Testimonials
General
"Teaching kids math in a science context is always a challenge. I think you've really hit on something with the addition of math in the Inq-ITS labs, assessments, and scaffolds. I also really like how each stage of the inquiry process, the associated math, and their inter-relatedness are handled in Inq-ITS.
Your results show huge promise, and the fact that the results were yielded with a very diverse set of students is especially promising since strategy-type training tends to favor students who are already doing very well."
- David Helm, K-12 Science Instructional Specialist, KY
“Of all the computer based programs this one addresses inquiry learning! Love seeing my students learn deeply. It’s a definite “go to” for classrooms. The scientific method connected to experimentations.”
- Angel Bonds, Scottsville, KY
“Using Google as the LMS was very easy and I appreciate that it is showing up right now in my classroom as a draft.”
- Science Teacher, NJ
“Neat to have a quiet support for kids right at their elbow. Makes learning both a team sport and individual. Observing Inq-ITS in use is a vision of an improbable term...a personalization of the classroom without losing the teacher’s part of the system.”
- Betsy Stefany, Sabens Group, New Hampshire “STEM for All”
“I saw Inq-ITS at the NSTA regional conference in National Harbor, and I was immediately struck by the innovation of combining AI with virtual labs. I have used the two demonstration labs (Ramp 1 and Ramp 2) to introduce the concepts to students, then had them conduct Free Fall with only the Rubric to support them.
…I was startled by how readily they adapted to the program features, how the Inq-Blotter allowed instant diagnosis so I could help them, and how Rex intuits their difficulties.
I teach eight classes a day, 35 minutes a period, of physical science to 6th graders of all abilities (SpEd, ES, Gifted, ESL). Labs are necessarily simple due to the time constraints. With Inq-ITS, students have been able to run multiple virtual trials, explore changing independent and dependent variables, and write about their experiences.
…Every child has shown growth going from Ramp 1 to Free Fall; many are excelling at writing detailed, scientifically sound claims/evidence/reasoning reports in just the three weeks we have used it.
…During the second week, I invited my principal in to see, and he was stunned that the combination of "natural language" reading and AI so quickly interpreted the kids' writing.
…This is as much a writing improvement program as it is rigorous science.”
- Malcolm McKinsey, Kunkletown, PA
"Virtual labs can have a great place in the science classroom. Time and resource availability are often scarce, and the Inq-ITS labs allow my students to explore scientific concepts with an inquiring and exploratory lens that they may not have had the ability to otherwise. I really appreciate that digital labs such as this one allow teachers to collect and view digital data on our students' performance. It has really streamlined my formative assessments for these kinds of activities! I also appreciate that the standards being measured are consistent throughout the labs, so its very easy to track student growth if Inq-ITS labs are used consistently with the same students."
- Heather Feinberg, Teacher, North Marion School District (Aurora, OR)
“This was my first year using Inq-ITS in my classroom and have found it to be a very valuable resource. I use the microworlds at the completion of a unit as a formative assessment for my students. The results help drive my instruction and optimize student grouping. Students find the microworlds very engaging and they are able to connect the concepts they have learned with actual situations and real data, while sharpening their inquiry skills. Not only were the reports valuable to me in assessing my student’s progress, they were valuable evidence I was able to provide to my administrators as part of the new teacher evaluation process. In addition, the reports were very easy to upload to TeachPoint, the online teacher evaluation system now used by many districts.”
- Pam Perry, Teacher, Bellingham Middle School (Bellingham, MA)
“[TIPS] basically enabled me to get straight to the point. It saved me time. I knew exactly what their problem was and how to approach it.”
- Science Teacher, AZ
“My students really enjoy these virtual labs-I love that it is not a cookie cutter lab when everything is done for them-they have to select their hypothesis, determine their variables, and construct their scientific argument-it scaffolds the process for them really well, and gives me valuable feedback.”
- Science Teacher, GA
“Inq-ITS allows me to use content and experiments that are pertinent to what we’re doing in class as well as still being available for those other wonderful tools to help them and that real-time monitoring that they need at times.”
- Science Teacher, ND
“I used the Inq-ITS platform as a way to monitor all my ELL students’ progress and see where they were struggling in real-time.”
- Science Teacher, ND
“My students have learned so much about the science process from this program! When we write claim, evidence, and reasoning in the classroom they now automatically look for the data thanks to Inq-ITS.”
- Angela Marksberry, Henderson, Kentucky, 2018 Kentucky Science Teacher Award Winner.
“I believe the grading capability is a huge game-changer when you have 80+ kids’ work to score and provide feedback, it helps with time management.”
- Science Teacher, MO
“My students have learned so much about the science process from this program! When we write claim, evidence, and reasoning in the classroom, they now automatically look for data, thanks to Inq-ITS!”
- Science Teacher, KY
“My students like it, there are simulations we can’t run in real life, its auto-graded, auto-scaffolded, and rigorous.”
- Science Teacher, MA
“They really get engaged in the product. They love experimenting. I also like that is aligns to the CER writing and is easy for my remote students to use.”
- Science Teacher
“With Inq-ITS, students have been able to run multiple virtual trials, explore changing independent and dependent variables, and write about their experiences…many are excelling at writing detailed, scientifically sound claim/evidence/reasoning reports in just the three weeks we have used it.”
- Science Teacher, PA
“During the second week, I invited my principal in to see, and he was stunned that the combination of “natural language” reading and AI so quickly interpreted the kids’ writing.”
- Science Teacher, PA
“The Inq-ITS science lab simulation program, Inq-Blotter real-time data, and tutorial feature (Rex the Dinosaur) are a science education game-changer!”
- Dr. Robert Gilmore, Milford, MA
"In the first Inq-ITS lab our students had no idea what inquiry skills were or how to use them. Thankfully Rex kept them on course despite their lack of prior knowledge. Following that lab they were able to set up a better experiment and even catch themselves when they did veer off course with their experiment. As we introduce inquiry based hands on experiments, students have been able to set up proper experiments and directed hypotheses with little to no guidance from us.
…I used the Inq-ITS platform as a way to monitor all my ELL students progress and where they were struggling in real time. The digital platform is always a useful one in ELL as it puts so many extra tools at their fingertips such as translation abilities and the ability to hear the words on screen through other various programs. Inq-ITS allows me to use content and experiments that are pertinent to what we're doing in class as well as still being available for those other wonderful tools to help them and that real-time monitoring that they need at times."
- Joseph Ostgarden, Teacher, Grand Forks Public Schools (Grand Forks, ND)
I was startled by how readily they adapted to the program features, how the teacher alerts allowed instant diagnosis so I could help them, and how Rex intuits their difficulties.”
- Science Teacher, PA
The Inq-ITS science lab simulation program, Inq-Blotter real-time data, and tutorial feature (Rex the dinosaur) are a science education game changer!”
- Science Teacher, MA
“Rex is my hero! He helps the students that ‘almost’ get it and allows me to spend more time with those students who do not get it at all.”
- Science Teacher, KY
“Teachers can choose to assign activities with or without the dinosaur tutor Rex. Rex gives students immediate feedback, coaching them through inquiry tasks.”
- Classroom Teacher, Common Sense Education
"Inq-ITS definitely has my endorsement. All of our students were able to access the labs. We were close to 70% of our students meeting or exceeding their state science test and I honestly believe it was in part due to our students' familiarity with computer resources including Inq-ITS."
- Ken Guffey, Science Department Chair, LaCreole Middle School (Dallas, OR)
“Every time I use it I see improvement. I wasn’t sure what I’d see this year given the various modes of instruction. No matter what mode I’m in, I’m still able to use Inq-ITS in the same way.”
- Science Teacher, KY