It’s time to celebrate! This September marks ExploreLearning’s 25th anniversary. For a quarter century, the ExploreLearning team has supported educators and students worldwide to achieve more in math and science.
New products, new technology, new learning—it’s safe to say a lot has happened! On this special milestone, let’s look back at the 25 years of growth at ExploreLearning.
Solving the most critical STEM learning needs
Since 1999, ExploreLearning has been determined to create the most effective and engaging STEM edtech tools. And it all started with an idea. David Shuster, President and Founder of ExploreLearning, was a practicing math teacher and applied mathematics PhD student in Charlottesville, Virginia, when a dream took shape. His vision? Interactive applications that could bring math and science to life in new ways beyond a textbook.
From prototypes to fundraising and many hurdles in between, Shuster’s idea became a reality in the form of Gizmos, now the world’s largest library of math and science simulations. With 550+ offerings for grades 3-12, Gizmos simulations engage students through inquiry-based learning and active experimentation.
25 years of evidence-based instruction
With more than 250 employees today, ExploreLearning serves over 15 million students worldwide with four products.
Expanding Gizmos with real-life STEM Cases and interactive tools
Over the years, the Gizmos collection expanded with the addition of STEM Cases, real-life case study experiences that put students in the shoes of STEM professionals to solve problems. In the last year alone, the Gizmos team released five new STEM Cases and a new heatmap monitoring tool that allows teachers to view learning insights related to specific science and engineering practices. In 2024, the team enhanced the heatmaps to include more conversational questions that engage students in critical thinking and reflection.
Gizmos also celebrated new literacy connections along with a “model builder” widget that allows students to engage in the engineering design process by designing solutions and demonstrating their understanding of problems in STEM Cases.
Reflex: Revolutionizing math fact fluency for grades 2-6
In 2011, ExploreLearning launched Reflex, the adaptive and game-based math fact fluency solution for grades 2-6. Reflex revolutionized the fact fluency space through individualized practice built around a fact-family approach. By delivering the right facts at the right time for each student, Reflex quickly and effectively helps students achieve automaticity—allowing them to free up working memory for new skills and advanced problem-solving. In 2023 alone, students worldwide solved 13,148,620,034+ math facts with Reflex!
Reflex continues to develop new practice games that keep students engaged with math fact practice. In late fall 2024, new Reflex Competitions will allow students to engage in friendly fluency competitions with other classes in the same school building!
Blast off with Frax: Fun and effective fractions learning
In 2021, Frax entered the scene to create a more effective (and fun!) way to learn fractions. Frax uses the latest evidence-based research to help students develop a conceptual understanding of fractions through space-themed missions and games. In 2023, ExploreLearning launched Frax Sector 2, a robust expansion to Frax with 30 new missions focused on advanced work with fractions. The team also released a new Frax Avatar Builder that allows students to personalize their learning experiences.
Science4Us: Kickstarting STEM learning for young scientists
For the youngest learners, Science4Us gives students a head-start in STEM with modules covering Inquiry, Physical Science, Life Science, and Earth & Space Science. Literacy-infused lessons allow students to build vocabulary and learn about their world through thousands of online and offline activities, including digital notebooks, poems, songs, and more.
Award-winning edtech tools that make a difference
ExploreLearning is now a globally recognized leader in K-12 STEM education. Over the years, Gizmos, Reflex, Frax, and Science4Us have won multiple awards in the educational technology space, marking the company’s commitment to continuous improvement and advancement for learners.
Since 2020, ExploreLearning has been a finalist or winner in 66 award categories. In 2023, ExploreLearning took home nine award wins, including the SIIA CODiE Award for Best K-12 Remote Learning Partner. ExploreLearning products have been recognized as finalists and winners by multiple organizations, including the CODiE Awards, Best of STEM Awards, DA Top EdTech Products, Tech & Learning Awards, GESS, EdTech Digest Awards, and more.
In May 2024, ExploreLearning earned the prestigious President’s “E” Award, the highest recognition a U.S. entity can receive for significantly contributing to the expansion of U.S. exports. This achievement celebrated the work ExploreLearning does to support schools in over 80 countries around the globe.
A commitment to rigorous research
For the last 25 years, ExploreLearning has used research-proven, evidence-based strategies to support and enhance student learning. Educational research drives Gizmos, Reflex, Frax, and Science4Us to bring students the most impactful, evidence-based programs available.
The ExploreLearning research team engages in continual efficacy research with district partners to showcase the products’ impact on academic success and learning outcomes. External, third-party evaluations provide unbiased assessments of product efficacy in addition to internal reports, white papers, and peer-reviewed reports. The team also conducts product testing and efficacy research with teachers and district administrators from the ExploreLearning Collab Crew.
Gizmos recently earned the Digital Promise Research-Based Design Product Certification, a recognition for products that center empirical research on learning in their design. Frax and Gizmos also earned Evidence-Based Edtech: ESSA Tier 3 Product Certifications from Digital Promise.
Supporting administrators, teachers, and students
ExploreLearning’s diverse team—made up of educators, developers, scientists, mathematicians, instructional and visual designers, content experts, analysts, and more—works together to provide teachers and students with the highest-quality learning experiences throughout the year.
On-demand and live professional development, virtual learning communities, and dedicated account teams support educators in taking Gizmos, Reflex, Frax, and Science4Us implementation to new heights in classrooms. Helix, a new in-product AI chatbot, launched in July 2024 to provide teachers with faster and more seamless assistance.
And behind the scenes, our developers ensure our programs are not only fun and effective but also safe and secure for schools to use. Reflecting our commitment to safeguarding K-12 educational data, ExploreLearning learning applications are iKeepSafe certified COPPA and FERPA compliant and, in 2024, earned ISO 27001 certification that affirms our adherence to leading data security practices.
The future is bright for ExploreLearning! Follow us on social media to stay up-to-date with the latest announcements, product news, and insight articles.
