Concord Consortium STEM Learning Tools vs Legends of Learning

Concord Consortium STEM Learning Tools is a nonprofit organization that creates research-based digital resources for inquiry-based STEM education. Its computational virtual labs model scientific principles so learners can explore otherwise invisible processes, including chemical reactions, genetics, evolution, and plate tectonics. CODAP is a free, web-based data science app for students, curriculum developers, and education researchers. It is designed for grades 5–14 and supports data analysis across subjects with drag-and-drop graphs and maps, linked graphs, maps, and tables. Users can import data from spreadsheets, URLs, files, or plugins. Plugins can connect to census, weather, and sensor databases, and a PhET projectile simulation plugin is featured. Developers may add plugins or contribute to the open-source code. Resources include interactive simulations, virtual experiments, guided lessons, and assessment tools. The organization also offers research collaboration, consulting, custom models, assessments, and professional development.

Legends of Learning is a browser-based educational platform offering curriculum-aligned games, lesson plans, and assessments through Learning Universe, Awakening, and Math Basecamp. Its library has over 2,000 games covering math, history, and science for elementary and middle school learners. Learning Universe games map to curriculum standards, with each game teaching one standard. Teachers can launch assignments, view student progress and mastery, and use school or district reporting on higher license tiers. Basic Teacher supports three concurrent live and queued assignments, while Premium Classroom provides unlimited assignments and gameplay. Math Basecamp adds adaptive math fact fluency lessons, games, and progress information. Integrations include Google Classroom, Canvas, and Schoology, plus SSO and rostering connections such as ClassLink and GG4L. Student accounts are created by teachers or administrators. The privacy policy describes encryption in transit using TLS 1.2 and at rest, FERPA and COPPA compliance, and no advertisements for student users. A free Basic Teacher plan is available.