Technology in Physics

Uses for the ELMO…

• Most common:
  • Notes / problems.
    • Produces a hard copy
    • Easier to see
    • Maintain fine control
    • Shuffle easily between “boards”
  • “Scanning” pictures
  • Sharing small objects
  • ***Would be nice if it had a microphone!!!!
• Less often:
  • Time-lapse photography (e.g. evaporation)
  • Monitoring students
  • Playing

Digital Camera (High Speed)

• Measuring velocities
• Observing what’s really happening (sprotating cylinders, yoyo)
• Regular camera – video and still
• Graphs of position vs. time
• Playing (e.g. “trick shot”)
• Long exposure photography

Excel (or Open Office spreadsheet)

• Provide extra practice solving problems
• Focus on concepts, rather than math drudgery, in low level classes
• Grade tests on which each part of the question hinges on an answer to the previous part of the question.
• Solve problems that ordinarily require calculus – without calculus
• Model complex phenomena (e.g. bottle rocket simulator)

Personal Website (hosted through Godaddy.com; linked through school website)

• Keep a back-up of all files that is accessible from work or home
• Keep absent students accountable.
  • Tells them what to do to make up a missed class
  • Videos of class, or explaining difficult concepts or directions
• Establish a year’s worth of lesson plans that are essentially “ready to go.”

SchoolTube.com

• Students can access this from any internet portal [youtube.com is blocked at school].
• A way out of explaining the same thing ten thousand times!!!  Students really appreciate being able to pause, rewind, replay, etc. – without having to inconvenience the teacher.
• A fun way to share successes or interesting activities.