Pivot Interactives Announces New Iris™ Technology to Increase Students’ Active Phenomena-Based Learning

(May12, 2022) — Pivot Interactives introduces a new set of tools, Iris™, which make learning critical science concepts—such as heat transfer, Beer’s Law, light emission, population density, temperature (infrared and blackbody), pH, and wavelength—accessible to students regardless of classroom equipment or teaching experience. With this new patent-pending collection of color and light measuring tools, students can now take quantitative measurements of color & light for themselves directly from information encoded in a video within a web browser.

“Making measurements using light is a fundamental practice of science. From optical measurements made by microbiologists to the light gathered by powerful telescopes, light, and color-based measurements are at the heart of science at every scale,” says Peter Bohacek, CEO and Founder of Pivot Interactives. “But light- and color-based measurements are normally out of reach in the classroom, limited to expensive and complex equipment. Pivot Interactives brings the power of light- and color-based measurements to students’ fingertips. As the leader in using interactive videos for science education, we are thrilled to be the first to make the power of light- and color-based measurements available to classrooms everywhere.”

Iris technology addresses three critical issues that science classrooms face:

●      Having the equipment, time, and expertise to analyze scientific data, like quantitative color and light measurements.

●      Using real-world phenomena to define problems, develop models, plan investigations, analyze data, and interpret and communicate information as outlined in NGSS.

●      Engaging students with phenomena and the science practices across the learning cycle, from introduction through assessment.

Cerise Cauthron, science department chair at Georgetown Middle/High School in Georgetown, Massachusetts, commented on the new Iris set of tools from Pivot Interactives: “As science department chair, I see Iris being valuable across science subjects and grade levels. Through the grade levels, students can use the same phenomena to continuously build on knowledge & skills. I am excited to use it in our district to empower teachers to use more phenomena and science practices in content areas and parts of the instructional cycle where they were previously constrained by time or equipment.”

Teachers may access Iris tools through the Pivot Interactives license, which integrates with several learning management systems, including Canvas, Blackboard Learn, and D2L Brightspace. Pivot Interactives has achieved the IMS Global Learning Tools Interoperability® (LTI)® Certification and IMS TrustEd App for data privacy. Educators may find teacher and district pricing here. They may try an activity for free using the new Iris technology here and view the growing library of activities using the new Iris technology here.

About Pivot Interactives
Pivot Interactives, Inc. creates and develops dynamic tools to actively engage students in the exploration of scientific phenomena, while developing their skills in the science practices. Peter Bohacek, CEO of Pivot and physics teacher, and Matthew Vonk, Chief Science Officer for Pivot and physics professor, founded Pivot Interactives by developing a library of interactive video-based activities funded in part by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). The co-founders began working in 2012 with their own students to develop direct measurement videos that allow teachers and students to break out of the classroom constraints. Now, teachers worldwide are using Pivot Interactives to engage over 1 million students with phenomena and science practices. Pivot Interactives, an award-winning platform, continues to innovate to revolutionize science education because science has the power to change lives.

eSchool Media staff cover education technology in all its aspects–from legislation and litigation, to best practices, to lessons learned and new products. First published in March of 1998 as a monthly print and digital newspaper, eSchool Media provides the news and information necessary to help K-20 decision-makers successfully use technology and innovation to transform schools and colleges and achieve their educational goals.

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