At PASCO, we are committed to doing all we can to help the science education community. In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and its impact on science education, PASCO has extended flexible resources to support the continuation of science learning across classrooms, distance, and hybrid learning environments.
Free Access to Science Lab Activities for Hybrid & Distance Learning
We have updated several of our labs to better support hybrid and distance learning. These flexible lab activities support remote learning with digital student handouts, guided video lessons, and software data files that can be easily delivered to students for at-home investigations.
In each activity, students watch a short video of the lab being performed and data being collected. Then they use a software file containing a copy of the experimental data to perform their own analyses at home. Throughout the activity, students answer questions and plot their findings in their student lab handout, which also helps guide them through the experiment. The corresponding Teacher Guides, which contain answers and sample data, can be accessed for free by logging into your PASCO educator account.
Getting access to PASCO’s distance learning tools is easy:
- Create an account on pasco.com to verify that you are an educator.
- Choose one of the Subject Tabs above in this page to see a list of lab activities updated for distance learning.
- Share those activities with your students as they learn from home. (Your students will not need an account. They can access the student materials directly, or you can upload the materials to your school’s LMS or Google Classroom.)
Free Software Access for Students & Teachers
Our data collection and analysis software, SPARKvue and PASCO Capstone, allow users to create, modify, and share home labs with an authentic laboratory feel. We offer free, 60-day trials for both SPARKvue and PASCO Capstone, which can be downloaded by teachers and shared with students. To download a free trial, select a software from the list below and submit the download request form. We’ll send a 60-day download link to your inbox, which can be shared with students and installed on multiple devices.
Please note that students should only download PASCO software using links provided by their teacher. You must be 18 years or older to submit a software download request form.
Our distance learning resources require either SPARKvue or PASCO Capstone software to open and analyze the sample data files. Please use the installers for Mac and Windows below to install either software on your school or home computers. You may also install SPARKvue for free on your mobile devices, using the respective app stores for iPad, Chromebook, smartphones, and Android tablets.
Distance Learning Labs for Physics
Our Curriculum and Professional Development Team has developed a series of quick physics lab videos, complete with guided data collection and Capstone data files, to support educators looking for remote lab opportunities. These files are designed to provide remote learners with simulated lab experiences that help reinforce their understanding of key concepts in physics.
In each activity, students watch a short video showing data collection during the lab, then perform their own analysis using the prepared Capstone data file and student lab handout. All resources are available for free, including teacher guides, which can be accessed by creating a PASCO educator account.
Physics labs and videos for remote learning:
- Hydrostatic Pressure
- Buoyant Force
- Boyle’s Law
- Spherical Mirror Reflection
- Snell’s Law
- Focal Length of a Converging Lens
- Electromagnetic Induction
- Capacitor Fundamentals
- RC Circuits
- Position, Distance, and Displacement
- Newton's Second Law
- Designing and Testing Crash Cushions
- Impulse and Change in Velocity
- Change in Kinetic Energy
- Rotational Collisions
- Ohm’s Law
Software: Free 30-Day Capstone Trial
For physics educators teaching remote learners, we suggest utilizing Capstone’s free 60-day trial. If your school is already using Capstone, then you have global access to share your License Key with students for home installation. For more information, please see Free Software section in the Overview tab.
Experiment Library
The PASCO Experiment Library contains dozens of ready-to-use physics labs and activities that can be downloaded and shared with students for free. These prepared files can be modified to fit your needs and provide plenty of opportunity for adding your own content. You can view our existing Physics labs here. You can also access the Teacher Resources within the Experiment Library by logging into your PASCO account.
Distance Learning Labs for Chemistry
Our Curriculum and Professional Development Team has developed a series of quick chemistry lab videos, complete with guided data collection and SPARKvue data files, to support educators looking for remote lab opportunities. These files are designed to provide remote learners with simulated lab experiences that help reinforce their understanding of key chemistry concepts.
In each activity, students watch a short video showing data collection during the lab, then perform their own analysis using the prepared SPARKvue data file and student lab handout. All resources are available for free, including teacher guides, which can be accessed by creating a PASCO educator account.
Chemistry labs and videos for remote learning:
Software: Free 30-Day SPARKvue Trial
For chemistry educators teaching remote learners, we suggest utilizing the free 60-day trial for either SPARKvue or PASCO Capstone software. If your school is already using SPARKvue or PASCO Capstone, then you have global access to share your License Key with students for home installation.
For more information, see Free Software section in the Overview tab. Please note that Capstone is only compatible with Mac and PC. SPARKvue is compatible with smartphones, tablets, Mac, PC, iPads, laptops, and Chromebooks.
Experiment Library
The PASCO Experiment Library contains dozens of prepared Chemistry labs and activities that can be downloaded and shared with students for free. These prepared files can be modified to fit your needs and provide plenty of opportunity for adding your own content. You can view our existing Chemistry labs here. You can also access the Teacher Resources within the Experiment Library by logging into your PASCO account.
Distance Learning Labs for Biology
Our Curriculum and Professional Development Team has developed a series of quick biology lab videos, complete with guided data collection and SPARKvue data files, to support educators looking for remote lab opportunities. These files are designed to provide remote learners with simulated lab experiences that help reinforce their understanding of key biological concepts.
In each activity, students watch a short video showing data collection during the lab, then perform their own analysis using the prepared SPARKvue data file and student lab handout. All resources are available for free, including teacher guides, which can be accessed by creating a PASCO educator account.
Biology labs and videos for remote learning:
- BLAST Bioinformatics Lab
- Peppered Moths Graphing Activity
- Mathematical Modeling of Evolution
- Photosynthesis
- Photosynthesis (AP)
- Enzyme Activity
- Enzyme Activity (AP)
Software: Free 30-Day SPARKvue Trial
For biology educators teaching remote learners, we suggest utilizing the free 60-day trial for SPARKvue software. If your school is already using SPARKvue, then you have global access to share your License Key with students for home installation.
For more information, see Free Software section in the Overview tab. Please note that Capstone is only compatible with Mac and PC. SPARKvue is compatible with smartphones, tablets, Mac, PC, iPads, laptops, and Chromebooks.
Experiment Library
The PASCO Experiment Library contains dozens of prepared Biology labs and activities that can be downloaded and shared with students for free. These prepared files can be modified to fit your needs and provide plenty of opportunity for adding your own content. You can view our existing Biology and Life Science labs here.
SPARKvue Shared Sessions
Creating a SPARKvue Shared Session is the easiest and most efficient way to host a home lab for students. With Shared Sessions, students can log into a SPARKvue session hosted by their teacher from anywhere, observe data collection in real time, then keep a copy of the data to perform their own analysis. Setting up a session is quick and easy, and allows students to participate in a home lab using only their smartphone. Once the session is finished and students have completed their analysis, they can digitally submit their work using cloud services or the Journal Snapshot tool.
a. Video: Starting a Guided Session
b. Video: Joining a Shared Session
PASCO Support for Online Instruction
We recognize that many schools need to provide online instruction for their students, which presents special challenges for science education. In the sciences, remote learning may require students to conduct essential labs at home, without risking their safety and without providing additional lab equipment. As a team of educators, we want to assist you wherever possible, and we encourage you to reach out to us if you require other materials.
Capstone and SPARKvue can be used to improve the authenticity of home labs and remote learning. Both platforms include features that support communication and data sharing, but their specific capabilities differ. The following explanation of Capstone and SPARKvue features can help you decide which software will best support your needs.
Capstone: Best for High School and College Students
1. Capstone is our high-level data collection and analysis software. If your school is already using Capstone, then you have global rights to distribute this software to your students for home installation. At any time, teachers may request to download a free, 60-day trial version of Capstone from our website. A secure download link will be sent to the email provided, which can then be shared with students for download on multiple devices. When the trial version expires, Capstone will request the code that was given to your school. You may share this code freely with students to convert the trial version of Capstone to the permanent version.
- Download a free, 60-day trial of Capstone here by selecting “Download Free Trial” and submitting your email.
- Check your inbox for a secure 60-day trial download link. Share it with students to download the trial on their devices.
- If your school has a software code but cannot locate it, contact PASCO Technical Support at 1-800-772-8700 (option 4).
- Need a new code? Contact your local PASCO representative and they will assist you.
Direct Downloads
2. Sharing data with students is as easy as doing the lab yourself and saving the Capstone file. Once saved, you can share it with your students through email.
3. Conducting the lab yourself can be quick and easy. When you are done, simply save and share the data. If you need assistance conducting a lab, the PASCO Video Library has hundreds of instructional videos to help you conduct labs for any subject.
4. Showing students how a dataset was collected is essential to their understanding of concepts and data analysis. To accomplish this, we recommend including a quick video of the data being collected with the Capstone data file. We recommend three possible methods for this:
A. With Capstone, you can easily create a video of the data collection process. This requires an easy setup that shows students what they would see as they follow the steps in the lab. Students may open the saved data file while watching a video of the experiment to simulate an authentic lab experience. After viewing the video, students can continue to follow the lab instructions for analysis, before digitally submitting it to the instructor for evaluation.
B. PASCO also offers prepared Capstone Lab Workbooks with instructions for conducting the lab within Capstone. Instructors may use these Workbooks to collect data, then share the Workbook and data with students for analysis. To provide context, a quick video of how the data was collected would be necessary (similar to the video produced in suggestion A). You can find prepared Capstone Workbooks here.
C. PASCO has quick data collection videos and Capstone data files to support educators seeking remote lab opportunities. These files are designed to help educators provide remote students with simulated lab experiences from any location. Each college-level lab covers content required by universities and does not require any lab equipment.
SPARKvue: Best for High School and Younger Students
1. SPARKvue is our cross-platform data collection and analysis software. It runs on smartphones, desktops, laptops, tablets, Chromebooks, and iPads, making it ideal for students to use with any home device. If your school is already using SPARKvue, then you have global rights to distribute this software to your students for home installation. At any time, teachers may request to download a free, 60-day trial version of Capstone from our website. A secure download link will be sent to the email provided, which can then be shared with students for download on multiple devices. When the trial version expires, SPARKvue will request the code that was given to your school. Students may also download the SPARKvue App for free on their smartphones, iPads, or tablets at any time.
- SPARKvue Online Help
- Download a free, 60-day trial of SPARKvue here by selecting “Download Free Trial” and submitting your email.
- Check your inbox for a secure 60-day trial download link. Share it with students to download the trial on their devices.
- If your school has a software code, but cannot locate it, contact PASCO Technical Support at 1-800-772-8700 (option 4).
- Need a new code? Contact your local PASCO representative and they will assist you.
Direct Downloads
2. Creating a SPARKvue Shared Session is the easiest and most efficient way to host a home lab for students. With Shared Sessions, students can log into a SPARKvue session hosted by their teacher from anywhere, observe data collection in real time, then keep a copy of the data to perform their own analysis. Setting up a session is quick and easy and allows students to participate in a home lab using just their smartphone. Once the session is finished and students have completed their analysis, they can digitally submit their work using cloud services or the Journal Snapshot tool.
a. Video: Starting a Guided Session
b. Video: Joining a Shared Session
c. Video: Exporting Data to Excel
d. Video: Quick Sharing with iOS or Android
3. SPARKlabs allow you to create, modify, and share digital labs within SPARKvue. You can download free SPARKlabs from our website and modify them to fit your lessons, or you can create your own SPARKlab, complete with background information, instructions, tables, graphics, and more. Creating SPARKlabs is intuitive and exporting them to students is quick. After students have completed the SPARKlab and their analysis, they can digitally submit their work for review. You can download prepared SPARKvue files here.
b. Video: Creating a Template File for Students
c. Video: Opening a SPARKlab from an Online Service
d. Video: Sharing SPARKlabs from iOS
4. There are several SPARKvue labs designed to support remote learning. Our Curriculum and Professional Development team has adapted these activities for remote learning and added them to the PASCO Experiment Library.
5. While SPARKvue does not support video sharing, we suggest recording a video of an experiment with your smartphone. Sharing a recorded video of an experiment helps students form connections between the lab and the learning concept. For example, you could host a Shared Session with students, while recording or streaming a video of the experiment. After the session has ended, students can use a copy of the dataset and the video recording to complete their analysis and post-lab questions.