Eureka Pilot Project Report Jordan1

EUREKA IN THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
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PILOTING EUREKA IN JORDAN
PUBLIC SCHOOLS
EVALUATION REPORT
OCTOBER 2012

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Jordan Education Initiative would like to thank Designmate and LKD Educational
Resources for providing licenses for Eureka 3D e-content to be piloted in Jordan public
schools and for their continuous support.
Special thanks to the schools’ principals, teachers and students from (Dahiet Al-
Rasheed School, Princess Taghreed School and Jamil Shaker School) for their
continuous cooperation.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................... 4
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT ............................................................................. 5
3. IMPLEMENTATION...................................................................................................... 5
3.1 SCHOOLS’ SELECTION: ....................................................................................... 6
3.2 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION:............................................................................... 6
3.3 TEACHERS TRAINING: ........................................................................................ 6
3.4 MAPPING EUREKA WITH THE CURRICULUM: ............................................... 6
3.5 PARTNERS ROLE.................................................................................................. 8
4. EVALUATION METHODOLOGY .................................................................................. 9
4.1 FINDINGS.................................................................................................................... 10
5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .......................................................... 16

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1. INTRODUCTION
The Jordan Education Initiative has emerged as the first model that manifests the true
partnership between the public and private sectors, by the World Economic Forum and
the Jordanian Government, during the extraordinary meeting of the Forum that took
place under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II at the Dead Sea in June
2003. It was launched in the presence of more than one hundred local and international
participants, with the aim of supporting Jordan's efforts in improving the level of
education, encouraging creativity, developing capabilities and building knowledge
economy by using the latest technological tools in one hundred governmental schools
that was later named "Discovery Schools".
The Jordan Education Initiative one of Her Majesty's Queen Rania Al-Abdullah
non-profit organizations that had, since its launching 6 years ago, the care and support
of Her Majesty through her close follow up to every creativity and excellence. Because
of this care and follow up, many countries have sought the help of this initiative
especially in terms of electronic curricula, providing infrastructure for utilizing
technology in education, and in the implementation of creative and unique programs for
the factors of the educational process "The Student, The Teacher, The School Unit".
The Initiative has worked in the Discovery Schools and has influenced 80,000 students,
3000 teachers, provided technological climates and electronic resources, and
unprecedented and qualitative achievements. The initiative was registered as a non-
profit organization, and had the honor of Her Majesty Queen Rania Al-Abdullah to
launch the second phase of the initiative in 2008.
One of JEI’s main objectives is to “encourage the development of an efficient public-
private model for the acceleration of educational reforms in developing countries by
bringing out the innovation of teachers and students through developing and integrating
ICT in the educational strategies and approaches”.
Studies have clearly documented the value of technological capabilities for enhancing
the presentation of complex or abstract content, such as computer visualization
techniques (Baxter, 1995; Lewis, Stern, & Linn 1993).
JEI piloted Eureka academic semester 2011/ 2012 in 3 Discovery Schools in Amman-
Jordan in collaboration with Designmate through LKD Educational Resources.
Designmate has been in operation for more than 24 years as a 3D production house
developing creative e-Content for K12 education. They pioneer in animations and use of
graphics to simplify concepts of Science, Biology, Physics and Chemistry. The e-Content
created is a unique combination of 3D videos, simulations, experiments, learning
activities, quizzes, texts, images, weblinks & learning objects known as Eureka.
Eureka is a comprehensive, innovative and interactive 3D educational software solution
for learning science subjects covering K12 curriculum. It ensures value addition to use
of ICT in education.

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This report summarizes the evaluation findings of Eureka implementation in the
schools.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE PROJECT
JEI was provided by 3 licences to pilote Eureka in 3 Discovery schools, Tow girls’
schools and one boys’school.
Eureka aims at providing interactive learning
environment where students , enjoy and understand
complex topics of K12 curriculum in high definition 3D
stereoscopy, which stimulates critical thinking skills
and conclusion of scientific concepts.
The software tackles different concepts in chemistry,
biology and physics for grades 6th-12th. The software is
designed for the use of both students and teachers, and it is provided in Arabic and
English language. Moreover, Eureka is designed of 1200 films, 1200 quizzes and 329
simulations for Physics, Chemistry and Biology where JEI delivered the training to
schools on how to use the software.
In particular, Eureka project aims at:
 Providing teachers with new methodologies and approaches to teach
Science in a more interactive way to enable students to learn Science
concept
 Providing students with skills to smooth difficulties in learning scientific
concepts
 Creating a learning environment that stimulates critical thinking
3. IMPLEMENTATION
Initially, Eureka was to be piloted within 5 Discovery Schools through the academic
semester 2011/ 2012. Compared to the low computers specifications in the public
schools, Eureka requires a relatively high computer specs to operate smoothly.
Based on this requirement and the needed motivation of schools to adopt it, the
project was finally piloted in 3 Discovery Schools in order to provide a good
understanding of the effectiveness of the software.
Making the Eureka available to 18 teachers and more than 1000 students over 3
schools was possible through the following implementation phases:

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3.1SCHOOLS’ SELECTION:
Three licenses of Eureka were distributed over 3 Discovery Schools. With the aim to
ensure the maximum utilization, JEI team selected schools that had 9th to 11th
grades of which Science teachers showed interest in using the software. According to
these criteria, the following schools, teachers, and students were selected to
participate in the project:
School Name Teachers Grades
Dahiet Al Rasheed 6 9,10,11
Princess Taghreed 6 9,10,11
Jamil Shaker 6 9,10,11
3.2 SOFTWARE INSTALLATION:
On the onset of the first academic semester, JEI assessed the technical readiness of
the computer labs in the selected schools for the software installation. After setting
up a proper running environment, Eureka licenses were installed across the 3
schools through LKD, depending on the computer specs available in the computer
labs and the students’ accessibility to them. Eureka software was installed in a
network model, where the main Eureka content for teachers was installed on one
host machine, that to be activated through a dongle received by teachers in each
school and the client PCs in which students to access, were available easily without
any requirements.
3.3 TEACHERS TRAINING:
After completing the installation, JEI trained teachers in each school on operating
the software and integrating its different components from pedagogical perspective.
A total of 6 training sessions took place over the academic year as each school
received two trainings with the beginning of each semester.
3.4 MAPPING EUREKA WITH THE CURRICULUM:
In order to facilitate the adoption of the software in teachers’ lessons, JEI team
developed a manual to match grades 9-12 science textbooks (Biology, Physics and

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Chemistry) with the content available in Eureka software. The manual was
developed for the textbooks of the second semester and distributed to the
participating schools and teachers.
Grade Number of Eureka Videos
9th Grade - Biology 26
9th Grade - Physics 28
9th Grade - Chemistry 31
10th Grade- Chemistry 31
10th Grade- Biology 27
12th Grade - Physics N/A
The table above conveys the number of videos available in Eureka for each grade
and subject.

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3.5 PARTNERS ROLE
Jordan Education Initiative
 Selecting teachers and schools
 Assure the labs readiness at schools for the software implementation
 Follow-up on program implementation in schools
 Training JEI team members on the Eureka software and its features form Educational
and technical perspective
 Constant follow up with the school’s implementation to the project
 Classroom observations and conducting focus groups
 Mapping Eureka content to MoE curricula
Eureka (Designmate)
 Providing licenses to schools
 Providing dongles to teachers
 JEI support and follow up on Eureka implementation in schools, like extending licenses
and technical support on running Eureka through LKD.
 Initial briefing and introducing to Eureka software
LKD
 Eureka Software installation
 Technical support to Eureka Software
 JEI assistance and follow up on Eureka utilization
MoE
 Provided JEI with an approval to initiate the program
 Facilitate the program implementation in the schools
 Facilitate teachers’ trainings in schools
Schools’ Principals
 Teachers’ support and encouragement to use the software
 Facilitate the program implementation in the schools
 Facilitate teachers’ trainings in schools
 Facilitate students’ trainings in schools

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4. EVALUATION METHODOLOGY
JEI worked on evaluating Eureka’s project, therefore it was involved in the project
from the initiation phase, their responsibilities were to set the expected outcomes
and design the M&E Framework, then collect the baseline to set a reference point
that will indicate the progress in achieving the targets of the project.
The final evaluation which is reflected in this report was carried out in April-May
2012 and intended to capturing the experience of the participating schools in using
Eureka, and the lessons learned out of this experience.
The expected outcomes out of implementing Eureka in the schools were:
1. Better understanding and acquisition of abstract concepts of science
topics (Chemistry, Physics and Biology)
2. Students’ interest in scientific fields formed and enhanced
3. Teachers exposure to new teaching methodologies in science enhanced
Both mixed methods (qualitative and quantitative) were used to collect data related to
the outcomes question.
The quantitative approach intended to collect all relevant data mainly through the
following
 Questionnaires targeting teachers and students that focused on their feedback
and opinions after practicing Eureka.
 Students’ scores in the related subjects (Physics, Chemistry and Biology) were
collected throughout the academic year.
The qualitative approach considered:
 Focus groups: which were conducted with teachers for the three subjects
(Physics, Chemistry and Biology) and students from (9th, 10th and 11th) grades
the questions discussed the participants’ reaction, attitude and experience while
and after watching Eureka 3D animated educational movies.

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4.1FINDINGS
The collected data and research illustrated to what extent has the outcome been
achieved, and this covers two schools (Princess Taghred and Dahiet Al Rasheed) out of
three, Jamil Shaker school wasn’t included in this evaluation as the implementation
was not sufficient, but we will discuss their experience and the reasons behind their
decision of not completing the project.
The first evaluation question is:
As shown in the two figures below figure (4.1.1) and figure (4.1.2), around 93% of the
students agreed that Eureka has enhanced their capacity to understand Biology, 78%
thought the same in Physics and 55% for Chemistry.
As for Eureka’s influence on the academic achievement, around 81% agreed that Eureka
participated in enhancing their scores’ in Biology, 76% reported that Eureka contributed
in improving their academic achievement in Physics and the least is chemistry with
49%.
Figure (4.1.2)
Q1. To what extent have the students obtained better
understanding and acquisition of abstract concepts of
science topics (Physics, Chemistry and Biology)?
Biology Chemistry Physics
56.30%
44.40%
50.00%
37.50%
11.10%
28.60%
6.30%
44.40%
21.40%
Has Eureka enhanced your understanding in the following subjects?
Yes, very much Yes, a little bit Did not affect

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Figure (4.1.2)
It was noticed and as shown in figure (4.1.3) that the Biology teachers employed Eureka
almost triple time the other teachers did, this explained the students’ feedback that
they experienced the positive impact of Eureka mainly in Biology.
Figure (4.1.3)
* This includes the 2 schools (Princess Taghred and Dahiet Al Rasheed ) and
covers the 3 grades for the second semester.
As for the students’ scores, it was collected for the first and the second semester in the 3
subjects and the change in achievement were tested, in general and as shown in the
figure(4.1.4) and figure(4.1.5) almost all subjects witnessed a positive slight growth,
51.60%
27.80%
38.50%
29.00% 22.20%
38.50%
19.40%
50.00%
23.10%
Has Eureka enhanced your academic achievement in the following
subjects?
Yes, very much Yes, a little bit Did not affect
0
5
10
15
20
25
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
23
6 8
Eureka's number of utilizations

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although we can’t attribute this growth directly to Eureka but teachers agreed that
Eureka helped students in understanding new concepts and remember it easily.
Figure (4.1.4)
Figure (4.1.5)
This proves that when students make visual contact with the scientific ideas they would
be able to achieve better understanding and a good ability to retain the information.
8
5
9
6
3
-4
7
3
-3
-6
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
9th grade 10th
grade
11grade 9th grade 10th
grade
grade
11grade
Change in the scores average
Dahiet Al Rashed school
11
8
6 6
-2
5
6
5
10
-4
-2
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
9th grade 10th
grade
grade
grade
11grade
Change in the scores average
Princess Taghred school

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To answer this question we asked the students if they were inspired by Eureka to work
on science projects, around 96% of the students participated in science project during
the semester.
Teachers also said that students are motivated to work on science projects that simulate
and utilized what was demonstrated by Eureka.
In Dahiet Al Rashed school students
worked on a project about the electricity
sources, generation and waste causes.
The students simulate the electricity
circuit and they tested its effectiveness
and quality.
Moreover all teachers witnessed a remarkable change in the students’ level of questions
and so participation in Eureka lesson, and they said Eureka gave them the chance to
see things in a comprehensive perspective.
Q2. Has the students interest in the scientific fields
formed and enhanced
The Electricity and magnetism lesson through Eureka motivated us to participate
in a project for Microsoft partner in learning competition
Teacher from
Dahiet Al Rashed school

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Based on our observations, teachers show good interaction with Eureka and they
quickly get familiar with utilizing it to serve their objectives.
Teachers said that searching for their lessons was the most important step, and the
mapping document which was provided by JEI helped them in selecting lessons,
although the matching between Eureka and the curricula is not identical 100% but
it was fine if something is missing or if additional information is provided by
Eureka.
The training was sufficient and the teachers said they didn’t ask for additional
training on how to operate Eureka.
Teachers also mentioned the competitions which were available after the movie, it
worked as assessment tool to grade the students understanding, this tool was very
helpful and force the students to stay focused and prepared for answering the
questions.
As for assessing the performance of Eureka, teachers agreed that it was easy to use
and worked efficiently but the voice in Arabic for the commentator is neither
attractive nor interesting and couldn’t draw the students’ attention all the time.
The remark about the commentator’s voice was also mentioned by the students in
the focus groups, although the percentage of their answers collected by the
questionnaire as shown in figure (4.1.6) unveiled that 76% of the students agree that
the voice was clear in addition to 79% declared that the language is clear too.
Figure (4.1.6)
Q3. Teachers are exposed to new teaching methodologies
in science
Eureka is
friendly
Eureka is
efficient
Pictures are
clear
Language is
clear
Voice is clear
97.40% 94.80%
100.00%
78.90% 76.30%
2.60% 5.30% 0.00%
5.30%
0.00%0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
15.80%
23.70%
How did students assess Eureka
Agree Don’t know Disagree

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As for Jamil shaker school, teachers did not implement Eureka mainly due to the big
number of the students in the class (around 60 students), teachers said it’s not
practical to move the students to the computer lab as this will consume time and
distract the lesson, in addition to the fact that teachers have full work load.
As a result, it was noticed that girls’ schools demonstrated a perfect model of
employing new technology and maximize the benefit out of it in this project.

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5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The following recommendations and conclusions are driven from the findings and the
implementation experience.
 Students were fascinated by Eureka and this was reflected on their achievement
and understanding, therefore it’s strongly recommended to enroll Eureka in
other schools if applicable.
 Based on the students and teachers experience, it’s recommended to change the
Arabic commentator’s voice, as its not attractive and not aligned with Eureka’s
scheme.
 To ensure the proper operation of Eureka and due to the low specs of computers
in the public schools we recommend providing a proper laptop or computer with
sufficient specs to facilitate Eureka implementation
 Some teachers found that Eureka is suitable for grade 7 students as well, so it’s
suggested to investigate the possibility of implementing it with other grades as
Eureka is good for grades 6-12
 Eureka wasn’t accessible easily by teachers all the time to arrange for classes or
to prepare the lessons due to the fact that it was installed in the computer lab or
science lab only, so it’s recommended to make Eureka accessible from all school’s
facilities if applicable.
 Teachers from Princess Taghred school and Dahiet Al Rashed school were very
keen and enthusiastic to use Eureka in the coming academic years, its suggested
to extend the license for the coming academic years as possible.
 Teachers reported that it wasn’t easy to find a match between Eureka’s content
and the targeted subjects, a meeting with teachers at the onset of the semester
to clarify the list of matched lessons would help.
 The short quiz (questions embedded in Eureka after the movie) motivated the
students to stay focused and stimulate the spirit of competition between them,
endorse this approach will help introduce this new education methodology.
 Teacher’s commitments are very critical to guarantee the good employment of
Eureka, it’s recommended to closely follow up with teachers and to support them
whenever needed.

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 Large classes over 35 students are not recommended to use Eureka as moving
from their classroom to the lab is not practical.
 Based on the best practices of Eureka it’s recommended if applicable to
install it in the server and to make it available in every classroom via the
LAN, this will overcome the challenges of large classes and the needs to move to
other rooms inside the school.
One of Her Majesty's Queen Rania Al-Abdullah non-profit organizations
www.JEI.org.jo
Tel: +962 6 5502360 Fax: +962 6
5502370 P.O Box: 17979 Amman
11195
Info@jei.org.jo

Eureka Pilot Project Report Jordan1

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