ChemCollective Virtual Lab vs Inq-ITS

ChemCollective Virtual Lab is an online chemistry simulation that connects calculations with laboratory-style experiments. Students and educators can use its web activities without licensing requirements, including experiments with hundreds of standard aqueous reagents across acid-base chemistry, thermochemistry, solubility, and redox topics. Teaching resources include prepared lab problems, tutorials, courses, real-world scenarios, visualizations, simulations, and concept tests. Autograded activities randomize unknowns and check answers, with hints and feedback. Teachers can make free classroom pages that collect activity links, instructions, and handouts, and track attempts on autograded problems. Instructors may modify activities or request custom ones. Downloadable versions for Windows and Mac are available, though Java may be needed. The project aims to help high school and college students approach chemistry like practicing scientists. Its current scope is aqueous reactions. The Virtual Lab is free for educators and students; the site and its contents are licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 NonCommercial-NoDerivs.

Inq-ITS is an online science learning environment with NGSS-aligned virtual labs, automated assessment, and teacher reporting. Its collection contains more than 150 investigations in which students design and conduct science inquiries. Rex, an AI virtual tutor, gives feedback during lab work, and real-time science tutoring is available in English and Spanish. Teachers receive alerts about students who need help and the skills involved, along with classroom and student performance reports. Patented algorithms automatically assess student work and produce performance reports. Google sign-in, Google Classroom, and Clever support access and class organization; Google Classroom also lets teachers post assigned labs. The service runs in a browser on Windows, Mac, Chromebook, iPad, and Android devices. Full functionality requires stable internet, cookies, JavaScript, and WebSockets. Teacher registration provides full access, with the trial ending 30 days after students begin using assigned labs. Free digital labs are also described for practicing science investigation skills. School and district plans are tiered by student count, and pricing is available on request.