advance to ensure that you and your students can work on PhET sims.

Please e-mail [email protected], or post a Facebook or blog message, to let us know when you are having a problem.

Thank you SPIE for featuring PhET in the SPIE Newsroom. In the video, see Director, Kathy Perkins, speak about how PhET’s science simulations facilitate STEM education and develop problem-solving skills.

We are searching for qualified candidates who are interested in joining the PhET team as a full- or part-time Professional Research Assistant.

With our current emphasis on building and studying simulations for middle school math and science, advancing our teacher professional development resources and support system, branching into tablet and touch-compatible simulation design, and advancing the use of simulations in undergraduate chemistry, responsibilities will include (but are not limited to):

1) Redesigning existing simulations, incorporating new findings on effective sim design and adapting designs for use on touch-devices. (Software programming is NOT required. PhET has a team of in-house software developers).
2) Designing new simulations
3) Supporting simulation design, development, and research efforts – e.g. analyzing data, supporting classroom research studies, searching for web resources, etc.
5) Helping to liaison to and support the K12 community.

For more information and specific qualifications, see the online posting at:

https://www.jobsatcu.com/postings/72825

Please consider applying! And, share this information with your colleagues who might be interested.

Thanks!