Comment Combine physical classroom with tech! (Score 1) 295
I had a physics teacher in high school who used technology with great success. The key is, as others have said, to know where the place of the technology is and not to overdo it.
There is a program called Interactive Physics which is a great way to teach some more complex concepts in force and motion. You can set up experiments in the simulator that would be impossible to replicate in the classroom. If it's possible to get more computers for students to use, ask the students to set up a particular scenario. The best way to learn how a free weight system with forces acting in different directions is going to behave is to set it up yourself.
Even better was the use of Vernier's Logger Pro software with their hardware probes. There are probes for motion, force, temperature, and who knows what else. Using this software you can set up a real physical experiment in the classroom and couple it with completely precise computer measurement tools. That way you can perform the experiment in the classroom, and have the data collected and graphed in real time to analyze immediately after.
Don't let all these naysayers discourage you from finding good uses of technology in your classroom. I know from personal experience that it's more than possible to effectively use technology in the classroom. Good luck in exploring what is possible.
There is a program called Interactive Physics which is a great way to teach some more complex concepts in force and motion. You can set up experiments in the simulator that would be impossible to replicate in the classroom. If it's possible to get more computers for students to use, ask the students to set up a particular scenario. The best way to learn how a free weight system with forces acting in different directions is going to behave is to set it up yourself.
Even better was the use of Vernier's Logger Pro software with their hardware probes. There are probes for motion, force, temperature, and who knows what else. Using this software you can set up a real physical experiment in the classroom and couple it with completely precise computer measurement tools. That way you can perform the experiment in the classroom, and have the data collected and graphed in real time to analyze immediately after.
Don't let all these naysayers discourage you from finding good uses of technology in your classroom. I know from personal experience that it's more than possible to effectively use technology in the classroom. Good luck in exploring what is possible.
