SimInsights helps Seattle students engage deeply with Physics concepts

Michael Town,  Physics teacher at University Prep high school in Seattle, Washington, set an ambitious goal for his students to work on a project with simulations: every student was assigned to build their own simulations to challenge each other’s understanding of constant velocity and acceleration in 1 and 2 dimensions. The experience was deep, rich and open-ended, resulting in a greater variety of responses from students relative to a traditional activity. 

 Michael is a Knowles Science Teaching Fellow, and holds MS and PhD degrees in Atmospheric Sciences from University of Washington, and MS in Teaching from Seattle University.

SimInsights selected as semifinalist for 2012 Milken-PennGSE Education Business Plan Competition

SimInsights has been selected as a semi-finalist in the 2012 Milken-PennGSE Education Business Plan Competition organized by the University of Pennsylvania! Only 20% of the submissions make it this far.

In addition to competing for the Milken Family Foundation's First and Second Prize, SimInsights has also been chosen as semi-finalist in the following prize categories: The Startl Prize, The American Public University System Prize and the Erudient Borderless Education Prize!

The Erudient Borderless Education Prize is the award for the best business plan that addresses the educational needs of the students, practitioners, and education systems of all countries, regardless of geography, demographics, or socioeconomic status.  The intent is to create new thought and structure for education models that address the challenges facing the global community, rather than at a regional/country level, and to support the growth and success of all educators and students alike. The Borderless Education Prize amount is $10,000.

SimInsights invited to present at Gulf Comparative Education Society (GCES) Symposium in Bahrain

SimInsights invited to present at Gulf Comparative Education Society (GCES) Symposium in Bahrain 

SimInsights Inc has been awarded a grant and invited to present the innovative SimInsights platform at the Gulf Comparative Education Society (GCES) Symposium to be held in Bahrain on March 24-25. This year's focus is Global Innovation, Local Adaptation: Trends & Reactions.

Title (Dr., Prof.,): Arun R. Srinivasa (Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station and Qatar)

Iman Khandil (Teaching Associate, Texas A&M University, Qatar)

and

 Rajesh Jha (President & CEO, SimInsights Inc., Irvine, California, USA)

Title of Abstract:

Web based simulation tool to enhance student engagement and participation in Engineering Mechanics course at Texas A&M University (TAMU) at Doha, Qatar

Abstract

Faculty teaching engineering mechanics have always contended that one of the major difficulties with student understanding is the fact that they do not have an intuitive ``feel’’ (ability to qualitatively predict or anticipate physical events based on experience gained by prior unscripted interaction with physical objects). This need for ``feel’’ for dynamics is a result of the fact that they  satisfy a number of constraints  that have to be internalized before physical components can be built and that severely restrict the  feasibility of creative possibilities. This lack of ``feel’’ or ``experience’’ with such objects is especially acute at TAMU Qatar where students are by and large unfamiliar with most engineering tools, having no prior  interaction with them. We are seeking to answer the following question, “can students develop at least a part of the ‘’feel’’ by using the SimInsights web based simulation tool that is operated by the students themselves to explore dynamics, together with some specially developed scripted lessons?” We will show some of the lessons developed at TAMU-Qatar and demonstrate how the web based interactive nature of the software allows the instructor to focus on the lesson without concerns about software incompatibility, maintenance etc.