Wolf Sheep Predation

This model explores the stability of predator-prey ecosystems. Such a system is called unstable if it tends to result in extinction for one or more species involved. In contrast, a system is stable if it tends to maintain itself over time, despite fluctuations in population sizes.

NetLogo

Northwestern University

Downlaodable PC

English

http://ccl.northwestern.edu/netlogo/models/WolfSheepPredation

Immune Attack

Immune Attack is a supplemental teaching tool, designed to be used in addition to middle school and high school biology textbooks. Immune Attack introduces molecular biology and cellular biology in detail that is usually reserved for college students. However, it uses the familiar and motivational video game format to introduce the strange and new world of cells and molecules.

Federation of American Scientists

Downloadable PC

English

http://www.fas.org/immuneattack/players/download

Sid the Science Kid

Variety of games based on Sid the Science Kid is a half-hour PBS Kids series that debuted on September 1, 2008. The computer generated show is produced by Jim Henson Productions and KCET in Los Angeles, California using the Henson Digital Puppetry Studio, which allows puppeteers to voice digitally animated characters in real time.

PBS Kids

Flash

English

http://pbskids.org/sid/index.html

Extreme Microbes

What does it take to survive on Mars? You'll find out in this lab as you design a microbe and release it on the Martian surface. Will it survive or perish? Your design of an extreme microbe will be key!

The JASON Project

Flash

English

Whyville

Whyville is an onling game environment geared towards preteens and children. Its goal is to engage its users in learning about a broad range of topics, from science and business to art and geography.

Whyville has received a number of awards from independent parent groups for its educational value and safety. For example, Whyville has received awards in 2006, 2007, and 2008 from iParenting as the best website for kids, and the best on the web for its safety features. In 2008 Whyville received a NAPPA (National Parenting Publication Award) Gold Award as a site that represented the best in its genre for kids.

As a simulation based virtual world, Whyville's users engage in games and roleplay sponsored by a wide range of governmental, non-profit, and corporate entities. Launched in 1999, by Numedeon Inc, Whyville was one of the first virtual worlds for children, and is one of the few virtual worlds whose purpose is primarily educational.

Numedeon Inc

Flash

English

http://www.whyville.net/

Quest Atlantis

In Quest Atlantis, there are a number of ways in which Questers can participate, in which these ideas are integrated, but three structures are most evident: Quests, Missions, and Units.

* Quests are curricular tasks that serve as important scaffolds to virtual and real-world explorations, to ensure effective content learning. Each Quest is connected both to academic standards and to our Social Commitments.

* Missions are collections of multiple learning opportunities and tasks interrelated through some general problem and narrative. While some Missions are entirely voluntary and are open to all Questers, others include Quests or classroom activities and must be activated by teachers.

* Units offer teachers an organized lesson plan of real-world and virtual activities that help to explore a particular content area. Each unit is designed to provide a meaningful learning experience that is engaging and educational, and that concerns real-world issues.

Quest Atlantis provides students entire worlds in which they are central, important participants; a place where their actions have significant impact on the world, and a place in which what one knows is directly related to what they are able to do and, ultimately, who they can become.

The Center for Research on Learning and Technology at the School of Education, Indiana University, Bloomington

Downloadable Mac and PC

English

http://atlantis.crlt.indiana.edu/

Rain Forest: From Floor to Canopy

Review the vertical stratification that occurs in a tropical rain forest. Select an animal to watch National Geographic footage and read more about how the animal survives in the rain forest. Play “Who Am I” and see if you can match the survival strategy with the correct animal.

The JASON Project

Flash

English

http://www.jason.org/digital_library/4747.aspx

Arctic Food Web

A food web is a model that shows a complex network of food chains in an ecosystem. In this activity, you can click on an organism in the arctic food web to see its relationship to other organisms and abiotic factors. Watch National Geographic footage of the organism interacting with its environment. Take a quiz to determine your understanding of food webs.

Chris Houston/ NAVTA

The JASON Project

Flash

English

http://www.jason.org/digital_library/4748.aspx

Resilient Planet

An offshore oil platform located in the Gulf of Mexico is scheduled to be dismantled via explosives. The local marine life, including two endangered sea turtle species (hawksbills and leatherbacks), is vulnerable to damage and thus needs to be protected throughout the process at all costs. In Mission 2 of Resilient Planet, players step into the role of a NOAA marine ecologist and licensed operator of the Hercules ROV working to decode a complex ecosystem according to the scientific process. Aided by archaeologist and oceanographer Bob Ballard, and equipped with a host of authentic scientific tools and practices, they must navigate the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary in search of data that will help them protect the local marine life.

Filament Games

The JASON Project

Downloadable Mac, Downloadable PC

English

http://www.jason.org/digital_library/6007.aspx

Transform it!

Ever wonder how energy gets from a heap of biomass to a streetlight? Then Transform It! is the game for you. Assemble contraptions out of components like furnaces, turbines, and generators in order to convert energy from a source (e.g. chemical energy stored in coal) into a form capable of powering a goal (e.g. a giant robot).

Filament Games

The JASON Project

HTML

English

http://www.jason.org/digital_library/6992.aspx