Kate Ottolini

Educ 305

Technology Expert Module:

Gizmos!

Overview

Gizmos are provided by ExploreLearning.com, and they are an excellent tool for educators, specifically math and science teachers. Gizmos are defined by the ExploreLearning website to be interactive online simulations for math and science studentsthat make key concepts easier to understand and fun to learn. They are intended for students grades 3-12, and they are used by teachers throughout the United States.

The effectiveness of Gizmos as a learning tool, has been documented in a number of studies. For example, a study by the ExploreLearning team entitled “Why Gizmos Work: Empirical Evidence for the Instructional Effectiveness Of ExploreLearning’s Interactive Content” investigated how Gizmos address the four instructional techniques identified by Marzano (1998) that best facilitate student achievement. These techniques are listed below:

representing new knowledge in graphic/nonlinguistic formats
using manipulatives to explore new knowledge and practice applying it
generating and testing hypotheses about new knowledge
direct presentation of new knowledge, followed by application

(Note: A concise summary of this paper can be found at

Gizmos are available for a wide range of topics in science and math such as photosynthesis, cell division, forest ecology, the photoelectric effect, logarithmic and exponential functions, etc. Teachers who create an ExploreLearning account can browse through various lists of gizmos (broken down by grade level and subject) to find one that matches their curriculum. Most importantly, Gizmos are correlated to state curriculum standards and over 200 textbooks, so they fit nicely into almost any state- or district-mandated curriculum. As a future secondary science teacher, I will be focusing on how to incorporate Gizmos into the science classroom.

How to Get Started With Gizmos!

To get access to these simulations, you do not need an account. The simulations themselves and supporting materials (e.g., student exploration sheet, vocabulary sheet, and assessment questions) are free and available for everyone to use. However, as a teacher, it is a good idea to set up an account, as this will allow you to organize your simulations, give your students access to the list of simulations, and check student understanding by reviewing their answers to the assessment questions.

Many schools will have purchased the ExploreLearning package and will provide login information for teachers. If your school does not have a deal with ExploreLearning, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial. Simply go to and there should be an orange button labeled “Free Trial” in the upper righthand corner.

Once you have created an account or signed up for a free trial, it’s important to familiarize yourself with the website and with Gizmos in general. If you follow the link there is a list of helpful videos about how to get started with your account and some demo videos about teaching with Gizmos.

The most helpful video I’ve found is called “Getting Started with Gizmos.” It’s about 5 minutes long and can be found at Key points from the video are bulleted below.

When you first log in, you’ll be taken to your “Me Page,” which is your home base on ExploreLearning.com. It’s designed to help you get the latest news about Gizmos and see what other teachers are sharing on the website.
If you ever need to update your username and password, go to “Settings” in the upper righthand corner of your Me Page.
On your homepage, you can “Add Classes” for each class you are teaching, and you can rename the class. The system allows up to six classes per teacher.
To find Gizmos, you can type a few key words into the Search field. You can also click “Browse Gizmos” along the top menu bar to search for gizmos by grade level and topic.

On this same “Browse Gizmos” page, you can search for gizmos that relate to state standards or even the textbook you are using for the course.

Once you have chosen a Gizmo, you will find lesson objectives listed below the simulation and links to lesson materials (i.e., student exploration sheet, exploration guide answer sheet, teacher guide, and vocabulary sheet) will be to the right.

Once you open the Gizmo, five assessment questions will be listed below the simulation box.
To add the Gizmo to one of your classes, simply click the “Add Gizmo to Class” button on the top right. Students in the class will then be able to view the Gizmo without having to search for it, and you will be able to view their assessment results.
You can add headings or rearrange your list of Gizmos any time by clicking “Manage Gizmo List.”
To add students to your class roster, simply click “Manage Roster” and enter students one-by-one. You could also have students add themselves by visiting the ExploreLearning website and entering their class code.

If you would rather not watch a video tutorial, there are also helpful how-to’s and fact sheets within the LearningCenter section of the website. The link to this section is
Using the simulations themselves is rather intuitive and should not be too difficult if you try working with it for a little while. Also, the student exploration sheets and teacher guides provide some directions for using the Gizmos.

Classroom Examples

Chicken Genetics Lab!

Karen Hobbs at SoutheastPolkHigh School in Johnston, Iowa has developed a lab to teach students about codominance (a genetics-based concept) using Gizmos. In this lab, students look at how feather color in chickens is passed down from parents to their offspring. The goal is that students will come to realize that this is a different type of inheritance than simple dominance/recessiveness of alleles. The teacher plans to use the Gizmo as a lead-in inquiry activity, wherein she “breeds” chickens of two different colors and the simulator shows the feather colors of the offspring. Students then generate hypotheses about the reasons for these offspring color ratios.

Link to the Lesson Plan:

Classifying Triangles Activity!

Two geometry teachers, Mr. Kennedy and Ms. Hobbs, have created a lesson plan using the Classifying Triangles Gizmo. The lesson is intended for their geometry classes, though they have students with a range of grade levels (9th-11th) and abilities (special education-general education). The goal of the lesson is for students to identify and classify triangles by angles, to identify and classify triangles by sides, and to determine missing values pertaining to angle measure or length of side. Students use the Gizmo to manipulate triangle sides and fill out an associated worksheet. If the students cannot complete the activity in one class period, it can spill over into the following class period. The teachers will most likely follow this activity with a review of the worksheet and a class discussion of triangle types.

Link to the Lesson Plan:

Phases of the Moon Exercise!

Kathy Prine at CM Fagan school uses the Phases of the Moon Gizmo, to introduce the concept to her 4th-6th grade students. Her lesson includes a number of components, but the first part is a class exploration of the Gizmo using a teacher computer and projector. This activity is very quick and simply intended to get the students thinking about the phases of the moon and how they change. After the teacher and students play around with the simulator for a while, they answer the assessment questions provided on the ExploreLearning website. The lesson then continues with an exploration of Virtual Reality Moon Phase Pictures to see what phase the moon is currently in. Later, students do another interactive exercise called “Moon Challenge” to solidify their understanding of the topic.

Link to the Lesson Plan:

Electricity: Building Circuits!

This lesson was developed to teach a 6th grade class about electrical circuits. According to the teacher, the objectives for the lesson are 1) demonstrate understanding that electrical energy can be transformed into other forms of energy, 2) design and construct a variety of electrical circuits and investigate ways in which electrical energy is transformed into other forms of energy, 3) identify uses of electricity in the home and community and evaluate the impact of these uses on both our quality of life and the environment. The entire first day of the lesson is devoted to a “pre-Gizmo” laboratory activity in which students illustrate the concept of chemical reactions. On the second day, the students all complete the prior knowledge questions on the Student Exploration Worksheet provided by ExploreLearning.com. The class then discusses student answers, but the teacher does not provide the correct solutions. After this, the class completes the Gizmo activity, and students are later quizzed on the knowledge they gained using the Gizmo.

Link to the Lesson Plan:

Assessing … for the Classroom

Pro’s

Gizmos present difficult concepts in a fun, visual, and interactive format. This helps facilitate exploration and inquiry.
They are research-based tools whose effectiveness in the classroom has been well-documented by a number of studies conducted by ExploreLearning.com and various outside parties.
They can be used in a variety of ways, including for small-group work, individual exploration, and whole class instruction using an LCD projector or interactive whiteboard.
They are easy to integrate into your pre-existing curriculum, as they are correlated to state standards and over 200 textbooks.
They come with a variety of supplementary materials and instructions for implementation.
The ExploreLearning.com website comes equipped with a number of helpful videos and instruction sheets for setting up your account and using Gizmos effectively in the classroom.
The process of creating classes and adding students within your ExploreLearning account is relatively simple and hassle-free.

Con’s

Though there is a 30-day free trial available, teachers must eventually have an account through their school in order to use Gizmos long-term. Not all schools will have purchased the Gizmo package, which may make it very difficult for teachers to use this tool in their classrooms.
Some Gizmos are more intuitive than others, and students may need extra support navigating the more complex simulations.
Using Gizmos in the classroom requires that there be at least one computer, which may not be the case in certain high-need schools.
Gizmos are available for a variety of different topics, but simulations are not available for certain key concepts in the curriculum. For example, there is no Gizmo available for meiosis, which is a major concept in a high school biology course.

Considerations for Teachers

Teachers should be aware of their classroom’s access to computers. If there is only one computer and a projector, this will necessitate a whole-class exploration of the Gizmo, which may not be as valuable as individual exploration.
Teachers should be careful not to let the Gizmo stand alone. In other words, the Gizmo activity should be used as a supplement to your curriculum, not the sole tool for illustrating a concept.
Teachers should familiarize themselves with the ins-and-outs of the Gizmos before using them in lessons. If the teacher doesn’t understand how to use them, then he/she will not be able to assist students if they have questions.
Be wary of assigning Gizmo activities for homework, as not all students will have a computer at home or an email address with which to connect to the class ExploreLearning account.
Make sure to know the learning preferences of your students. Students who are primarily verbal learners may find the Gizmos confusing and may need extra support.