麻豆影院

CU 麻豆影院鈥檚 PhET Interactive Simulations is one of six听winners of听the prestigious, international WISE Award from the WISE Foundation.

A STEM education project at the 麻豆影院 has earned one of its biggest accomplishments to date: It is one of six winners of the . This prestigious international award recognizes innovative educational projects that address challenges and bring transformative societal change.听

The听CU 麻豆影院 project, known as the , is a pioneering science and math educational resource that seeks to improve STEM (or science, technology, engineering and mathematics) literacy and accessibility across the globe through free, open-source educational software. Since its inception, it has been used more than 80 million times a year by students and teachers across the educational spectrum.

This award by the WISE Initiative expands the program鈥檚 ability to reach new audiences and form new partnerships across the globe, said Kathy Perkins, director of PhET Interactive Simulations.

鈥淭o be selected from the many deserving projects is truly a great honor for our team,鈥� Perkins said. 鈥淭his听WISE听Award affirms the importance of advancing STEM learning and literacy in today's world and the positive impact high-quality open-educational resources can have at scale. We are proud to see PhET simulations benefiting so many teachers and learners worldwide.鈥�

PhET, which originally stood for 鈥淧hysics Education Technology,鈥� was started by听Carl Wieman 鈥� a former CU 麻豆影院 physics professor and one of five Nobel Laureates from the university 鈥� when he saw the educational force that physics simulations provided to his audiences.听

Using part of his Nobel Prize winnings and a grant from the National Science Foundation Distinguished Teaching Scholars program, Wieman founded the PhET project at CU 麻豆影院 in 2002 to encourage scientific literacy through interactive, research-based learning.听

鈥淢y original goal with PhET was just to help people by making learning science 鈥� physics 鈥� easier and more fun,鈥� said Wieman, who is now an engineering, education and physics professor at Stanford University.

While PhET originally focused solely on physics simulations and education, today it addresses a global need to improve science and math education with more than 140 simulations in topics ranging from plate tectonics to calculus to natural selection.听

These simulations are all designed using the same principles: They need to be interactive and flexible, encourage scientific inquiry, create real-world connections for users, and include multiple representations of the problem in question, like using numbers along with graphs or object motion. Altogether, the simulations create an environment for productive exploration.听

Over the years, PhET鈥檚 reach has expanded across disciplines and around the globe, and is now translated into 90 languages and used in more than 200 countries and territories.

鈥淚t鈥檚 fantastic that it鈥檚 being used so widely,鈥� said Wieman. 鈥淚t鈥檚 way beyond I ever imagined.鈥�

The WISE initiative is supported by the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development. The other projects that won this year include Boston-based The Speed School, the engineering college 42, Lights to Learn, The Learner Guide Program and Ubongo Edutainment.

鈥淔rom rural Tanzania and South America to Silicon Valley and Paris, our six WISE Awards winners reflect the wide range of what can be achieved in advancing education 鈥� whatever the social or geographical context 鈥� when there is a creative solution and a determination to see it through. We look forward to showcasing our winners and runners-up at the WISE Summit in Doha in November, and to supporting their progress as they grow鈥� commented Stavros N. Yiannouka, the CEO of WISE, in a press release by the organization.

In addition to greater coverage of the work that PhET Interactive Simulations does for STEM education, they will also receive $20,000 to further their goals.

鈥淥ur team is passionate about supporting听all听learners in learning science and math,鈥� said Perkins. 鈥淲e believe the new connections afforded by the听WISE听Award could easily double our worldwide reach and support for STEM teachers and learners.鈥�