Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


CK-12 Foundation Debuts Free STEM Simulations

The CK-12 Foundation has launched a simulations module, designed to improve engagement through physics simulations, for its free STEM learning platform.

"CK-12 designed the new physics simulations (sims) to bridge the abstract and real world to help students learn key concepts by relating them to real world examples all around them," according to an news release. "Each of the sims helps to explain multiple concepts in an engaging and relevant way that students can understand and enjoy."
CK-12's

The CK-12 site currently lists 93 sims available with 27 more "coming soon." Examples of sims available now include:

  • "Stadium Wave," which uses fans in a stadium to demonstrate concepts about wave speed and interference;
  • "Prom Night," which uses a student in front of a mirror to explore ideas about reflection and planes;
  • "Doppler Ducks" uses simulated ducks to demonstrate the Doppler effect and waves; and
  • "Malt Shop," a simulation that demonstrates concepts related to friction, work and kinetic energy.

Compatible with any Internet connected tablet or computer, the HTML5 simulations include challenge questions designed to test understanding and reinforce concepts.

Though currently available sims explore physics concepts, future simulations will cover other STEM topics. CK-12 also plans to make the simulations customizable in the "near future," according to information released by the organization.

"Interactivity is key in classrooms today to deepen student engagement and expand learning," said CK-12 Founder and Executive Director Neeru Khosla, in a prepared statement. "We've created a full range of sims to help get students and teachers started and then we will be adding tools to enable them to customize and share their own sims." 

More information is available at interactives.ck12.org.

About the Author

Joshua Bolkan is contributing editor for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Engineering team implements digital guardrails on AI

    3 Starting Points for Integrating AI Guardrails in K-12 Districts

    As education leaders start to craft an AI policy that is both practical and flexible enough to evolve with this fast-changing technology, there is at least one principle that should be foundational: AI should serve to augment human critical thinking and creativity but never replace human interaction and decision-making.

  • large cloud icon on the right in an abstract world above a polygon with a dark blue background

    Cloud Security Alliance Expands Agentic AI Governance Work

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) has announced a series of CSAI Foundation milestones aimed at securing what it calls the agentic control plane, including a new catastrophic risk initiative, CVE Numbering Authority authorization, and the acquisition of two agentic AI specifications.

  • Double exposure image of coin stacks on technology financial graph background

    The Budget Cut that Changes Everything in K-12

    ESSER funding, the post-COVID lifeline that enabled many districts to invest in data collection and research, is coming to an end. For districts that relied on those dollars to conduct surveys and gather community feedback, the impact is significant.

  • futuristic representation of interconnected individuals within a digital network

    OpenAI Launches Fellowship to Fund External AI Safety Research

    OpenAI is expanding safety efforts beyond its walls with a new six-month Safety Fellowship that will fund external researchers to study AI risks.