Announcing New Technology: Pivot Interactives Iris™ Color and Light Measurement Tools

Pivot Interactives introduces a new set of patent-pending tools, Iris™, the first of its kind, which makes learning critical science concepts through color and light accessible to students regardless of classroom equipment or teacher experience🙌.

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Making measurements using color & 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. But light- and color-based measurements are often out of reach in the classroom, limited to expensive and complex equipment. 

Now, right inside your Pivot Interactives account with the patent-pending Iris color and light tools, you can bring the power of color- and light-based measurements to your students’ fingertips. We are thrilled for all teachers & students to access the power of color- and light-based measurements through Iris🌟

Iris™ color and light tools 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 all students. Students can now take quantitative measurements of color and light inside Pivot Interactives activities, further broadening opportunities to use the science practices and phenomena. 

Common Challenges in Science Classrooms

Like most innovations at Pivot Interactives, this stemmed from our own experience as science teachers and was confirmed by our users. Iris™ technology expands the ways that science teachers can address three common, critical challenges they face in their classroom:

• Giving students more classroom time by providing modern tools for analysis of scientific data 
• Using real-world models to generate data to support explanations, predict phenomena, analyze systems, and solve problems as outlined in NGSS
• Providing educators with a platform to teach students across the learning continuum—activity prep, collecting and interpreting data, and assessment

Teachers' Reaction

Teachers applied via social media to provide feedback on (and get an exclusive early look at) Iris color and light tools. Here's what one teacher had to say…

Try the Iris Color & Light Tools to measure temperature in a Thermal Conductivity of Materials activity here

Applications

Iris technology is used to take a variety of measurements and has a growing number of applications: 

• temperature measurements from a video recorded with an infrared camera,
• light transmittance measurements for colorimetry or absorption spectroscopy,
• color-based pH measurements using indicators,
• population density measurements for microbial organisms (algae, yeast),
• fluorescence measurements to determine biological processes, such as enzyme activity
• turbidity measurements for studies of water quality.

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Where to find Iris color & light measurement tools

You will find Iris color and light tools in activities, just like the standard, interactive measurement tools. Pivots that included Iris can (of course) be used with Co-Lab for student collaboration and modified for your classroom needs or style. 

Start using Iris™ in your classroom today by browsing the growing number of Iris™ activities. For more information on how to use Iris color and light measurement tools, read the help article or use the chat bubble to send us a note.

If you are new to Pivot Interactives, try a FREE activity using Iris™ here or Start a Free Trial to get access to the full activity library. 

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As we create activities using Iris, we continue to find ways to apply this color & light measurement technology. Is there a lesson or subject area where Iris could help you? Do you have an idea of how Iris could be used? Reach out to us! We would love to hear your ideas and chat.

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