I love rocks. I come by this genetically on my father’s side, where 4 generations of us have headed west to glimpse the amazing geology of North America, a snapshot of Earth’s past. It can be difficult to grasp the slow march of time that was necessary to create such wonders, even when you are there to see them yourself.
My middle-school students are tasked to understand how plate tectonics yields an amazing array of features, from the Marianas Trench to the Himalayas. Static drawings sometimes just can’t illustrate these processes. The science educators at PhET at University of Colorado save the day. They provide, free-of-charge, a way for teachers to show students the inner workings of our world. These simulations are engineered to aid learning and it shows in their simplicity of use. Today I discovered their “Plate Tectonics” sim and find it fits perfectly into my upcoming Earth science unit.
Before you download it, see if it’s something you’d like to use in your classroom in this under-3-minute explainer video: tiny.cc/tectonicplatesimdemo
What is your favorite Phet sim? How do you use sims in your classroom? Comment below.
See all the sims at phet.colorado.edu
The Green Pen 