Inq-ITS vs Maroon

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.

Maroon is a free, open-source immersive physics laboratory for interactive learning, simulations, and experiments. In its virtual environment, users approach a station and teleport to a room containing the related lesson or activity. Simulations emphasize active learning by involving students in the process. Listed physics activities include Coulomb’s Law, Falling Coil, Faraday’s Law, Huygens’ Principle, Point Wave, Pendulum, Van de Graaff, and Optics. The lab also includes titration and sorting experiments, and supports experiment authoring. In the optics activity, users adjust parameters and receive real-time visual feedback while exploring reflection, refraction, lenses, and fiber optics. Maroon runs in a browser and has downloadable Windows PC and virtual-reality versions. Developed with Unity at Graz University of Technology, the project is hosted on GitHub and welcomes contributions, issue reports, and pull requests. Students can contribute functionality, VR experiences, learning experiences, and physics experiments.